Thermalright is a name that consistently appears on best heatsink lists all over the web. They’re not cheap, and they make some of the best heatsinks around — including several that have spent time on SPCR’s recommended list. In fact, the Thermalright Ultra-120 is currently one of the top-performing heatsinks we know of. It’s so good that we have to wonder: Why bother selling any other models? The answer is every product has a finite life cycle, and new products are needed for every company to maintain or grow sales.

Most current Core 2 Duo chips run cool enough that just about any heatsink will do. That’s great for users; less heat means less noise and smaller, less expensive heatsinks. It’s not so good for manufacturers like Thermalright though. Why buy a US$50 heatsink when the stock heatsink will do the job just as effectively — and just as quietly — without shelling out any extra cash?

In these market conditions, it’s not so easy to figure out where the market for the SI-128 lies. The SI-128 costs US$50 — without a fan — but it’s smaller than the Ultra-120 and is unlikely to match it in performance. Fortunately for Thermalright, there’s one market sector that has a use for small heatsinks: The home theater market. Chances, it will be here that the SI-128 has the best chance of success.