360° View - Thermaltake Contac 29 Heatsink Information on Frostytech's test methodology is available here.
The 120mm PWM fan with the orange impeller spins at 800-2000RPM and draws power from a standard 4-pin PWM motherboard fan header. It is backwards compatible with 3-pin connectors. The three copper heatpipes are 8mm in diameter and extend up through a 116mm tall fin array. Each aluminum fin measures 0.3mm thick and is spaced 1.8mm from the next. Rubber posts help stop fan vibrations from being transmitted to the rest of the heatsink.
The Thermaltake Contac 29 heatsink stands 160mm tall, with the bottom-most fin elevated 36mm above the CPU for clearance. The heat pipes are positioned side by side where they make direct contact with the processor. The base incorporates a 14.5mm thick aluminum section to provide support for clamping brackets.
The base measures 40.5x35mm in size, each 8mm diameter copper heatpipe has been swaged into the aluminum base block and the surfaces made flush by a light sanding. Surface roughness is on the order of ~32 microinches, which is considered good. From the top down the serrated edges are visible on the leading and trailing edges of each 120x50mm aluminum fin. There is a 4mm plenum behind the fan which is connected via rubber mounts to the body of the Contac 29 heatsink.

Base Finish and Flatness

Flipping a heatsink over to inspect the business end is often a simple indicator of overall cooler quality. More practically speaking, a heatsink is in many ways only as effective as the contact it makes with the processor - the flatter and smoother the better. Base finish is one of the criteria that Frostytech measure in the course of evaluating heatsinks, and it involves two distinct aspects. Surface Finish is the first; this is calculated with the aid of Surface Roughness Comparator that has a cross section of common machine surface finishes and their numerical surface roughness equivalents in microinches. The second is Surface Flatness. This is tested with an engineers straight edge or proven flat surface, in two axis.

The Thermaltake Contac 29 heatsink has a surface roughness of approximately 32 microinches, which is considered good. The base itself has a smooth sanded finish and is flat in both axis. The copper and aluminum parts were flush on the unit Frostytech tested.