Thermaltake Copper Orb Review - PAGE 1

Thermaltake has added a new heatsink to their line of Orb coolers; the Mini Copper orb offers a variety of new features including a copper base and a redesigned clip. Read on as I set out to see how these new features will affect this unit’s performance.

Specs:

Fan Dimension:	50x50x25 mm
Rated Voltage:	12V
Started Voltage:	7V
Rated Current:	0.26A(max.)
Power Input:	3.12W
FAN Speed:	5500±10% R.P.M
Air Pressure:	6.9 mm -H2O
Max. Air Flow:	23.1CFM
Noise:	29dBa
Bearing Type:	Ball Bearing
Lift Time:	50,000 Hours
Connector:	3Pin
Thermal resistance:	Ca=0.56 C/W
Physical Dimension:	65 dia. x 48 mm tall.

Installation

My first impression on getting the orb was that it weighs way more than any other CPU cooler I’ve seen. The central core is made of a big chunk of copper and has the classic aluminum Orb fins attached onto the main core. The copper core has little copper “pins” on it’s surface right below the fan to increase heat dissipation.

Thermaltake finally redesigned their HSF clips; Now instead of having to push down on the clip with one hand and use a screwdriver in the other to force off the clip, You can simply insert your screwdriver into a notch in the top of the clip and easily leverage the unit on and off of your motherboard.

I found that I needed to apply more pressure to this HSF during installation than on removal; you need to push down and then push the clip in to attach it. For removal of the unit you just push down with your screwdriver and the HSF clip just slides off. This to me seems like a somewhat dangerous setup because the unit might pop off if it gets jarred enough, however I haven’t noticed any problems with the unit being loose in practice. The beauty of this setup is that the HSF is really easy to remove: you just press down and out with a screwdriver and it comes off with no problem. This is a vast improvement over the old design that was almost impossible to remove. I think that with this design there’ll be way less people crushing CPU during the installation and removal process.

The Copper orb vibrates quite badly: even though its fan is quiet the whole unit tends to shake your case. When you dampen the HSFs vibrations with your hand the noise goes down considerably to a surprisingly low level. This is probably caused by my poor case and improperly attached motherboard, but If noise is a big concern I’d make sure I had a properly vibration-proof case. The Copper orb cannot be used with a shim; when I tried to do so ( using an old CPU of course ) it couldn’t attach, I think because of the set clip height on one side of the cooler. This may be because the copper insert has slightly raised edges, so you may be able to sand those down and get enough room to use a shim.

NAME	FAN			Heat (C°) Above Ambient
	Noise	RPM	CFM	Idle	Full
Mini Copper Orb	29	5500	23.1	12	17
Mini Super Orb	32/34	5500/5000	25.5/17.3	13	17
Volcano II	31.5	4500	36	11	15
Default	?	4500	?	16	19

The Mini Copper Orb performed quite well, beating the Mini Super Orb by a small margin and providing a respectable showing, coming in at 17 degrees above ambient on a 100% CPU load. This shows how much more effective copper is as a heatsink material: even with only one fan the copper orb beat out the double- fanned Mini Super Orb.

Test System

CPU:	AMD Duron 700MHz
Mobo(s):	MSI KT7 Pro2-A
RAM:	128MB Micron PC133 RAM
Video Card:	Hercules 3d Prophet 2 MX
HDD:	30 GB IBM Deskstar 75 GXP, Ultra ATA-100
CD-ROM:	Generic 32x CD-ROM

Conclusion

The Mini Copper Orb is a cheap, effective and safer way to add some sweet Orb action into your system, while at the same time gaining all of the advantages given by a copper heatsink.

Installation: 83%

Easy installation

Noise: 79%

Lots of vibrations, but the basic unit is quiet.

Performance: 84%

Very good heat dissipation.

Value: 84%

Good performance for a cheap price.

Overall Score: 84%

A great addition to the Orb line.