From the new LGA1156 aircooling tom's article:
"Also worth mentioning is that the top four contenders in today’s comparison did not use direct-contact heat pipes, but instead relied upon copper heat spreaders to interface the integrated heat spreader of our CPU."
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/lga-1156-heatsink,2535.html
I've always had a sneaking suspision from the bowels of my thermal dynamic intuitions, that regardless of how well engineered, direct contact has less actual contact with the chip compared to heat spreaders. No amount of rationalization can overcome the need for contact to transfer heat. I've always felt that I was stupid and counldn't make a case that would go against the status quo of heatpipe contact preference, but these sort of results bolster my gut feelings. Now, I know that Tom's isn't a dedicated HSF website, and thus the conclusions drawn by this one article won't be as credible those which are more thorough and dedicated to HSF review. Regardless, I think it is worth some discussion amongst those with experience.
"Also worth mentioning is that the top four contenders in today’s comparison did not use direct-contact heat pipes, but instead relied upon copper heat spreaders to interface the integrated heat spreader of our CPU."
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/lga-1156-heatsink,2535.html
I've always had a sneaking suspision from the bowels of my thermal dynamic intuitions, that regardless of how well engineered, direct contact has less actual contact with the chip compared to heat spreaders. No amount of rationalization can overcome the need for contact to transfer heat. I've always felt that I was stupid and counldn't make a case that would go against the status quo of heatpipe contact preference, but these sort of results bolster my gut feelings. Now, I know that Tom's isn't a dedicated HSF website, and thus the conclusions drawn by this one article won't be as credible those which are more thorough and dedicated to HSF review. Regardless, I think it is worth some discussion amongst those with experience.