In action
The Giant III when powered up is no louder than any other VGA
cooler until you turn on the 40mm squirrel cage fan. Remember in the specs
where we noted it turned 9000 RPM? That RPM speed doesn't come without a
cost. The fan is rated at 41.6 dBA and that is a high pitched piercing
41.6 dBA. Thank goodness Tt has it on an on/off switch.
Something to consider, mating the secondary fan to a rheobus would be a very
nice way to balance performance and sound levels.
Performance
The card we mounted the Giant III to was a Radeon 9600 XT that
stock runs 500MHz on the core and 600MHz on the memory. With stock cooling
we were able to get this card up to 577/692MHz. With the Thermaltake Giant
III running at full tilt we got things up to a very impressive 599/740MHz.
I'd say the Giant III proved itself nicely.
Conclusion
Thermaltake has done an excellent job with their Giant III VGA
cooler. They have taken the sandwich style cooler and improved on it
making it a top choice for performance junkies. This is evidenced by the
dual heatpipes (most others use a single pipe), dual fans and copper RAM sinks.
Lots of attention to detail is seen here such as the holes under the 60mm fan
that allow air to pass over the card itself. This keeps you from having to
run the secondary fan unless you need it while still providing excellent
performance. Installation was challenging but in a fun way and by no means
difficult. The only downside we really could see is the 40mm squirrel cage
fan and the noise it makes. Even here, you have the option to turn it off.
If you are shopping around for a new VGA cooler, the Giant III
should be at the top of your list. At the time of this writing we have no
idea what the retail price will be as our e-mails to Tt went unanswered but I'd
guess it will run around $30.
Pros
Cons
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Introduction
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