“Do you still remember those days when, say, 386DX or 486DX model digits, speed and all other numbers – the same for Motorola 68030 on the Mac – could be read off easily from the ceramic CPU package, any time during the operation?Well, that golden or rather green age ended with Intel’s 486DX2. From that point on, the combination of increased number of transistors, clock speed and die size obliterated any semiconductor process and low voltage benefits to rapidly increase the power requirement and resulting heat output on all PC-class CPUs, including the mobile ones. So, for the past two years, whether you’re with Intel or AMD, you knew you need to allocate at least 100W, and up to 170W now, for the top-end CPU. With that power, along come some extraordinary heat to remove.”
Here are some more Cases & Cooling reviews from around the web:
- Scythe Ninja Plus Rev. B: Updated Cooling Legend @ AnandTech
- Coolermaster X Craft 250 External Hard Drive Enclosure Review @ Madshrimps
- Noctua Chipset Cooler @ DH
- Antec P180B Performance One ATX Case Review @ Benchmark Reviews
- Enzotechnology Ultra-X reviewed @ BurnOutPC
- GTR Tech GT3 SFF PC @ HotHardware
- Thermaltake LANBOX Lite @ techPowerUp
- OCZ XTC Cooler @ 3dGameMan
- Gigabyte 3D Galaxy II Watercooling Review @ Technic3D
- Logisys PC Extension Station Review @ Bigbruin
- Scythe Ninja Rev.B @ PureOverclock
- Antec ILR LED Review @ TechwareLabs
- Ultra Products Grid Mid-Tower Case w/ 700 watt XVS Series PSU @ hi-techreviews
- Aerocool Zero Degree ATX Computer Case @ Legit Reviews
- Sunbeamtech UFO Acrylic Cube Case @ Pro-Clockers
- Ultra ChillTec Thermo Electric Cpu Cooler @ OCC
- OCZ Vindicator @ t-break
- ASUS Silent Knight Cooler @ Hardware Zone
- : NZXT Adamas Aluminum ATX Case Review @ Benchmark Reviews
- CoolIT PCI Cooling Booster Review @ Rbmods
- Ultra MicroFly MX6 Case w/ 600 Watt XVS PSU @ Modders-Inc
- SilverStone CFP51 Bay Converter Review @ XYZ Computing
- Enermax Uber Chakra Case @ Pro-Clockers
- Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro @ PureOverclock
- The Antec Nine Hundred Computer Case @ Legit Reviews
- Thermaltake Kandalf LCS Case Review @ OCC
So, a heat spreader isn’t good enough for you?!?

The Inquirer reminisces about the days before the the heatsink, when a heatspreader was all a CPU needed. Now we are placing 1lb blocks of copper on the CPU’s, and they are only getting hotter, especially with work on 3 dimensional processors. Find out what the future may hold.