SPCR

Can't say that spacing isn't sexy. Too bad it performance was sub-par.

Thanks for the review, interesting stuff. Can you clarify in the passive test section, you write:

For our passive test...
...the horizontal orientation of our test platform.

Does that mean the motherboard was oriented in the horizontal plane? i.e. table top

if so, then I wonder if that hampered the performance of the passive operation becuase there the natural convection currents would be blocked entirely. Instinctively it looks as though these collers must be mounted with spaces between the fins running vertically (either at the optimal 0°like Silverstone's Raven/FT02/FT03, or rotated 90° in a case with the PSU at the bottom and an opening in the top panel)

If the coolers were mounted optimally for passive operation then the results are dissapointing. Perhaps the LGA1366 is just too much even with 4 cores? It would be more interesting in this case to see HR02 vs HE02 (and others) in a passive colling comparison of 45W, 65W, 77W and 95W CPUs.

As attractive a fanless cpu cooler may be, throwing in a smaller cheaper cooler with a low rpm fan is a much better option.
I don't like the fact that this coolers have a concave base. Has there ever been a good cpu cooler with such a property?

This cooler stretches the meaning of "asymmetrical", which is neat.

Enzo_FX wrote:if so, then I wonder if that hampered the performance of the passive operation becuase there the natural convection currents would be blocked entirely

That doesn't change a thing. The cooler doesn't sufficiently work without a forced airstream, so convection is not the problem here. If it were, we should see a whole lot of different radiator designs for heating houses or rooms.