The test results of the Core heatsink are less then favorable. For a heatsink which costs what this one does it should really offer a better performance level then it does. Even the might of the Delta fan cannot push the performance of this heatsink up any further then ninth place among our set of reference heatsinks.

The results from our tests on the large copper die template and small copper die template are consistent which would seem to indicate that there is a fundamental flaw in the heat transferring capabilities of the Core. The thermal energy being absorbed by the 15mm thick base may have something to do with this. Additionally, the separation between the holes is only 1mm, which may be insufficient for the heat to migrate towards the upper set of holes.

Conclusions:

There could be many reasons for the less than glowing results of the core as a heatsink. While it is one of the most unique and attractive designs to have surfaced in cooling in quite some time, its' performance is about 10-15 degrees less than what it should be for its price. The all copper Blizzard heatsinks are comparable in price and offer substantially better performance for dollar.

Bottom line is that "The Core" heatsink is more eye candy then it is a performance cooler. We'd really like to say different about this very well made heatsink, but unfortunately the test results just don't support it, which is a shame.