Copper Heat Sink Comparison

Companies: GlobalWinUSA, Thermaltake, OCZ, Thermosonic
Date Reviewed: May 3, 2001
Reviewed By: Jason

Testing (Cont):

(click on image for close-up) 

Conclusions:

First, you might notice that I included prices for the heat sinks, these prices will vary depending on who you are purchasing it from, where you are located, etc. But I thought it would be nice to see the price with the performance altogether.

The CAK38 proved to be an excellent heat sink, being a top performer and performing the same as the thermoengine and roughly costing the same amount too. However take care when using this heat sink, it is very heavy and I wouldn't recommend using it if you are going to be lugging your computer around to LAN parties a lot. Otherwise this is one sweet heat sink that is something a little different than the rest of the pack. With it's great mass it should have excess capacity to absorb more heat from faster CPU's (If you are one of those people with the AXIA Athlons).

It's kind of tough to judge the Thermaltake Mini Copper Orb. While it was one of the highest temps under load, it is also the smallest and QUIETEST heat sinks out of the group. Running at 122F / 50C isn't all that unheard of, especially when you consider the amount of heat the CPU is generating, and this heat sink is next to silent! I bet running on a Duron you can get a lot lower temps since Duron's don't put out near the amount of heat as the Athlon's. Also this heat sink is the cheapest of the bunch, and for $22 I would consider it a good deal.

The OCZ Gladiator looked nice and was professionally machined. While the stock "36 CFM" Top Motor fan is pretty quiet (probably not really putting out 36CFM considering the temperature difference), if you want to upgrade to a Delta fan than you can probably slap an extra $10 on top of that already $30 price tag. At a combined $40, that puts the Gladiator as the most expensive heat sink of the bunch.

The Thermoengine is still a strong contender, running equal with the CAK38. One advantage the Thermoengine has is that it's aluminum which means it's a lot lighter and easier to handle. Also the Thermoengine is anodized so it won't oxidize over time unlike the copper heat sinks. I think the key to its great performance is the radical design and hollow core. The Thermoengine is actually about $10 cheaper with the stock fan, so if you have an extra Delta laying around then you could save yourself some money that way. Otherwise prepare to shell out about $38 for this baby, I think it's money well spent for the overclocker since you are getting top notch performance, but at a price.

The WBK38 costs about $10 less than the Thermoengine or the CAK38 but you are sacrificing some performance for the cost difference. While it does cool better than a Mini Copper Orb, it is a heck out a lot louder also since the WBK38 comes with the Delta fan. I guess that call will depend on if you want performance or silence.

So there it all is in a nutshell. You get prices, performance, and a little of my opinions to boot. I would like to thank GlobalWinUSA for the CAK38 & WBK38, Heatsink Factory for the Thermaltake Mini Copper Orb, AZZO for the Thermoengine, and Overclockerz for the Gladiator. Most of our sponsors stock all these coolers and lots more! (except for the Gladiator)

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