A Cool Bunch: How To Put A Lid On The Die Temperature Of Your Athlon

Valuable? Not Really: Tornado WIN-7528

At first glance, the WIN-7528 looks like your standard, plain-Jane aluminum cooler with an 80 fan. The fan is kept in place by means of a simple clip, making it a snap to upgrade fans. Standard fans with the proper dimensions are a perfect fit. The surfaces of the cooler have been cleanly processed - only the edges are a little sharp.

When you turn the cooler upside down, you'll be able to see your reflection in the golden, reflective contact surface.

And, as it turns out, the contact surface really is gold. Underneath this paper-thin layer of gold is a plate of copper that measures 38 x 58 x 2 millimeters, which is (probably) soldered to the aluminum heatsink. The sandwich is six millimeters thick. While the gold layer may make the cooler more expensive, it doesn't give much of a boost to its cooling capabilities.

A Morgan CPU will certainly feel much cozier under this golden boy than a Thunderbird or a Palomino.