The heatsync your using is aluminum, I've always prefered copper for it's superior transfer of heat... I'm also not a big fan of the heat pipe models, there's something satisfying about a solid block of copper sitting on your cpu, fins of the heatsync right there...

of course, I'm not an engineer either, so maybe it's just my preference.

Edit: It's nickle plated copper...

http://www.engineersedge.com/properties_of_metals.htm

According to this chart Nickle is rated at 52.4 btu / (hr - ft - f) and Copper is 231 btu / (hr - ft - f)... Had they left the copper block uncoated and the pipes uncoated this may rock as long as it' mounts well (reading the reviews many users had mounting difficulties).