a better heat sink?

[vishnuvardhan33]

Aluminum has the ability to absorb heat faster than copper, and when removed from the heat source, will cool faster because it is less dense than copper. so, if aluminum is coated for 2mm on a full copper heat sink, then the copper transfers heat to aluminum and aluminum dissipates the heat into air. reason why copper is inside: because it transfers heat faster than aluminum. reason why aluminum is coated: because it can dissipate heat into air faster than copper. Just an imagined theory didn't find this idea anywhere on the internet.

[WhitetailAni]

So a heat pipe?

 

Also, fins have to be thin to cool well. If you have a 2mm layer of aluminum on top of a 2mm layer of copper (hypothetical), that's a 6mm-thick fin. It might work well for passive but not very well for a fin stack + fan style cooler.

[vishnuvardhan33]

can make it 0.5 or 1mm

 

[SupaKomputa]

Using alum is cheaper, plain and simple, you can find all copper heatsinks at much higher price.

[mariushm]

Copper is also heavier, so making an air cooler all out of copper could break the socket due to weight.

We have copper heatpipes and aluminum fins on the copper heatpipes to spread the heat over bigger area..

 

[RAS_3885]

What? Copper is more thermally conductive full stop.

 

Copper is 401 W/mK

Aluminum is 237 W/mK

 

Plating adds layers, which decreases efficiency.

 

There's also overall thermal mass and fin design that will play into how well a cooler performs. All things being equal copper is superior for cooling performance.

[tkitch]

Even if your idea is correct, you're talking about a design that'll cost an arm and two legs to build.

 

A tower design like the Hyper 212 / Noctua NH-D12/15 is way better, and actually practical.