New Sandy Bridge enthusiast processors will launch without an included cooler.
The typical retail processor has come with an included cooler; generally machined from aluminium with the barest slug of copper, these reference heatsinks are typically avoided by enthusiasts for the simple fact that they're neither quiet nor exceptional at cooling.
So for their new enthusiast-focused line of LGA2011 processors, spiritual successors to the X58 platform, Intel have announced that their own poor heatsinks will not be included – potentially saving costs for the end user and saving on shipping costs for the manufacturer.
With news that the Core i7 3820, 3930K and 3960X processors feature a stock TDP of 130W but consume up to 180W (most likely with short bursts of Turbo Boost) this can only be a good thing as it encourages users to get themselves a decent cooling solution.
Intel will be offering a version of their reference heatsink through retail channels that is said to be compatible with the new range of LGA2011 processors, but we can't see it being a strong seller when there is so much worthy competition.
Issue: 137 | June, 2012