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

• Outstanding performance

• Fits NVidia or ATi cards

• Dual heatpipes

• Included fan controller

• Holes under 60mm fan allow for excellent ventilation while keeping the unit quiet.

• Allows your VGA card to be all it can be.

Cons

• Loud when the squirrel cage fan is on.

• Price and availability questionable at present.

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