COOLER MASTER GeminII $13AR

[annaconda]

Link (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103026)

Thanx to the OP who previously posted. :D

[matrix563]

yeah that was me. still out of stock though :(

[[H]'er]

nice...I'll look for anandtech's review for it in a sec...it didn't score all that well.

[[H]'er]

http://www.anandtech.com/showdoc.aspx?i=2978&p=9

[matrix563]

it scored well enough. 100mhz difference is not that bad

[annaconda]

'er;1031186518"]nice...I'll look for anandtech's review for it in a sec...it didn't score all that well.

Who cares about anandtech. All we care about is HARD reviews, 100 mhz is notthing it depends on the environment room temperature, or could be dum reviewer ( which is the possibility @ anandtech) :D

[[H]'er]

I wasn't saying it was bad...but didn't it test as well as the $20 coolers?

Where is the [H] review?

[annaconda]

'er;1031186671"]I wasn't saying it was bad...but didn't it test as well as the $20 coolers?

Where is the [H] review?

lol, i was joking man. I mean i care about Hard Review, i know there is none for the Geminni.

[matrix563]

3850 vs. 3960. 110 mhz difference.

The Cooler Master GeminII with the best of the dual fan configurations reached 3.85GHz in the overclocking test. This was below the top coolers evaluated so far, which generally reached 3.90GHz to 3.94GHz with the same CPU and configuration.

hardly shabby at all :p LOL :D

[MrSuge]

my brother has one. not much difference between the tuniq and the geminII. I mean yeah there's like 2-3 degrees but if you get some nice fans it'll be pretty much the same + it'll cool the memory and north bridge. plus it looks NICE!!!

For $13AR this was a steal. Mines supposedly being delivered tomorrow.

[annaconda]

Mine shipped already. I will check it out after work.

[holli4pirating]

Mine shipped as well, but it won't be here till Wed and I don't think it's gonna go in till I get my 8800GTX which has not yet shipped...

But when it does go in, I'll let you all know how it holds up.

As for the above linked review, the top OC was with a TEC cooler, the second highest was the Ultra 120 Extreme which is quite a bit more expensive (5x with the sale price). After those two, it was only 50 mhz behind the third, the Tower 120. And they never put two high flow fans on the Geminii either, so I have a feeling it has some more performance in it.

Considering price and performance, no questions asked, it was a good buy.

[DanNeely]

delete.

[DanNeely]

Grumble. Newegg's dyynamic pricing system's kicked it upto $20 after rebate.

Is this compatable with either of my mobos?
DFI Lan Party NF4-d
Abit AN8-Ultra

[matrix563]

Grumble. Newegg's dyynamic pricing system's kicked it upto $20 after rebate.

Is this compatable with either of my mobos?
DFI Lan Party NF4-d
Abit AN8-Ultra

ah its probably my fault. i asked them earlier if i could buy it and they just ship it when it comes in stock :D. whoops ;)

[DanNeely]

EDIT: How do I delete posts. The edit/delete button is only letting me do the former.

[holli4pirating]

@Dan
1. You can't delete posts, you can only edit.
2. If you have the Ultra-d, then yes; I saw a review where it was mounted on an Ultra D. The length of the hs goes up/down over the mb (from psu to vid card in a normal setup).

[DriveEuro]

Well this sucks....

Purchase Cooler Master GeminII with receipt dated between 06/21/2007 and 07/01/2007.


Out of Stock (ETA:07/10/2007)

[matrix563]

Well this sucks....

i know :(

[DanNeely]

delete.

@Dan
1. You can't delete posts, you can only edit.


Under normal circumstances I'd be complaining that if regular users didn't have a delete ability we shouldn't see the option on the UI, but for the moment it seems there're more serious issues to resolve.

[annaconda]

I got mine last night and it is freakin huge. :D

[holli4pirating]

mmmmmmmm I love huge heatsinks. I can't wait till mine comes. But what am I ever going to do with that xp-120...it's so small (LOL)

[Overgloc]

Sorry cheap cameraphone

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g100/overgloc/06122007005.jpg
http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g100/overgloc/06122007006.jpg

[annaconda]

Not bad for Camera Phone.

[jebo_4jc]

Looks good. And I love the fact that it helps cool the RAM and NB

Too bad it runs 15c hotter than the Ultra 120 extreme or I'd totally buy one. The perfectionist in me just wont let me buy it!

[matrix563]

oh its back in stock! should i do it? :D

[bartsimsonii]

Looks good. And I love the fact that it helps cool the RAM and NB

Too bad it runs 15c hotter than the Ultra 120 extreme or I'd totally buy one. The perfectionist in me just wont let me buy it!

