Since correction of this bodes well for users considering this or any cooler, I thought it important to clear up a bit of misconception that seems to be running amok in this thread.
Believe some of the logic is failing when assuming that the word "heatsink" applies only to those devices touching an actual processor. As pointed out far earlier in this post, a heatsink is any device that aids in dissipating heat from any given source. In this case, the source which a few seem to be speaking of is the case itself, including the ambient air within said case. The cooling of case does in fact lead to the cooling of the ambient air surrounding all the components - even if only by a few degrees, or so. Is the temperature of the ambient air important? Of course it is. Any novice PC enthusiast has safely learned this truth. And those few degrees difference can be quite vital to a healthy system.
Case in point - Athlon Xp mobile processors. For the uninitiated, Athlon Xp chips are available in a wide variety of wattages (25W, 35W, etc), where the price of said processors is inversely proportional to the wattage. Belive the logic is apparant that there are certainly cost benefits of say the ability to operate a higher clock speed 35W processor in an original system with a lower clock speed 25W processor. Heat, however, becomes an issue of course. This is where all the "little" changes made in hopes of system wide temperature reduction come into play - using a very high quality thermal paste between the processor heatsink and the processor itself, constructing/modifying a "better" hsf than those typically included in preassembled laptops, modifying the laptop case to provide better airflow, and yes, use of a laptop cooler device made of a well conducting material (with or without the addition of fans included with said cooler device) to aid in dissipating (in this example, drawing away. which yes, is most always far better) away from the case thereby reducing the ambient air inside - again, if only by a few degrees.
In short, if design considerations are foregone, better conducting material based coolers will always function better than those made of lower conducting materials. I think that is the sage point a few have attempted to make.
Do hope this helps.
Believe some of the logic is failing when assuming that the word "heatsink" applies only to those devices touching an actual processor. As pointed out far earlier in this post, a heatsink is any device that aids in dissipating heat from any given source. In this case, the source which a few seem to be speaking of is the case itself, including the ambient air within said case. The cooling of case does in fact lead to the cooling of the ambient air surrounding all the components - even if only by a few degrees, or so. Is the temperature of the ambient air important? Of course it is. Any novice PC enthusiast has safely learned this truth. And those few degrees difference can be quite vital to a healthy system.
Case in point - Athlon Xp mobile processors. For the uninitiated, Athlon Xp chips are available in a wide variety of wattages (25W, 35W, etc), where the price of said processors is inversely proportional to the wattage. Belive the logic is apparant that there are certainly cost benefits of say the ability to operate a higher clock speed 35W processor in an original system with a lower clock speed 25W processor. Heat, however, becomes an issue of course. This is where all the "little" changes made in hopes of system wide temperature reduction come into play - using a very high quality thermal paste between the processor heatsink and the processor itself, constructing/modifying a "better" hsf than those typically included in preassembled laptops, modifying the laptop case to provide better airflow, and yes, use of a laptop cooler device made of a well conducting material (with or without the addition of fans included with said cooler device) to aid in dissipating (in this example, drawing away. which yes, is most always far better) away from the case thereby reducing the ambient air inside - again, if only by a few degrees.
In short, if design considerations are foregone, better conducting material based coolers will always function better than those made of lower conducting materials. I think that is the sage point a few have attempted to make.
Do hope this helps.