Originally posted by: nycdude
can you use the $15 rebate floating around the net on this making it free.
tempted also but that thing is huge.
Yes, 847 grams + 200 grams each for 2x120mm fans
and that's 1247 grams, or just short of three times
the 450g maximum recommended weight of a heatsink
for AMD or Intel CPUs.
Also it has no back-plate for Socket 775, so your
motherboard around the CPU socket will warp and
the electrical traces to the CPU could be harmed.
Furthermore, most of the weight is out at the end
of a very long 'lever arm' e.g. both the fans and
the biggest mass of the fins are way at the end.
So this lever arm will multiply the torque the
weight of it all puts on the small area of the
motherboard where it bolts on.
Besides the heavy static torque, the lever
are will also multiply the force transmitted to the
motherboard in the event the PC is moved / bumped
and the heatsink is being yanked around by the
supports. It could easily crack the motherboard.
Basically $15 seems like a fire-sale price for
a very very overly large / heavy heatsink that is
quite under-performing relative to several other
heatsinks over 25% less in weight and 50% less in
size.
It's certainly better at cooling than the Intel/AMD
retail box "stock" heatsink is going to be, but
it's going to be substantially less efficient and
effective than some of the smaller but
costlier $45 - $65 "best" heatsinks out there.
If you can make or buy a cheap Socket 775
backplate to use with this, it's probably OK to consider
but otherwise I'd only use it on S939/AM2 or
whatever platforms it includes backplates for.
If you're going to run your PC with the motherboard
flat horizontal and the heatsink just resting on top,
and will not much ever bump / move the PC, it's
probably a fine cheap upgrade vs. the retail box
HSF.
If you modify the installation to basically bolt / strap
the weight of the heatsink to be supported directly
and securely in all directions by the case and not
have it hanging down torquing the motherboard,
then it's probably fine to have a "tower" case
with the motherboard vertical using the Gemini II
since it's getting strain relief from your supporting
modifications.
Otherwise, I'd never dream of hanging this much
weight off of a vertical motherboard.
And I still have no idea how you'd actually SCREW IN
the motherboard to the case once this huge
heatsink is hanging over half the motherboard.
Seems like there would not be enough underside or
side-to-side clearance to get your hand and a
screwdriver down to the screw holes it covers over.