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My heatsink arrived in a cubic cardboard box from Thermaltake in California, alongside the Thermaltake Aguila case.(Remember I won this in the contest) FedEx Ground was used for the shipment of this heatsink. There was no trouble with FedEx when I told them to leave the package at my neighbor’s house since I would not be home to receive the package. The package came in near perfect condition with little less than a couple scratches on the exterior cardboard box. Packaging material such as packing peanuts in the box was virtually non-existent with only the Thermaltake MaxOrb retail box in there, although this was not necessarily a bad thing since it did not move around in the box due to the size of the retail packaging.
It came in retail packaging which was a more vertically inclined cardboard box with Thermaltake's signature dark red and black color scheme. A plastic encased Thermaltake MaxOrb can be seen through the small cutout near the top left of the box. Specifications and features are printed on the sides of the packaging. The top of the box is easily opened with a small flap in the middle to keep the package closed. I was quite impressed with the overall nice design of the packaging by utilizing thicker cardboard and an easy to open design.
Specifications as obtained from Thermaltake's Website:
Note: The fan is actually a 110mm fan measured across the diameter, despite certain contradictions inferred or otherwise printed on Thermaltake's website. The side of the box also states that it is a 110mm fan; and the Overview section on the MaxOrb states a 110mm fan as well.
Compatibility
Intel Core 2 Extreme (socket LGA775)
Core 2 Quad (socket LGA775)
Core 2 Duo (socket LGA775)
Pentium D (socket LGA775)
Pentium 4 (socket LGA775)
Pentium (socket LGA775)
Celeron D (socket LGA775)
Celeron (socket LGA775)
Athlon 64 FX (socket AM2/939)
Athlon 64 X2 (socket AM2/939)
Athlon 64 (socket AM2/939/754)
Sempron (socket AM2/754)
Dimension: 143(L) x 114(D) x 95.2(H) mm
Fan Dimension: 110x110x25 mm
Heatsink Material: Copper Base & Aluminum Fin
Heatpipe: Copper Tube 6mm x 6pcs
Rated Current: 12V
Started Voltage 7V
Power Input 3.00W
Fan Speed: 1300 ~2000RPM
Max. Air Flow: 86.5CFM
Max. Air Pressure: 2.22mmH2O
Noise: 16dBA~24dBA
Life Expectation: 50,000hrs
Connector: 3 pin
Weight: 465g
Out of the box, you get the Thermaltake MaxOrb, and another small white cardboard box; all covered by a plastic molded enclosure that keeps both the MaxOrb and the white cardboard box in place. The MaxOrb is located at the top, while the white cardboard box is placed below. They are also separated by the plastic enclosure. The plastic is easy to open with two top buttons that snap open and a small piece of tape to remove.
The white cardboard box contains the Tt Universal Retention Frame, Tt AM2 backplate and 2 separate zip-lock bags containing the nuts, screws and pins for AMD or Intel socket applications. Most importantly though, you will get an installation guide in the small box which shows the parts and instructions on how to install the cooler.
This is definitely a unique heatsink to say the least; it utilizes a giant 110mm fan that is open to the top and is surrounded by more than 60 aluminum fins per side. Each of the aluminum fins have small gaps between them to allow for better airflow. Two large openings are located on each side of the circumference of the cooler.
The fan has an embedded blue emitting LED light just to give it that 'flashy' look. It also comes in at an astoundingly light 465g for a heatsink of its size. This occurs since the fins are made of aluminum; which are much lighter than copper. The use of Copper as the base and heatpipes allows for less thermal energy to heat up while aluminum needs more energy to heat up. Aluminum on the other hand can absorb more heat. This allows for the aluminum to hold more heat and have the heat dissipated by the 110mm fan. One of the more unique features is the inclusion of a VRFan Speed Control variable resistor knob that allows you to adjust the speed of the fan. This will be used further in this review to test temperatures.
From the bottom we see the copper base, although it is not exactly a 'copper' color. The base is mirror coated and covered with some plastic adhesive to protect it. The heatpipes distribute the heat more evenly through the surface area of the pipes. From there the heat moves up the 6 heatpipes and around the bottom of the fan. From there the heat is absorbed to the big surface area of all the aluminum fins. The 110mm fan then dissipates the heat from the fins. Not only can this heatsink cool the CPU but also the VRM as well. The VRM is soldered to the motherboard and detects the required voltage of the processor. Then the VRM regulates the constant required voltage being sent to the processor. The lapping job on the base is terrific with no visible machine marks and we don't say that often. We also appreciate the extra effort used to protect the base by keeping it covered with plastic adhesive to help preserve perfect contact between the CPU and the MaxOrb. This extra step and the fantastic job of welding definitely add to the quality of this heatsink.
CPU before old thermal paste was removed
K8 installation was pretty straightforward, the first two parts to it were quite simple -- just remove the old base and screw in two standoffs to either side of the backplate to add height to the retention frame which is attached with two screws. After that, you apply the thermal paste on the processor itself and then painstakingly install the cooler. There are two visible sides to the retention frame that stick out. At first I thought all I had to do was screw in the nut on the long side and that was it. Later I found out there was more to it when my CPU kept overheating. Apparently the heatsink did not stay on the CPU and was causing the CPU to overheat. I later found out that the side with the smaller plastic tip sticking out must be used to clip on the metal piece that can be rotated in the middle of the heatsink. This had proved to be a difficult task and required me to remove my PSU and my graphics card to install that one side. The next side must be pushed down and secured with a nut to cover the long copper colored screw. The pushing required quite a bit of pressure and was agonizing since it required me to hold the back of the motherboard for support. This was slightly eased by the fact that a standard Phillip's screwdriver could screw in the nut. The worse part is the size of the MaxOrb makes it almost impossible to install in a Mid-Tower without removing the PSU since the metal piece is well under the big fan.
