The CPU cooling reference article from the English Wikipedia on 24-Apr-2004 (provided by Fixed Reference: snapshots of Wikipedia from wikipedia.org)

CPU cooling

CPUs with great thermal dissipation have to be cooled. This can be done passively (by a large heatsink) or actively, i.e. by a heatsink and a fan, the latter one blowing air on the heatsink. Over the years, CPU cooling has become more sophisticated. Today, processors are dissipating over 60 watts of heat on a surface of about 80mm², which requires extensive cooling. Whereas Aluminium was a quite common material for heatsinks some years ago, today most heatsinks feature copper baseplates or are entirely made of copper. Watercooling, Peltier cooling and Heatpipe cooling have become popular amongst overclockers and silence enthusiasts (who want their computers to run silently without noisy fans).

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