I still remember my old Intel 486 DX2-66 which had a tiny gold anodized el cheapo heat sink, similar to today's 'ramsink'. It did its job perfectly well at that time. But since then, bigger heat sinks made of aluminum, copper or even silver have made it to the market.

Silver heat sinks are extremely rare because of the obvious cost. I've yet to see a heat sink made entirely of silver. If you have seen one on sale, please do post a comment in the forums! Many high-end heat sinks these days are made of copper.

On another front, Thermalright have proven that sometimes size isn't all that matters. Their heat sink is not a big heat sink by current standards but it cools really well.

Akasa is a relatively unknown company,