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So what can one conclude from the hard data? The CAK-38, SK6 and CNPS 5000 Plus are all widely considered to be performance heatsink/fan units and this is definitely reaffirmed from the results presented. The relatively unknown Blizzard S370 falls into this category as well, judging by the °C/W values.It is largely a matter of taste and price in this category, seeing that the difference in performance between the worst and the best contender in stock configurations is only 0.03°C/W and 0.05°C/W when the playing field is leveled with the Delta 7000 RPM fan. The Duron 800 running at 954MHz (1.8v) generates a thermal load of 53.43W, roughly the equivalent of a Thunderbird 1.1GHz. Under this condition, 0.03°C/W would translate into a temperature difference of only 1.6°C, and 0.05°C/W only 2.6°C, hardly monumental figures.
On the other hand, the Mini Copper Orb and Spire 5P53B3 are not meant to compete with the big boys, but rather positioned to be more "economical" coolers. While lagging behind the top performers by a fair margin, they are by no means junk. The Mini Copper Orb is probably one of the lowest priced heatsink/fan units with copper in it, delivering acceptable performance while managing to look different. The Spire 5P53B3 also looks good with all that shiny copper, but the price/performance issue remains to be seen. We would like to reiterate that ultimately, it is the °C/W value of a HSF that should be used as a purchasing guide. A 0.03°C/W difference in performance would hardly mean anything on a stock Duron 800, which exerts a thermal load of 35.4W (giving a 1°C temperature difference). Please don't just simply pick the HSF that scored the best. Rather, sit down and take in consideration all the features (aesthetics, noise, availability, etc.) of these coolers and match them to your own specific needs. Overall, all manufacturers are catching up to each other; you can only achieve so much with air cooling. Even assuming a °C/W of 0.2, this means that a 1.4GHz Thunderbird would still be 14.4°C above intake air temperature! Still, the Thermalright SK6 gets the gold, slight performance delta not withstanding. That said, we doubt that you would be disappointed with any of these products.
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