Part of the reason is the deep-rooted belief that i could return the heatsink to him if he never needed it, even if i clearly cannot. The other part is just testing the waters to get a good view of the project and how id start it. Let me explain.

I can tell my friend that if he hands me the heatsink it wont be the same ever again, but he may subconsciously think that this item is still available to him and that he can get it back because i meet him every day. In contrast, a stranger who offers knows that it just isnt in their possession, actually or otherwise, and that there is no ulterior benefit to them. The whole dynamic is different so i just prefer to have both options open.

I would also like to know how easy it is to source the parts because the whole spirit of this little side-project is supposed to be fun, casual and thematic. If i have to pay 9 dollars for a brand new heatsink it just wont have the satire that a "$5 total water cooling loop" has. ideally i can just go to a dump and fish out a heatsink from the surface level, but if its convenient, id pay a tiny amount for a heatsink no one is using.