HeatSink

[Raspianuser612]

I have a question about heatsink on raspberry pi 3 v2.0. I am farely new to it. I recently got one and comes with a clear case. Is a heatsink necessary for it. I have read that a heat sink does not make a huge difference.

[W. H. Heydt]

The only times a heat sink will have any real effect at all are under extremely heavy, continuous load or really extreme environmental conditions. For most situations, neither condition will occur. If the Pi3B does get too hot (where "too hot" is 85C), it will automatically throttle back the clock speed.

So...unless you're doing something out of the ordinary, you do not need a heat sink.

[runboy93]

Some recommend to use heatsinks with RPi 3, some say it's only for heavy usage, and some doesn't use them at all, but may get in to trouble in cases with overheating.

Just buy aluminum case with passive heatsinks and you can forget overheating.

http://m.gearbest.com/raspberry-pi/pp_400625.html

Just few more tips to best usage:

1) Use sandpaper or something similar to clean paint from the cooling surfaces.

2) Case reduce wifi power, if you want optimal wifi performance, use usb dongle.

3) Put either thermal paste or thermal pad between component and cooling surface, I recommend to use "improved" thermal pad (0.5mm thin) from arctic cooling, because cooling surfaces in this case way poorly made and there are gaps.

[rpdom]

A heat sink isn't always necessary, but it doesn't hurt to have one*. I use basic heat sinks on all my Pi 3Bs, but not on any other Pi.

*I have seen reports from people who have tried to fit heat sinks to a Pi and have somehow managed to damage the board in the process. How they did that I can't imagine!

[runboy93]

*I have seen reports from people who have tried to fit heat sinks to a Pi and have somehow managed to damage the board in the process. How they did that I can't imagine!

I have seen that heatsink tried put upside down (fins against surface), and caused scratches on surface of the SoC.

[mahjongg]

scratches on the SoC isn't really "damage", real damage is done if you shorten components by placing something electrically conductive on them, or if you actually manage to force components off the PCB.

[alphanumeric]

I use them on all my Pi's. They are inexpensive so why not. I don't see a down side to using one, especially if it was included with the Pi. It isn't going to adversely affect anything if installed correctly. Space permitting is the only thing that would stop me from using one. I haven't run into that situation as of yet.

[Douglas6]

Efficacy of a heatsink in an enclosed case (as the OP mentions) is arguable.

[runboy93]

If you still want pay less than around 10 dollars from passive cooling aluminum case, then choose ABS case with an option to use fan, sorry to say but official case or similar shut case with heatsinks (if someone uses that combo...) is almost +-0 for cooling usage.

http://m.gearbest.com/raspberry-pi/pp_451151.html (2 dollars case with fan option, and not totally shut case)

http://m.gearbest.com/raspberry-pi/pp_447875.html (3 dollars cooling kit, including fan, screws and 2 heatsinks)

[alphanumeric]

Efficacy of a heatsink in an enclosed case (as the OP mentions) is arguable.

Yes, true enough. That's why I drill cooling holes in some of my cases. If your careful, how and where you drill them it doesn't detract from the looks of the case. Or better still, buy one with cooling in mind.