Akasa AK821 Copper Base Heatsink Review

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Have you ever seen one of those television shows that explain how typical household consumer products like carpets, pasta and pop tins are made? Well, if you haven't make sure you watch out for the one that explains how aluminum pop tins are constructed because the Akasa Ak821 reminds me a lot of that process.

If I've got my facts straight, an aluminum cans shape is first made by dropping a small disc of pure aluminum into a hollow steel die. A piston is forced into this die under high pressure which squishes the aluminum into forming the rough outside dimensions of the can. When this happens the aluminum flows like silly putty (a technical term :-) to fill in the voids between the die and piston. Once this process is over a fresh (half-finished) aluminum can is popped out and then sent on down the assembly line where it is polished and its shape refined. Looking at the Akasa AK821 it's easy to see that the heatsink has been cold forged in a similar manner.

Along with the few hundred aluminum pins is a nice copper base insert. With the copper insert the Akasa AK821 makes direct contact with a metal which has a high thermal conductivity. There is no way to tell how thick the copper insert is, but as the base is just 7mm thick, I think 3-4mm wouldn't be too much of a stretch.

	Heatsink Specsheet: Model Name: AK821 Fan Specs: Sanyo Denki, 4600RPM, 33.6CFM, 12V, 0.17A. Fan Dim: 25x60x60mm Heatsink Dim: 80x60x74mm HS Material: Aluminum, copper insert Mfg by: Akasa Sold By: www.lapicon.co.uk

When we review heatsinks here we always unscrew the fans for an unobstructed view of the top of the heatsink fins. The Akasa AK821's fins are so soft that as we screwed the fan back into place a couple of the fins started get twisted up.

This isn't going to hurt the performance of the heatsink by any means, but if you are interested in trying out more than just the stock heatsink it would be something to take note of.

The fan shroud keeps all the fins in place, and offers spacing for the fan, but the screws attached directly to the fins themselves.

Since this heatsink is made in one piece, there are no joints between the base of the pins and the base plate. Unlike some other designs we have seen in the past which press aluminum pins into holes drilled in a separate plate of aluminum or copper, there are no joints here to worry about over time - the AK821 is a one-piece unit.