Cooler Master GeminII CPU Cooler Review

The test system

To test out the GeminII I ran it on our Intel Core 2 Duo test platform which was then run at default and overclocked settings. I will be comparing the GeminII to the stock Intel cooler as well as the recently tested ZEROtherm NV120 Nirvana. All the temperatures were obtained by using Core Temp 0.95 after sitting at idle for 30 minutes and then again under 100% load for 30 minutes. To obtain 100% load I ran two instances of Super Pi 32m calculation with the affinity of each set to a different cores. I used two profiles to test the all the coolers and they are listed below. The room temperature was kept a constant 72 degrees Fahrenheit for all benchmarking. All of the coolers were tested with Arctic Silver Lumiere as the thermal interface material.

The rest of the test system is as follows:

• Motherboard: Intel 975XBX2
• CPU: Intel E6300
• Ram: Kingston Hyper-X DDR2 KHX9600D2/1G
• Hard Drive: Western Digital 250GB SATA
• Case: Antec P190
• Power Supply: Antec NeoLink 1200w

Profile 1: The Normal User (No Overclocking)

• CPU Multiplier: 7x CPU
• voltage: 1.2000V
• FSB Voltage: 1.20V
• FSB: 800MHz
• Memory Voltage: 2.20V
• Final CPU Frequency: 1.86GHz

Profile 2: The Average Enthusiast (Mild Overclocking)

• CPU Multiplier: 7x CPU
• voltage: 1.4000V
• FSB Voltage: 1.30V
• FSB: 1600MHz
• Memory Voltage: 2.20V
• Final CPU Frequency: 2.80GHz

I will be testing the GeminII in the two forms it can be used in, passive and active. Since I do not have a pair of matching 120mm fans here are the specs for the two that I will be using.

• Antec TriCool 120mm, 79 CFM @ 2000 RPM
• ARX CeraDayna 120mm, 73 CFM @ 2100 RPM

I would also like to note, even though cooler will allow for the 200mm side fan of the Antec P190 to be used I will not be using it for the testing as it was not used in testing the other coolers.