First Impressions:
At a quick glance, the Gladiator 3 looks very similar to the Gladiator 2. Both blocks of copper look very similar, except that the Gladiator 3 has 40 fins compared to the Gladiator 2s 54 fins. The fins however, are higher on the Gladiator 3. However, the base of the Gladiator 3 is much thicker than that of the Gladiator 2. As well, you can see the construction is much nicer on the later generation Gladiator. The surface is much cleaner and better cut. In both images below, the Gladiator 2 is on the left and the Gladiator 3 is on the right.
The fan attached to the heat sink is a tri led clear fan. It puts out quite a decent amount of air. I can’t seem to find the specifications for this fan. However, it is fairly quiet for the amount of air that it moves. One thing I didn’t like about the fan though is the use of scotch tape to keep from touching the EL component of the fan. Personally I find it looks kind of cheap. I would prefer paying a couple of dollars more to have it look better. Remember, this heat sink was designed for enthusiasts.
The clip is a three pronged clip as seen on most new heat sinks. However, there is a tiny indentation on the front side of the clip where a flat head screw driver would fit perfectly in. This helps keep your screw driver from slipping, so to not damage your motherboard if you accidentally do so.
