check this thing out
http://www.systemcooling.com/thermalright_xp120-01.html

didnt we dicide alumionum sux?

already posted by Putwig...

crikey thas a whopper - equals out with the hyper 6 thats for sure. Just goes to show how obsolete and unuseable air cooling is becoming.

Not a scientist here, but I'm pretty sure that aluminum doesn't conduct heat very well. Hence it's use as a foil for cooking.

Although a nOOb, if you have to go with a heatsink as opposed to H2O due to financial reasons, I think that copper would be the best bet (unless you want to tape my ex-fiance's heart to it...that would keep it pretty cold).

Rob

Aluminum is an excellent heatsink material ........... just not quite as good as copper.

In this case they are counting on the huge surface area for heat exchange, and the increased airflow of a 120MM fan making up for the lesser metal.

A copper version would cool better ........ but would cost $300 and weigh 30lbs.

You know, I wonder if this isn't just a prototype and if, when it's released, the actual thing won't be in copper. Going by this quote from the article:

"Even though it dwarfs the SP-94 in size, its primarily aluminum construction (the base and heat pipes are nickel plated copper) makes it feel feather-light, which it almost is, comparatively speaking, weighing in at almost 220 grams less than the SP-94."

The weight of a copper version would be approximately 871g, which, when compared to a Cooler Master Hyper 6's 1000g, isn't out of the question, especially since it'll sit closer to the motherboard. Also, considering the Hyper 6 can be had for $50 and includes the same number of heatpipes, I don't think the price of a copper XP-120 will be too bad.