Oh what a difference 45nm makes

Today I started to assemble my upgraded PC with a new Core 2 Duo E8500 3.1GHz CPU. When I took the processor out of the box I noticed something really strange about the heatsink compared to the one from the E6550 I put in my media center only a couple of months ago.

Core2 Duo Heatsink (side)

Core2 Duo Heatsink (base)

On the left is the heatsink and fan from the 65nm E6550 Conroe-core CPU which runs at 2.4GHz. On the right is the one for the 45nm E8500 Wolfdale-core CPU which runs at 3.1GHz.

All I can say is that the E6550 obviously needed a much more heavy duty heatsink as its twice the height, more than twice the weight and incorporates a copper core whereas the new heatsink is pure aluminum... cheaper but not as conductive.