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4850 Stock cooler is actually aluminium

kylew

kylew

kylew

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Has anyone noticed the 4850 stock coolers are actually made from copper coloured aluminium?

I got my power colour 4850s today and noticed it didn't actually look like copper, so scratched it a bit where the VRM heatsink is, and the copper colour came off, revealing aluminium underneath.

Is this just a power colour thing, or are the rest of them like this? I say this because the reviews I've read state that the heatsink is copper. :confused:
 
gurusan said:
i noticed this too, and I have a HIS. At first glance it looks like copper but then you look again and it looks like paint, also it's faar to light to be copper.
Click to expand...

I was a bit dissappointed at first, but then now I'm kinda impressed considering the crazy clocks you've been getting on the stock cooler :D
 
Hardware Canucks - Sapphire Radeon HD4850 512MB Review said:
"The underside of the HD4850 heatsink looks much like any other heatsink we have come across other than the fact that it is completely made out of copper"
Click to expand...
Hmmm dunno? It certainly looks like copper?

But cools like aluminium! ;)
 
Copper my ass, you can see when you take it off along the sides that it's been melted together, looks more like plastic and doesn't sound like copper when you tap it.
 
Big.Wayne, that picture is 100% copper, really weird, there must be two heatsinks in use or something. Or maybe the more expensive brands use copper ones maybe?
 
I read somewhere that only the core contact area is made of copper, with the rest actually made of aluminium with a copper colouring over the top. As mentioned, the screw holes give it away, as they are silver.

One other thing, the core area actually contains a vapour chamber, much like a heatpipe. You can actually see a seal/nipple to the right.
 
This is what one of mine looks like.

When I can be bothered going up stairs to get it Ill get a knife and give it a good doing over.


SS101202a.jpg



SS101204a.jpg



SS101205a.jpg
 
gurusan said:
no, it's not. Look around the screw holes.
Click to expand...

So maybe some are copper plating them, and some are just painted 'copper colour'. Intersting that they're using a 'heat lump' too.

That's what the sapphire toxic 3870s used right? That would explain the great performance even though it's single slot and aluminum.
 
helmutcheese said:
Can tell by the colour, the Cooler up top is 100% Copper, the other is too light to be Copper
Click to expand...

I thought the same, but gurusan pointed out that the screw holes on the heatsink are the colour of aluminium.

So they must either be copper plated aluminium, or the screws are soft and have worn a bit in the holes leaving the colour behind.

It's more likely to be the first though in my opinion.
 
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