Monday March 22, 2010 7:02 AM AEST

Thermaltake DuOrb CPU Cooler

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Thermaltake DuOrb CPU Cooler
 
76
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Verdict:
Striking looks don't quite manage to deliver striking performance.
By Justin Robinson
Jan 14, 2009 | 8 Comments
Tags: cooler | cpu

A CPU cooler for when your computer doesn’t have enough red or blue light.

You’re walking down a darkened alley when suddenly you spot a telltale sign through someone’s case window – red and blue lights that tell you it’s time to get out of there. Thankfully, this cooler doesn’t want to arrest you for your wrongdoings (as unlikely as they are), but rather wants to sit on top of a heat source and radiate it into the surrounding air.

The first step of that process is a copper/aluminium base, into which six heatpipes are inserted. Three of these are bent upwards, and then curved around to form a mostly complete circle. The other three complete the other side of the cooler. Wrapped around these pipes are an outer array of copper fins, and an internal array of aluminium (presumably to cut down on cost).

An 80mm fan is nestled in the center of each circle, sucking in air and blowing it through the surrounding fins. It’s also a very good pen launcher, though don’t tell anyone that we told you. Each fan is also screwed in, so if one dies it should be relatively simple to source a replacement.

At stock speeds this cooler performs quite well (and looks rather dashing at the same time), but when we put it under the torture test of an overclocked and overvolted Quad in OCCT load, it crashed when the temperature reached 80 degrees.

This is partly due to the poor flatness of the base, as its concavity caused such a bad CPU contact the first time we mounted it that temperatures briefly reached 95 degrees! We added more than the usual thin layer of thermal paste and things worked much better. Keep in mind that if you’re going to use this cooler, particularly large sticks of RAM simply won’t fit underneath it. You do get the added benefit of chipset and motherboard cooling, however, both of which were appreciably cooler.

We recommend this cooler if you’re into something a little out of the ordinary, or simply want something cool to show off in your case.

 
Product Info
Specs:
Peanut-style cooler; six 6mm heatpipes; two inbuilt 80mm fans
Supplier:
Price when reviewed:
AUD$90
price check*
$58.00 Thermaltake DuOrb CPU Cooler
UMart Online - Brisbane Southside (QLD)
$58.00 Thermaltake DuOrb CPU Cooler
Umart Online - Melbourne (VIC)
$58.00 Thermaltake DuOrb CPU Cooler
UMart Online - QLD (QLD)
$58.30 Thermaltake DuOrb CPU Cooler
Blacktea Tech (VIC)
$59.00 Thermaltake DuOrb CPU Cooler
UMart Online - Sunshine Coast (QLD)
$59.00 Thermaltake DuOrb CPU Cooler
UMart Online - Gold Coast (QLD)
*Products and prices sourced from staticICE and are in no way associated with Atomic MPC Powered by
 
This article appeared in the December, 2008 issue of Atomic.

Want to check out the first Australian review of Final Fantasy XIII? We got in this month's Atomic!

Plus HD projectors, Napoleon: Total War, Intel's new six-core processor, PC upgrading guide, and a whole lot more.

ON SALE NOW!
8 Comments
Thoughts on this article? Add a comment below.
techy344
Jan 14, 2009 3:12 PM
hehe kool...this mite be my next cooler
phatbeat
Jan 14, 2009 4:11 PM
Very nice, but when they start getting as big as video cards, you know its time to seek medical advise.
Hawkeye
Jan 14, 2009 4:30 PM
Where in hell do you put your cooling fans?@!??

- DH
AMD AKIMBO
Jan 14, 2009 8:06 PM
shitty base no thanks.
just circulates hot air around case.
at least with the true it blows out an exhaust at the back of the case.
cant handle a o/c quad what good is it ?
eat_the_flag
Jan 14, 2009 10:50 PM
I have got one and i love it.. keeps my q9400 @ 30c and 40c under load.. its awesome.. Cant wait to get the duo orb for the vga card..
Mademan
Jan 15, 2009 8:58 AM
The DuOrb GPU cooler is excellent from what I've heard, very popular amoungst 8800GT users, but there are better CPU coolers out there. That said, I haven't read a review ranking it this poorly.
SceptreCore
Jan 16, 2009 1:55 AM
Looks like cases isn't only where TT are stealing looks... now it's Zalman.
V1RUS
Jan 29, 2009 11:01 AM
haha well said Sceptre it looks alot liek teh zalmam ones that were made
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Atomic Magazine

Issue: 111 | April, 2010

Atomic is a magazine aimed squarely at computer enthusiasts, gamers, and serious PC upgraders.

Every month we bring you the latest reviews of new technology and PC components, in depth features on everything from overclocking to console hacking, and gaming previews and interviews.
 
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