15C hotter? Yea right.

[matt fury]

$20AR now..

[Apallohadas]

You know the fans you choose make a big difference right? Just something to think about.

[TED]

I see that one issue this mother of a heatsink has is that it only bolts onto the motherboard, causing the board to bend or break in extreme situations. Isn't there a way to bolt it to the motherboard tray like p4 Xeons?

[DriveEuro]

Bolt ons will give you the best pressure and reliability.

I've owned Prestonia Xeons and those clip on heatsinks sucked. You actually like them?

[TED]

the xeons that i have bolt onto the motherboard tray. the standard copper hunks.

[jebo_4jc]

15C hotter? Yea right.I don't make stuff up. Don't take my word for it: http://www.anandtech.com/showdoc.aspx?i=2978&p=6
Check out the load temps at 3.83GHz

Ultra 120 Extreme: 43c
Gemini: 58c

The numbers speak for themselves.

Not to say the Gemini isn't a good cooler. (It is 15c cooler than the Intel stock cooler). It's just that there are better coolers out there that will give you a 26% better temperature.

You know the fans you choose make a big difference right? Just something to think about.

Definitely. However, using the same fans so the playing field is equal, Anandtech found the Ultra 120 is much better. Just saying :)

However, the Gemini is probably better for your components as a whole, since it blows down on the mobo and RAM etc, helping keep it all cool. I've never been a huge fan of the side-blowing coolers, but their cooling performance seemingly can't be beat.

[annaconda]

Does any one have link to the last rebate form ? please post it.

[TED]

How does this cooler compare to other $20 coolers? that should be the main question in this thread I think. I mean I would love to get the thermaltake 120 ultra or whatever but it costs ~$60.. 3 times more than this one at the moment.

edit, link (http://images10.newegg.com/uploadfilesfornewegg/rebate/SH/COOLERMASTER35-103-026Jun21Jul0107lh15.pdf)

[DriveEuro]

Does any one have link to the last rebate form ? please post it.

http://images10.newegg.com/uploadfilesfornewegg/rebate/SH/COOLERMASTER35-103-026Jun21Jul0107lh15.pdf

This one?

[annaconda]

http://images10.newegg.com/uploadfilesfornewegg/rebate/SH/COOLERMASTER35-103-026Jun21Jul0107lh15.pdf

This one?

So the rebate is same, the only thing change is the price.

[jebo_4jc]

How does this cooler compare to other $20 coolers? that should be the main question in this thread I think. I mean I would love to get the thermaltake 120 ultra or whatever but it costs ~$60.. 3 times more than this one at the moment.

edit, link (http://images10.newegg.com/uploadfilesfornewegg/rebate/SH/COOLERMASTER35-103-026Jun21Jul0107lh15.pdf)Off the top of my head, with no empirical evidence to back me up, I'd guess this cooler will kick the crap out of most/all $20 coolers.

[holli4pirating]

I just got my Geminii and even though I was going to wait till my new vid card arrived to install it...well I couldn't wait.

I threw it onto my Opty 165 and I'm currently running Orthos at 2792 with a core volatge of 1.38 as shown by Everest and MBM and CPU-Z shows 1.375. I've currently got one 120 mm fan (don't have the specs, sorry) sucking air up through the heatsink right over the core and another 80mm fan blowing air down through the rest of the fins (fins go from the 80mm's cage to about its center).

So what's the CPU temp? With an ambient temp of 88F (Rochester heat wave, no A/C), the CPU is at 44C (goes between 43, 44, 45) as shown by Everest and MBM. And this is right after installation, so the AS5 isn't even fully cured yet. I've gotta say, I'm pretty impressed so far. I'll have to see what it does when I up the voltage one more notch.

As far as a comparison, before the Geminii I had an XP-120, and it loaded into the low 50's in the winter, so it seems the Geminii is doing better even though it has higher ambient temps.

[DriveEuro]

So what's the CPU temp? With an ambient temp of 88F (Rochester heat wave, no A/C), the CPU is at 44C (goes between 43, 44, 45) as shown by Everest and MBM. And this is right after installation, so the AS5 isn't even fully cured yet. I've gotta say, I'm pretty impressed so far. I'll have to see what it does when I up the voltage one more notch.

That's 109F - 113F. So you're seeing about a 30F increase in temps... Not really all that bad considering you're just running one 120mm on it.

[annaconda]

There is no air cooler out there that can be this good in $13 price range.

