Dell XPS One 2720 Me and My Dell - Page 29

Computer Fan A computer fan cools the internal components of a computer by expelling hot air from the computer. Computer fans are commonly used to cool components that have high power consumption and thus generate a high amount of heat. Keeping the components cool helps in protecting them from overheating, malfunctioning, and damage. Heat Sink Heat sinks are used to dissipate heat generated by the processor, some high-end graphics cards and on-board chipsets. Heat sinks generally have a fan mounted above or beside them to increase airflow. A heat sink is made up of fins or blades instead of a single block of metal. This helps increase the surface area for increased heat dissipation. A layer of thermal grease is applied between the processor/graphics card and the heat sink for easy exchange of heat. Thermal Grease Thermal grease, also called thermal gel or thermal compound, is used to create a heat-inductive layer between a processor and heat sink. Applying thermal grease between the processor and heat sink increases the heat transfer from the processor to the heat sink, as the thermal grease has better conductivity than air. Computer Fan  29