Amidst all the confusion a radical new concept will every once in a while surface. The Thermal Buster from KWO GER Metal Technologies is one of those....

Thermal Buster Heatsink (KC01CISD) For AMD 1.1Ghz, PIII 1Ghz+ Measures: 51x52x44mm Materials: Al 6063-T5, Cu Total of 28 fins, offset by 1.14mm Thermal Resistance: 0.501 (C/W) Weight: 160 gm Thermal Pad by Furon 50x50mm 14CFM Fan 6500RPM 22-28Lb Clip Pressure

Of course the most popular means of improving heatsink performance is to throw copper into the mix somehow. Manufacturers like Alpha have been doing this on the base for quite some time now, and a few smaller companies have even gone so far as to build solid copper heatsinks - some with questionable success.

The simple addition of copper in the heatsink equation does not always magicaly guarantee favorable results. The Kaine Hedgehog is one example of an entirely solid copper heatsink which offers good performance. With lots of weight, and a soft bottom it is easily dented by the processors it cools.

For those companies which opt for large all-aluminum heatsinks there are obvious drawbacks.

The downside to extruding huge aluminum heatsinks is that at some point they just won't fit into a case. They can also become too large to even fit on the processors' socket. Already, many motherboard companies are having to move components away from the CPU socket to accommodate heatsinks which not only completely cover the entire processor, but also parts of the surrounding PCB.

Put one large capacitor too close and that jumbo heatsink will simply not fit. Not good.

In an effort to tackle both of these issues head on, a company called KWO GER Metal Technology Inc. debuted a new concept heatsink at COMDEX 2000 in Las Vegas.

The Thermal Buster (KC01CISD), employs a few tricks which give it the performance of much larger heatsinks, but with only a 50mm footprint, and weighing in at feathery 160 grams. Such a small footprint is becoming rare as processors spit-out increasing levels of heat.