Dell Inspiron 17 (7737, Mid 2013) - Manual (Page 36)

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Computer Fan
Computer Fan
A computer fan cools the internal components of a computer by expelling
hot air from the computer. Computer fans are commonly used to cool
components that have high power consumption and thus generate a high
amount of heat. Keeping the components cool helps in protecting them
from overheating, malfunctioning, and damage.
Heat Sink
Heat sinks are used to dissipate heat generated by the processor, some
high-end graphics cards and on-board chipsets. Heat sinks generally have
a fan mounted above or beside them to increase airflow.
A heat sink is made up of fins or blades instead of a single block of metal.
This helps increase the surface area for increased heat dissipation. A layer
of thermal grease is applied between the processor/graphics card and the
heat sink for easy exchange of heat.
Thermal Grease
Thermal grease, also called thermal gel or thermal compound, is used to
create a heat-inductive layer between a processor and heat sink. Applying
thermal grease between the processor and heat sink increases the heat
transfer from the processor to the heat sink, as the thermal grease has better
conductivity than air.