360° View - Thermolab Trinity Heatsink Information on Frostytech's test methodology is available here.
The 130mm PWM fan spins at 1800-600RPM and draws power from a standard 4-pin PWM motherboard fan header. The four copper heatpipes are 6mm in diameter and are the sintered metal wicks type. The heatpipes are spaced 90mm and 60mm on center through the 103mm tower of aluminum fins. Each aluminum fin is 0.3mm thick and spaced ~2.0mm apart. Note the four rubber fan mounting posts permanently fixed into the fins of the heatsink.
Note how the body of the Trinity heatsink is shifted backwards? The heatsink stands 149mm tall, the bottom-most fin is 37mm above the CPU socket for clearance of adjacent motherboard components. Exposed heat pipes are positioned side to side where they can make direct contact with the processor. The base incorporates a 12mm thick aluminum section to provide support for the heatpipes and brackets.
The base of the Trinity heatsink measures 36x43m in size and features four exposed heatpipes. The fins measure 136x59mm in size.

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 base of the Thermolab Trinity heatsink has a surface roughness of approximately 8 microinches, which is considered excellent. The base is machined flat in both axis and smooth; copper and aluminum parts are completely flush.

Frostytech will measure the sound output from this heatsink at full and minimum fan settings...