Overclocker Cafe - Gigabyte G-Power 2 Pro CPU Cooler

Gigabyte G-Power 2 Pro Cooler

Manufacturer: Gigabyte
Supplied by: Gigabyte
Street Price: TBA

by Dean Barker (1/01/2008)

Introduction

Gigabyte continues to release oversized coolers designed for high performance and quiet operation. Their newest cooler, the G-Power2 Pro incorporates a radial fin layout designed to direct air at motherboard hotspots. Gigabyte bills the G-Power 2 Pro as a processor cooling solution that also cools surrounding MOSFETs. This is true but it sells the cooler short. In its LGA775 mounting trim, the G-Power 2 Pro can direct air in any of four directions; as in forward over the memory, back towards the case's exhaust fan, up towards the PSU for exhaust or down onto some of the mainboards warmer capacitors and to circulate air over the back of your VGA card. Lots of possibilities as you can see. Gigabyte has sent over a sample of this new cooler they are so proud of for us to have a closer look at. With that in mind, let's get to it.

Specifications

Application: Intel LGA775, AMD K8 and AM2
Observed dimensions: 122 x 127 x 159mm
Observed weight: 598 gms
Construction: Aluminum fins with copper base
Fan Size: 120 x 25mm
Fan Speed: Variable rate (700 ~ 1500 RPM)
Fan Noise: 16 ~ 23 dBA
Single three pin connector

What you get

The Gigabyte G-Power 2 Pro is a universal mount cooler as most current heatsinks are. Universal as far as current LGA775, AMD AM2 and K8 goes that is. Included in the package were all the mounting hardware accouterments for these three platforms, a tube of thermal grease, polishing cloth for the outer shell of the cooler (it really is that shiny), installation manual and a power control adapter.

The Big G

This is one big cooler as I'm sure you already surmised from the 122 x 127 x 159mm specs by our measurements. The 159mm height is up there enough that if you have a narrow width case, the G-Power 2 Pro may be too much for you. This cooler isn't just tall, it's massive. It needs to be in order to house that large 120mm blue LED cooling fan. The fan is a variable rate numbers rated at 700 ~ 1500 RPMs while making only 16 ~23 dBA of noise (when using the power control cable). The plastic shroud around it has a mirror like finish which seems to minimize the scale of how big this thing is until you put it into context with something else. Check it out next to my watch below.

In the heart of the G-Power 2 Pro's design are five large 8mm heatpipes. These heatpipes bend up away from the base in an 'S' shape forming a mounting point for the Gigabyte's aluminum convection fins. The fins span an 85 degree angle beginning 5 degrees perpendicular to the base up to parallel. That's a lot of surface area for cooling as you can see. One other point about the curvature of the fin assembly I want to make before we move on. By mounting a fan on top of a concave surface like we have below, you eliminate the dead spot underneath the fan's center which is normally stagnant, allowing for equal air flow over the entire area.

The angling of the air flow allows for a creative channeling over other components as we already mentioned. Mounted in an AMD rig, the end user can choose one of two opposing ways to blow air. Mounted in an LGA775 board, air can be pointed in a choice of four directions.

Here we have a better look at the five 8mm heatpipes. Heatpipes normally seen on heatsinks are 6mm in diameter. These heatpipes are Texas sized like the rest of the G-Power 2 Pro.

The base is nickel plated copper with a high sheen finish. The surface was so flush and polished that I think Bear Grylls could use it to signal passing planes for rescue.