The Tests
CPU: AMD Athlon 64 3000+ (Venice) @ Stock 1.80GHz (200MHz x 9.0)
Motherboard: Asus A8N-SLI Premium
RAM: Corsair ValueSelect PC-3200 DDR-400 2x512MB
Graphics: BFG 7600GT OC 256MB
Case: Antec Sonata II (120mm Antec Tricool fan- Back)
Power: Antec SmartPower 2.0 450W
Sound: Creative Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS
Optical Drives: Lite-On 16x DVD-RW
Hard Drive: Seagate 7200.10 120GB 16MB SATA2
Operating System: Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition SP2
All of the following tests were done in the same room and was given enough time to let the Artic Silver 5 thermal paste fully settle. The computer was kept at an upright position with the side panel and case door closed to keep the temperatures constant. The idle tests were done by allowing the computer to sit idle for at least an hour while the High CPU load tests were achieved by using Prime95 In-place large FFTs (maximum heat, power consumption, some Ram tested) for at least 30 minutes to load up the CPU.
The only heatsink that it is subjectively compared to is the Zalman CNPS7000B-Cu which was the original heatsink in place. These tests for performance and temperature are quite subjective due to the constantly changing environment. The fan speed is adjusted using the VR fan speed controller built into the MaxOrb.
The Thermaltake MaxOrb is called the "Flagship CPU Cooler" by Thermaltake and it is now time to see if it lives up to its name. The difference between the Zalman CNPS7000B-Cu and the Thermaltake MaxOrb is quite surprising since the Zalman CNPS7000B-Cu is already quite a big upgrade from the AMD stock cooler.
Looking at the idle temperatures we see a small but definite difference. We see a 2c difference on the lowest setting and a 5c difference on the max setting against the Zalman. This difference may seem small but considering a stock cooler runs around 45c on idle, this is a surprisingly low temperature. The difference is quite large with it giving a 5c difference against the Zalman CPU cooler.
Now the temperature on load tells a different story. We see that the Zalman runs at 46c when on load while the MaxOrb drops that by 5c on the lowest RPM setting using the VR fan speed controller. This is a big drop especially since a stock AMD cooler runs way hotter than the Zalman. Most surprising is the further drop by 3c on the highest RPM setting. That is a solid 8c less than the Zalman which already has some great performance packed into it. These big differences in temperature most likely arise from the faster heat absorptions through the 6 copper heatpipes and into the aluminum fins where the fan quickly dissipates the heat. The 110mm fan allows it to move the heat out quicker than the Zalman's 90mm fan.
The RPM of the fan was not detected correctly by either the motherboard or a defective cable from the fan. The RPM on Everest and the bios were also wrong. It rated at over 9999RPM on load at the lowest setting, while it was only 700RPM on load at the maximum setting for the fan. This is incorrect since its specs clearly state a speed between 1300RPM~2000RPM. This has been taken into consideration and the the final outcome has been adjusted accordingly.
This CPU cooler is also supposed to cool down the VRM. We were unable to obtain a detector to detect the temperature of the surrounding VRM. Although this could be a useful feature, it definably isn't the most important factor to choosing a heatsink.
Now onto the topic of noise, on the box it states a noise level of 16dBA ~ 24dBA which I was quite skeptical of at first due to the 110mm fan. It did thoroughly surprised me when it seemed to live up to its claim. We can only assume the RPM at the settings taken from the specifications on the box due to the problem we had above. Although we could not clearly record the dBA, we can subjectively compare the noise to other items in the computer on a scale from 0(Quietest) to 10(loudest). The sound taken is the barely audible buzzing sound made by the fans. The case fan would be rated at 6 where it can be heard from a distance of over 50CM away. The Zalman would be around a 2.5 where it can be heard on load from over 10-15CM away. The Thermaltake on idle and load made around the same noise level when set on the lowest and highest RPM setting. The Thermaltake would rate a 1.5 on the lowest setting where it is audible from around 2-3CM away. The max setting would be rated a 2 where it can be heard from about 4-5CM away.
The Thermaltake MaxOrb is definitely a quiet and well built heatsink. Although we were unable to determine to RPMs, we were quite satisfied with the overall performance in dropping temperatures effectively and quietly. We were also pleased with the build quality of the unit with no flaws on the heatpipes and especially the protected mirror base. Implementation of Blue LED may be quite subjective to the user as a plus or a minus, although it is certainly a great add-on to give that 'flashy' look, especially for computers meant for show or even one with a full clear case or just a window. The only problem with this heatsink is definitely the installation; rather, the lack of easier installation of the metal piece to the plastic that is supposed to clip together. This definitely does hamper the installation or reinstallation of the unit when you have to remove the PSU and the graphics card in order to clip it in. Great pressure is also needed to secure the heatsink before screwing on the nut. Overall this is a great heatsink that is made for "Maximum cooling efficiency for quietness and performance". This heatsink definitely lives up to its name.
To make a long story short The Thermaltake MaxOrb is definitely a great, quiet, 'flashy' looking CPU cooler. If the installation was improved this would make a great heatsink for enthusiasts.
7/10
This post has been edited by shc-boomer: 13 March 2008 - 04:34 PM
