Heatsink Fan Air-Flow Direction?

[ttiefenbach]

The heatsink I currently have installed is the Heatsink/Fan combo supplied with the AMD Athlon XP CPU. However, I was wondering the direction of the airflow. Right now the heatsink fan is blowing air into the heatsink.

<b>Should the heatsink fan be blowing air onto the CPU, or away from the CPU?</b>

 

[JohnWill]

It's correct to blow the air into the cooling fins, this maximizes the air movement over the fins. The point of the exercise is to move the hot air from the cooling fins somewhere else.

 

[n2gun]

You definitely want the air blowing onto the fins. This gives the best cooling effect which is what you need.