What differentiates a cheap heatsink from a costly one?

firstrig

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Dec 17, 2013
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Let's just consider two heat sinks for instance. The Thermalright Venomous X and the Thermalright 120 extreme are both priced differently. What objective parameters are being considered while justifying the cost for each one?

Generally speaking, most heat sinks have an equal number of heat pipes, fins and dimensions unless otherwise mentioned. How can I, as a customer, differentiate the good from the bad?
 
Solution


The Venoumous line came with the plastic fan housing which made it much easier to install the fan, vs using the fan wire clips, but most of the line also comes with the clips as well so a 2nd fan can be used.

http://www.performance-pcs.com/cata...oduct_info&cPath=46_557_778&products_id=34243

The...


The Venoumous line came with the plastic fan housing which made it much easier to install the fan, vs using the fan wire clips, but most of the line also comes with the clips as well so a 2nd fan can be used.

http://www.performance-pcs.com/cata...oduct_info&cPath=46_557_778&products_id=34243

The original TRUE did not even come with a fan at all, just the fan clips, because the TRUE was the original passive cooler meaning it could be run without a fan, and even hold a moderate overclock with just case airflow.

http://www.performance-pcs.com/cata...oduct_info&cPath=46_450_504&products_id=26116 (Lacks an 1155,1156,or 2011, mounting for this model)

Most that were after the TRUE had full intentions of using their own fans anyway, to get the maximum overclock cooling possible from it, I personally ran it with 110cfm Scythe Slipstream 120mm cooling fans and it's performance with those fans outperformed the Noctua NH-D14.

So the price difference justifications are what actually comes with the heat sink itself, as they are both identical heat sinks.

 
Solution