I plan on cutting up some heatsinks to sink up my MOSFETS and was wondering if AS5 would do the job of keeping them in place. What should I use to attach them? Will the AS5 do?
Sinking MOSFETS
- Thread starter GML3G0
- Start date
Uh, the heatsinks will like run away if you only use AS5. You should use a 50-50 combination or AS epoxy and AS5, or just go with thermal tape.
The MOS FETs that heat up have a metallic part that is soldered to the motherboard. The MOS FET transfers heat to the motherboard that way. You can think of the motherboard acting as a heat sink for the MOSFET. You need to cool down the motherboard.
Putting a heat sink on the MOSFET will not help because by doing that you will be blocking the motherboard! You may in fact make things worse.
I wouldn't worry too much about the MOSFETs - they're not delicate precision devices like a CPU. These are heavy duty components, with a maximum safe operation temperature of over 170 C (340 F) [<- That's not a mistake]
As Navid said they are directly heatsinked to the motherboard (in fact the metal heatsink on the back of them is actually directly attached to the die, as one of the electrical connections). The plastic packaging is a good insulator, so adding a heatsink to the plastic part is a waste of time, and will only block airflow.
I'd be more concerned about the capacitors - these are likely to be degraded, over time, by excessive heat. You should ensure that airflow around them is as free as possible - ideally, the air escaping from the CPU cooler should flow over them to stop heat building up.
As Navid said they are directly heatsinked to the motherboard (in fact the metal heatsink on the back of them is actually directly attached to the die, as one of the electrical connections). The plastic packaging is a good insulator, so adding a heatsink to the plastic part is a waste of time, and will only block airflow.
I'd be more concerned about the capacitors - these are likely to be degraded, over time, by excessive heat. You should ensure that airflow around them is as free as possible - ideally, the air escaping from the CPU cooler should flow over them to stop heat building up.
It's a design choice. You can heatsink to the motherboard (which is usually all that's necessary), or you can attach an external heatsink (which is more expensive). MSI do this on some of their higher end boards.
If you do the latter, then you need a differently pacakged MOSFET where you can attach the metal heatspreader direct to the heatsink.
Most boards use 'DPAK' style MOSFETs where the heatspreader is soldered directly to the motherboard, and is therefore inaccesible by a heatsink. Simply attaching a heatsink to the insulated plastic body will have little effect other than decoration.
If you do the latter, then you need a differently pacakged MOSFET where you can attach the metal heatspreader direct to the heatsink.
Most boards use 'DPAK' style MOSFETs where the heatspreader is soldered directly to the motherboard, and is therefore inaccesible by a heatsink. Simply attaching a heatsink to the insulated plastic body will have little effect other than decoration.
iight, thanks. I guess tit really isn't all that necessary then. Just saw a bunch of people on ocforums and xtremesystems sinking them for more stable voltages, because mine kind of flunctuate, but ok, w/e.
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