4850 Stock cooler is actually aluminium

[kylew]

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.

 

[kylew]

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.

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

 

[kylew]

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?

 

[kylew]

no, it's not. Look around the screw holes.

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.

 

[kylew]

does it really matter ? lol

I think it matters because it suddenly seems even more impressive considering the clocks people are getting on stock coolers.

With a nice copper heatsink/water block they really could (and seemingly do) go far.

 

[kylew]

Can tell by the colour, the Cooler up top is 100% Copper, the other is too light to be Copper

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.