OCZ Gladiator II Copper Skive Heatsink Review

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Reviewing heatsinks that we have seen come out for retail sale under at least three different brand names is always an interesting affair. OCZ call this little copper cooler the Gladiator II; Dynatron and CoolJag call it something else. In any case, the Gladiator II is made by the latter and sold by the former for a pretty inexpensive price all things considered.

When we first reviewed Dynatron's microfin skive heatsinks they garnered a heck of a lot of interest. Subsequently the skive heatsink has come to represent good cooling performance without breaking the bank. The process is well suited to pumping out heatsinks as quick as the fins can be drawn up from the copper bar stock, and the thermal performance is usually very good for the size.

The downside to almost all skive heatsinks is that they collect dust easily. The sharply pointed fins are spaced less than a millimeter apart on this heatsink and in effect become little air filters underneath the whirling 6800RPM fan that whines away like a tornado. Regular cleaning should keep things in tip top shape though.

	Heatsink Specsheet: Model: Gladiator II Fan: 6800RPM, 37 CFM, 12V, 5W Fan Dim: 25x60x60mm Heatsink Dim: 60x62x63mm HS Material: C1020 Copper Weight: 435 grams Sold By: www.ocztechnology.com

Wondering about these Skived Copper fins we speak of? Well the manufacturing process goes something analogous to a chisel cutting into a piece of wood. The difference is that the cuts are much more controlled and result in straight bits of metal (the skived fins) standing upright.

After removing the aluminum shroud we were able to take a first hand look at these fins. Each fin has a smooth side, and a rough side. The tips of the fins come to a knife edge, and unlike what you might expect from copper are nice and stiff - due to work hardening.

There are on the order of 60 fins cut from the 60mm x 60mm copper base, and each fin stands ~21mm tall.