Kupfer Kühlkörper

In home mining everyone watches the ASIC temperature – after all, it is the one on the dashboard. But an open board also gets warm elsewhere, above all at the voltage regulators that supply the chip. That is exactly where these small copper heatsinks come in.

Copper picks up the heat at the contact surface, spreads it across the fins and passes it to the air your fan is pushing over the board anyway. A point that heats up becomes an area that cools down – the cheapest adjustment in the setup.

• Collect heat where it is created: the components next to the ASIC often have no cooling surface of their own as delivered.
• More even temperatures: buyers report that heat spreads better across the board after fitting them.
• Useful when overclocking: higher voltage means more losses at the regulators.
• The smallest upgrade: no rebuild, no new fan, no change in height.

Here is the honest limit: these heatsinks replace neither the fan nor the cooling on the ASIC. Without airflow over the board they achieve little, because the absorbed heat has to be carried away. They are the last percent on top – if the ASIC temperature is the problem, you need a bigger main heatsink.

Because the heatsinks are seated rather than screwed down, they are not tied to a mounting pattern. They are intended for Bitaxe boards and compatible NerdQaxe setups – including devices such as the NerdQaxe++, which the large cooling kits do not fit. Putting those boards into operation is described in the NerdQaxe setup guide.

For everyone who has their setup under control and wants the last few degrees: overclockers, 24/7 users and tinkerers who look closely at where their board gets warm.

If you are just starting out, this is the wrong place to start: a better main heatsink such as the ICE Tower Kit does far more.

Very little: switch the miner off, clean the target surface so it is free of grease, and seat the heatsink straight without tilting it. Buyers report the job is done in a few minutes. Make sure nothing touches neighbouring components and the airflow stays clear.

• AXP60 Copperzilla if the ASIC on a Gamma board needs more cooling mass.
• ICE Tower Low Profile kit as a main heatsink with four heatpipes for Bitaxe and Nerdaxe.

If your miner runs, the main heatsink fits and you still want to operate your board more calmly, the copper heatsinks are the smallest sensible step – quickly fitted and reversible at any time.