Both the Alpha and the Swiftech are made up of copper and aluminum. In the Alpha there is a copper insert in the base that is touching the CPU, this copper insert is attached to the surrounding aluminum by a process called cold forging. Swiftech on the other hand has made a purely copper base with aluminum pins. The Alpha uses a more active form of cooling to keep the temperatures down requiring a larger fan, the Swiftech on the other hand makes use of its large mass in holding a lot of the heat from the CPU and letting it out through the pins with a smaller fan.