Thermaltake DuOrb Overview
Thermaltake has taken the road less traveled with their new DuOrb CPU cooler. Dual fans in a down-draft configuration is not something we see every day. CoolerMaster did something similar not long ago with their popular GeminII heatsink. Although a configuration of this sort can provide substantial airflow to motherboard components and other accessories, tower based, side flow heatsinks are typically the performance leaders. We’ll see how Thermaltake’s DuOrb stacks up against the other fourteen heatsinks we’ve tested to date.
Image courtesy of Thermaltake
Specifications (taken from the DuOrb product page at www.thermaltake.com)
- Combined Dimensions: 202mm(L) × 106mm(W) × 86mm(H)
- Weight: 598g
- Material Types: Copper (heat-pipes, base, some fins), aluminum (cooling fins)
- Configuration: Recessed down-draft with looped heatpipes
- Heatpipe Width/Quantity: 6mm, 6 heatpipes
- Supported Sockets: Sockets 775, AM2 and 754/939
- Fan Dimensions: 80x20mm (two fans)
- Bearing Type: Not Advertised
- Noise Level: 21dBA
- Air Flow: 37.67CFM
- Speed: 2000RPM
- Power Consumption:5.04W
I’ll just go ahead and state the obvious: the DuOrb is massive. Not 200mm towering above the motherboard huge, but 202mm long by 106mm wide. With dimensions like that, the DuOrb will provide collateral airflow to the voltage regulation components, memory, chipset and just about everything on the top half of the motherboard. The fans utilized are 80mm models that sit recessed within the fin banks themselves. Thermaltake does not include any information on the bearing used in the fans. Suffice to say, if they were one of the more state of the art or reliable types, I’m sure they would have advertised it.
Thermaltake ships the DuOrb in a glossy carboard box with a plastic window, providing a sneak peek of the massive cooler. Some pictures and specifications are printed on the box.
Thermaltake pasted a warning to AM2/AM2+ users that if the cooler needs to be mounted at a 45 degree angle, that the PCI-Express slots may be blocked. I’ll be testing the DuOrb on our AM2 and 775 test bench, so I’ll be able to speak to this issue in more detail in the installation section.
The DuOrb includes everything you need for installation on socket AM2 and LGA 775 systems. Interestingly, Thermaltake includes a backplate for AM2 installation, but does not for Intel LGA 775. Another warning note about socket AM2 compatibility is included in the accessory bundle. The installation manual is very brief, but has fairly clear, easy to follow diagrams. It is also printed in about 300 different languages.
The heatsink itself is an impressive sight. It stands only 86mm tall, but with a 202x106mm footprint, it is the widest heatsink we’ve tested to date.
The DuOrb is essentially two heatsinks joined by metal brackets. Three of the six heatpipes simply branch out to either of the two orbs. One of the three heatpipes on each side are actually very short. They only extend into about one quarter of the orb, closest to the center. The other two loop around the entire orb. Each orb has two fin banks—an aluminum bank below the fan and a copper bank that surrounds the fan along the outside of the heatsink. I won’t get into the age-old debate about whether copper or aluminum is a superior heatsink material, but Thermaltake decided to use both in the DuOrb.
With an open fin design and an overall down-draft orientation, the DuOrb should provide a lot of second hand cooling to motherboard components and the system memory.
When taking a peek below, I was able to obtain the model number of the fan. Its a Thermalright TT-8020A made by Everflow. I searched around a bit online, but didn’t have any luck finding more information on it. Thankfully, our friends at Hardware Canucks know how to decode Everflow model numbers. It does appear that this is a sleeve bearing model.
Fin spacing is fairly tight towards the center of each orb, but each section of fin widens. The copper fins along the outside of the heatsink are spaced widely and should do well with the ~36CFM Everflow fans.
The base is constructed of thick copper and is highly polished. The base is slightly convex as verified using our straight edge test. The convex effect is fairly minor and should not have a large impact on performance. None the less, I’d trade in that mirror finish for a perfectly flat base any day.
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