Remember the golden days when microprocessors did not require high performance coolers? The lower clock speeds and simpler architectures, at least for the most part, produced reasonable heat that could be dealt with by quiet stock coolers. Now, if we were to focus our attention on air-cooling for enthusiasts, designs for air coolers have also changed drastically over the years. Thankfully, as microprocessor clock speeds soared passed 1.00GHz to 2.00GHz and then to 3.00GHz (Intel only), cooling manufacturers such as Thermaltake, Cooler Master and Thermalright have kept up with market standards and necessary requirements. How were these changes tackled? Air coolers (heatsinks) started to gain more copper throughout their structure. We also saw heatpipes and stacked copper fin technologies being implemented into various high-end models, but soon after that everything just paused.

The Future of Air-Cooling