What makes a heatsink better in general?
How well the base contacts with the cpu, how well heat is transferred to the fins on the heatsink, airflow through the heatsink, etc.
Lots of heatpipes can help, but by themselves they aren't an indicator of how a cooler is going to perform.
the best coolers are the noctua d-14 and the cogage arrow atm. Some of the cnpsx10 series actually perform ok, but they are loud coolers as you have learnt the hard way. The best medium sized coolers that wont affect ram compatibility are the venomous X/ultra 120 , noctua u12p and the titan fenrir.The good thing about gettin a venomous X is you can get your own fan with the DB rating you desire, they are also fairly cheap coolers.