Computer thermal management

A compact computing system, comprising:

• a housing having a longitudinal axis and that encloses and defines an internal volume that is symmetric about the longitudinal axis;
• a heat sink having at least three walls that encloses a central thermal zone having a cross section in a shape of a polygon and that is substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis and comprising a fin stack in thermal contact with the walls, the fin stack comprising a cooling fin that extends from an inside surface of a first one of the walls and spans across the central thermal zone to an inside surface of at least another wall;
• an air mover configured to direct an amount of air through the internal volume that includes a central airflow directed through the central thermal zone;
• and
• a computing component carried by at least one of the walls and disposed within the internal volume and supported by and in thermal contact with the heat sink, wherein an exterior surface of at least one wall and an interior surface of the housing defines a peripheral thermal zone separate from the central thermal zone.