"Andrew Smallshaw" observed:
> It's long been my suspicion that a lot of sinks sold to end users
> are designed with cosmetics (simply _looking_ impressive) in mind
> rather than actual efficiency.


That's the reality of retail sales - ya gotta offer what people
will buy, and they will buy what looks "good" or what looks
"technical". A lot of these modder sites are the archtype of
retail sales, many selling cottage industry stuff and stuff that
was "designed" by a marketer, not by an engineer. How
much does it take to "design" a heatsink? Well, you call
down to your local Guongdong extrusion rep and order
some aluminum extrusions drilled with a certain pattern,
and voilà! You're a heatsink designer.

Similarly, what sounds "good", and what sounds "technical",
is "keep the cooling air flow smooth", i.e. laminar. Say that
and voilà! You're an ATX PC computer cooling expert, and
you can have a website giving modder advice, and you can
post on Usenet.

*TimDaniels*