# Bent fins on CPU heatsink



## gord (Apr 8, 2005)

I was just moving my Hyper 212 Plus from my old CPU/motherboard to my new one and I happened to notice that the fins on the heat sink were bent - to the point that they were touching each other (see pic). (Whether this happened before or after my old CPU/motherboard went kablooie and could be the cause of it, I don't know.) 

Is it OK for me to bend the fins back or should I get it replaced?


----------



## Wrench97 (May 10, 2008)

Straighten them up, all that will effect is air flow.


----------



## Bill_Bright (Dec 17, 2004)

You definitely do not need to get it replaced. And frankly, the damage is not bad at all and I would be really surprised if it affects cooling efficiency, even a tiny bit. 

The only real reason I can see for worrying about it is where pinched together, it might start acting as a small dam and might start collecting and building up a nice collection of dust that might start to affect air flow enough that it might then start affecting cooling. That's a lot of "mights" that need to come into play - and if your case is filtered, it probably would take quite awhile to happen. 

I would use your fingernail or one of those wooden cuticle stick pushy thingys - something you can get in between the fins without scratching them.


----------



## Corday (Mar 3, 2010)

It's the same on other cooling devices i.e air conditioner compressors or car radiator cores. Letting in more air by bending fixes the problem.


----------



## gord (Apr 8, 2005)

Thanks everyone. Not knowing how these heatsinks work, I was afraid the fins touching each other helped conduct heat and would cause the CPU to overheat. (I'm still looking for reasons why my old CPU and/or motherboard stopped working).


----------



## Bill_Bright (Dec 17, 2004)

> I was afraid the fins touching each other helped conduct heat and would cause the CPU to overheat.


Actually, a bunch of touching fins would cause the heatsink to retain heat, not conduct it. But in your case, that was only a small number and area affected. And it was about as far away from the CPU (heat source) as possible. Not to mention it is a monster cooler in the first place. So no worries.


----------



## Bedrock445 (Jan 8, 2020)

FYI...
People who service air conditioning units have simple comb-like tools that fix this problem easily. It is a simple thing so I expect it would be cheap.


----------