[DriveEuro]

It's $20 now...

[Lupine]

Mine arrived today. Holy crap its big - pics don't do it justice. :eek:

[Apallohadas]

Lol, once I reinstall XP 32 bit, I'll post pics that I took. I took one with the cooler beside my daughter and the thing is massive.

[[H]'er]

There is no air cooler out there that can be this good in $13 price range.

That is true...there is NO air cooler out there that is this good for $13...being this is a $20

[pants55]

Well, I got mine yesterday and installed it. I've been interested in lapping my e6600 so I did that as well and the results I got were amazing!

I used to get idle temps of about 40-41C and load of 58-59C. This was with the Intel stock with the TIM from that.

After lapping and installing the GeminII (which is a pain, btw) with some AS5 I am getting idle of ~30C and loads of 40C. I checked from work and i'm getting a load temp of 39 now so the AS5 is settling. Awesome!

[Lupine]

Well, I got mine yesterday and installed it. I've been interested in lapping my e6600 so I did that as well and the results I got were amazing!

I used to get idle temps of about 40-41C and load of 58-59C. This was with the Intel stock with the TIM from that.

After lapping and installing the GeminII (which is a pain, btw) with some AS5 I am getting idle of ~30C and loads of 40C. I checked from work and i'm getting a load temp of 39 now so the AS5 is settling. Awesome!
Is it possible to access the ram slots w/ the GeminII installed?

Also, what process did you follow for lapping? Thinking I might give that a shot as well.

[Apallohadas]

'er;1031198909"]That is true...there is NO air cooler out there that is this good for $13...being this is a $20

It was $13 when the deal was posted. You must have missed that in sarcasm school...

[pants55]

Is it possible to access the ram slots w/ the GeminII installed?

Also, what process did you follow for lapping? Thinking I might give that a shot as well.

The ram slots aren't very accessable. I installed the ram before the heatsink and didn't have any problems.

For lapping I tried to get some 400 and 800 grit paper but all I could find was 220 and 600. I went to Lowes and a local auto repair place, neither had a great selection. I wrapped the sheet of sandpaper around a piece of glass and the placed that on this silicone trivet so it wouldn't slip around, usually i use them as hot pads or to hold a cutting board in place. Anyway, i removed any TIM material with some 90% rubbing alcohol and q-tips first. Then I scraped the processor over the 220 grit until there was just copper showing. I used the original black cover for the back of the chip so nothing got into the contacts. I rubbed the processor in one spot for about 30 seconds, pick a new spot on the paper, turn the processor 90 degrees and then start rubbing again. After the IHS was all copper I started using the 600 grit paper. it only took about 20-25 minutes total to get an even finish. This wasn't at all a mirror finish. I used a bunch of q-tips to clean all of the metal bits off the processor, basically i kept cleaning until the q-tips came off the copper mostly clean. I didn't bother lapping the heatsink. i'm quite happy. :D

[Lupine]

thanks for the feedback pants. :cool:

Regarding ram access, which way did you orient the cooler? I've seen reviews with it installed both horizontally and vertically. Depending on the mobo, its possible that better access might be achieved w/ one method over the other.

[pants55]

thanks for the feedback pants. :cool:

Regarding ram access, which way did you orient the cooler? I've seen reviews with it installed both horizontally and vertically. Depending on the mobo, its possible that better access might be achieved w/ one method over the other.

My board's top PCI-X slot would be in the way so I installed the cooler horizontally. I have an antec 900 case and an EVGA 680i LT motherboard. Also, I am only running on 1 panaflo fan right now, it's just an old dust pos, but I should be getting 2 new Yate Loon fans today or tomorrow. sweetness!

[Kano]

How does this compare to the AC Freezer 7 Pro in the same price range?

[annaconda]

How does this compare to the AC Freezer 7 Pro in the same price range?

Geminii wins hands down.

[[H]'er]

It was $13 when the deal was posted. You must have missed that in sarcasm school...

No, in fact it was $20 when annaconda posted that.

Please know what you are talking about before posing with attitude.

[DriveEuro]

Um, annaconda reposted after the forum went down. The deal was posted before the forum went down last week.

[Lupine]

'er;1031200568"]No, in fact it was $20 when annaconda posted that.

Please know what you are talking about before posing with attitude.
I purchased it for $33.99 less $20 MIR. That's $13.99.

[matrix563]

it was 14.99 after rebate when i posted it, then newegg dropped it to 13.99 after rebate.

[eternaljammer]

sweet deal. I may bite.:D