X-bit labs

Big Typhoon Squared: Cooler Master GeminII Review

Category: Coolers

by Sergey Lepilov

[ 04/04/2007 | 03:05 PM ]

In this review we are going to test a new CPU cooler with 6 heat pipes used in its design. This Cooler Master product claims to leadership among all air coolers available in the market these days. Let’s find out how good this impressivesly-looking solution is from our new article.

Table of contents:

• Package and Accessories
  
• Design Features
  
• Recommended Fans
  
• Assembly and Installation Tips
  
• Specification
  
• Testbed and Methods
  
• Thermal Performance
  
• Conclusion
  

I will review and test a new cooler from Cooler Master today. It is called GeminII and the “II” stands for two identical fans which are a key feature of the product.

Frankly speaking, the idea to install two 120mm fans on a CPU cooler is not very new. You can recall Scythe’s Infinity and Ninja, for example. But those are tower-shaped coolers in which the large fans are placed in perpendicular to the mainboard plane. In the GeminII the fans are installed parallel to the mainboard and their airflow is directed downwards to its surface. And the cooler has also got a ingenious heatsink that I will examine shortly.

Package and Accessories

The new cooler comes in a cardboard box with an angular cut-out in one side through which you can see the heat pipes:

The sides of the box give you a lot of useful and not very useful info like a detailed specification with key features emphasized, a scheme of airflows, and a full list of supported CPUs (which could have easily been replaced with something like “All CPU types supported”):

Besides that, you can find an interesting diagram that claims the new cooler from Cooler Master to be 14°C more effective than the boxed Intel Core 2 Duo cooler.

The GeminII lies in a plastic tray that fits it perfectly:

This is both aesthetic and reliable at the same time. The following accessories are packed into a small separate box:

• Fastening frame for LGA775 mainboards
• Back-plate for Socket 939/AM2
• Assembly & installation guide written in several languages
• Fastening frame for Socket 939/AM2 mainboards
• Rubber pads, spacers and nuts with a key
• 8 screws
• Cooler Master thermal grease
• A couple of guides to fasten fans on the heatsink

Note that the GeminII comes without fans included.