ThermalTake Golden Orb II CPU Cooler

Thermaltake Golden Orb II - the best of 2004 for socket 775/K8/939/940

Strengths: Silent and deadly on heat - 17dBA memory/CPU/case/everything. Attractive - Blue LED with Golden fins around. Easy to install - for moderate computer builders, instructions are not necessary.

Weakness: Large - will cover most CPU, memory heatsinks and probably North/south bridges, thus will not fit in a typical SFF case. Heavy - will kill if hurled at somebody.

This is an oldie but goodie. Developed by Thermaltake as an evolutionary heatsink/fan, the Golden Orb II exceeded all benchmarks in 2004-5 and was one of the best of its class. It is easy to install, sturdy, and cooled by an average of 15 degrees F. On overclocked single core P4's, it can cool as much as 23 degrees F without breaking a sweat. It is also silent as its successor, the Blue Orb II....
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This is an oldie but goodie. Developed by Thermaltake as an evolutionary heatsink/fan, the Golden Orb II exceeded all benchmarks in 2004-5 and was one of the best of its class. It is easy to install, sturdy, and cooled by an average of 15 degrees F. On overclocked single core P4's, it can cool as much as 23 degrees F without breaking a sweat. It is also silent as its successor, the Blue Orb II. It is large (12 cm) and heavily constructed of copper core with aluminum fins. Because of its size, it will cool your memory depending on its location on the motherboard as well as the northbridge which usually runs hot and deserves its own heatsink (on certain motherboards). Overall it is a great value and much more affordable than Zalman's offerings.

By johndoan1 - May 30, 2007

Silent performer

Strengths: Silent, keep CPU cool

Weakness: Hard and long installation, heavy

It was unclear instructions how-to assemble the monstrous stuff to CPU and motherboard but, finally, I done it. I was needed to remove ASUS motherboard from the computer case in order to do it. But I was surprised and rewarded by very low noise level and cooling abilities when I power up back the computer. It lowered CPU(Intel Pentium 4 630 Prescott) temperature by 12-15 C. Now I have 38-42 C...
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It was unclear instructions how-to assemble the monstrous stuff to CPU and motherboard but, finally, I done it. I was needed to remove ASUS motherboard from the computer case in order to do it. But I was surprised and rewarded by very low noise level and cooling abilities when I power up back the computer. It lowered CPU(Intel Pentium 4 630 Prescott) temperature by 12-15 C. Now I have 38-42 C unloaded and 53-57 C at full load such DVD playback. I recommend Gold Orb II for all, except computer gamers-they need water cooling, who wants silent computer with good CPU cooling.

By stany69 - Jan 25, 2006

Thermaltake Takes The Cake

Strengths: Super cool on my CPU. Easy CPU upgrading.

Weakness: Hard initial installation.

This fan keeps my CPU nice and cool and it's nice and quiet. The initial installation is a pain (as it is with most fans) because you need to remove the motherboard to install the mounting brackets. Once it is installed once, though, it is easy to remove and re-install the fan when upgrading your CPU (which is not the case with many fans). Overall, great product!

By haleone - May 24, 2007

Very quiet and pretty heavy

Strengths: Quiet, good enough for AMD 754, pretty clear manual

Weakness: Self adhesive support for AMD processors, TOO short screws and extensions, heavy

Installation is quiet simple even if you are not familiar with AMD CPU. You must be carefull with moving your computer after the heatsink was installed. There is no chance to install it without removing the mainboard from the case. But how could you install the support for AMD CPU, which is on the other side of the mainboard? Anyway, after the whole process of installation I turned on the...
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Installation is quiet simple even if you are not familiar with AMD CPU. You must be carefull with moving your computer after the heatsink was installed.
There is no chance to install it without removing the mainboard from the case. But how could you install the support for AMD CPU, which is on the other side of the mainboard? Anyway, after the whole process of installation I turned on the computer and.... nothing. I did not hear anything except HDD.
The fan is so quiet.... Therefore, I was afraid of my CPU, if it's going to be very hot. But the temperature was even lower than I expected.
This cooling solution is addressed to people who need silence and use computers in "normal" settings - no overclocking. The heatsink is designed (or it just happend to do so) to cool down memory, which is also important.

By pawlak_piotr - Dec 3, 2006

Very quiet cooler

Strengths: Quiet, Cool, Cheap

Weakness: Large, have to remove motherboard from case to install.

This CPU cooler is a lot quieter than my 'Silent775' cooler I have on my other system and it keeps the CPU just as cool. It is also the cheapest decent LGA775 cooler I could find (from ClubIT)! Excellent for the money.

By daveleone - Jun 19, 2006