Thermaltake MaxOrb Cooler

Performance

Game time.  We've seen that the MaxOrb has all the ingredients to be a great cooler but that is never a guarantee as we have all seen in the past.  Since our test bed is an entirely new system here, we are limited to the Intel OEM cooler as our comparison product.  Testing will be done with the OEM Core 2 Duo Cooler, the Tt MaxOrb with its fan speed set to high and the MaxOrb with its fan speed set to low.  Each setup was run five times by placing the processor under 100% load via SiSoft Sandra's XI Burn In Module for 30 minutes with a final temperature reading taken at the end.  The highest and lowest results were thrown out and the remaining three were averaged then graphed below.  ThermalRight Chill Factor Thermal Paste was used in all tests.   Ambient room temperature at time of testing remained within one half a degree of 19.5 degrees C.

Results

This is an obvious point but one I feel we need to make all the same.  The Northbridge on our ASUS P5N32-E SLI board is passively cooled through an elaborate system of heatpipes and copper convection fins that ASUS gets big points for.  It does get some air flow with the OEM cooler but in an effort to get a rough idea of how the Tt MaxOrb affects mainboard component temperature we took a few readings.  Using our laser thermometer, the Northbridge cooler surface temperature dropped four degrees C with the Tt MaxOrb installed over the OEM sink.  While this isn't huge, it does show you that there are added benefits to be had here.

Conclusion

The Orb lives!  Thermaltake has identified the MaxOrb as its flagship cooler.  Carrying such a classification most always means every aspect of a product is top shelf.  The Tt MaxOrb very much lives up to that as we have seen.  Performance across the board, looks, quiet operation, variable speed fan along with excellent workmanship make the Tt MaxOrb with its $53 MSRP a must have cooler for the air crowd.  The Orb certainly does live.  Long live the Orb!

Pros

• Great cooling

• Radial fin design allows for mainboard cooling

• Quiet operation

• Clean lines

• Subtle Blue LEDs

• Rheostat mounted on cooler

• Super installation

• Excellent fit and finish

Cons

• None

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