Thermaltake Orbs: b35T h3a+5INK5 EVEr*

Geeky1Geeky1 University of the Pacific (Stockton, CA, USA)
edited November 2003 in Hardware
The Orbs are the best heatsinks ever!*

One of the computers at Habitat For Humanity has a Pentium 3 650MHz Slot 1 (SECC 2) CPU in an ASUS P3B-F motherboard. It had a generic aluminum single-50x10mm-fan heatsink on it, and folding @ 100% load, it'd hit as high as 165*F under full load. This was a problem, because it was setting off alarm warnings in MBM5, and I had to turn down the CPU usage for F@H. So, I decided to replace the HSF with something better, and since the Thermaltake Golden Orb SECC2 HSF is the only locally available, reasonably priced SECC2 HSF that there is, I bought one.

The results?
<100*F under full load, which is a temperature drop of >65*F.

* Note that I made these statements in jest, with the sole purpose being to irritate the hell out of people *cough*Thrax*cough* that don't like Thermaltake. :vimp:

However, the Orb is still a decent cooler, for a P3. The design itself is such that the ones Thermaltake released for the P4/Athlon are basically worthless, except as paperweights, since Orb coolers generally have very little fin area. However, considering the relatively tiny heat output of the P3, it's a decent cooler. Admittedly, a decent aluminum hsf would be fine, too, but as a replacement for a spectacularly crappy heatsink, the Orb apparently is just fine.
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Comments

  • TheSmJTheSmJ
    edited November 2003
    spectacularly crappy

    I think the term you are looking for is "craptastic".
  • SimGuySimGuy Ottawa, Canada
    edited November 2003
    Most OEM fans that are shipped with the P3's suck. The "Gorbs" (as a lot of people referred to them as) work pretty well for the P3 (both Slot 1 & Socket 370) and even for older Socket 7 processors (I still run one on an AMD K6-3 400 system). :)

    You want cooling power for that P3? The Alpha 3125 with 2x 40CFM 60mm Delta Fans. I think it was one of the only SECC/SECC2 heatsinks that featured a copper insert. :)
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited November 2003
    Geeky1 had this to say
    *cough*Thrax*cough*

    Jihad on you man. ;D
  • Geeky1Geeky1 University of the Pacific (Stockton, CA, USA)
    edited November 2003
    Simguy:
    Yeah, the Alphas were supposed to be great, but the one place I know of that still has them (www.phamcomputer.com) charges like $40 for them. The Orb was $8.

    Thrax:
    :D

    BTW, the heatsink that was on it was not an Intel OEM HSF... it was this thing:
  • TheBaronTheBaron Austin, TX
    edited November 2003
    wtf IS that!
  • CycloniteCyclonite Tampa, Florida Icrontian
    edited November 2003
    Apparently built in ancient Egypt. Notice the pyramidal shape. Interesting...
  • GnomeWizarddGnomeWizardd Member 4 Life Akron, PA Icrontian
    edited November 2003
    now THAT is craptastic! :respect:
  • GargGarg Purveyor of Lincoln Nightmares Icrontian
    edited November 2003
    Reminds me of...
  • Mt_GoatMt_Goat Head Cheezy Knob Pflugerville (north of Austin) Icrontian
    edited November 2003
    Trekky8472 had this to say
    Apparently built in ancient Egypt. Notice the pyramidal shape. Interesting...
    Actually it's from Mexico and known as "The Mayan Tropic". Ultra Craptastic with cheese on top! :)
  • Geeky1Geeky1 University of the Pacific (Stockton, CA, USA)
    edited November 2003
    Trekky, I'm afraid mtgoat is closer... it's obviously an Aztec/Mayan design, as the Egyptians never did any step pyramids. :D

    I don't know who makes it. I've looked everywhere... and all I found is one picture of a P3 w/heatsink for sale on ebay that has this heatsink on it. It's got a 50mm Adda fan, and that's all I know.
  • Mt_GoatMt_Goat Head Cheezy Knob Pflugerville (north of Austin) Icrontian
    edited November 2003
    I'm sorry I was wrong! It is Mexican but it is their eqivilan to Thermaltake and the model is called the "Montzuma Meltdown Deluxe".
  • TheLostSwedeTheLostSwede Trondheim, Norway Icrontian
    edited November 2003
    Geeky1 had this to say

    * Note that I made these statements in jest, with the sole purpose being to irritate the hell out of people

    Phew! At first, i actually thought you were serious and i almost hit the ignore button for Geeky there.
  • GargGarg Purveyor of Lincoln Nightmares Icrontian
    edited November 2003
    Geeky1 had this to say
    Trekky, I'm afraid mtgoat is closer... it's obviously an Aztec/Mayan design, as the Egyptians never did any step pyramids. :D

    Just in case you ever get on Jeopardy :)

    Egyptian Step Pyramid
  • Geeky1Geeky1 University of the Pacific (Stockton, CA, USA)
    edited November 2003
    Gargoyle, I knew someone would post that. I should have said LARGE step pyramids.

    Mackanz- :D
  • MJOMJO Denmark New
    edited November 2003
    Now this is a HSF

    I present the legendary
    GlobalWin VOS32 "The Beast"

    vosside.jpgvosbottom.jpgvostop.jpg
  • Straight_ManStraight_Man Geeky, in my own way Naples, FL Icrontian
    edited November 2003
    Thrax, it takes MILLIONS to Jihad, not ONE. Hmmmm........ :D
    The Thrax were a HIVE race, and not any one single person can imitate a HIVE. (PWN-BACK)

    John.
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited November 2003
    There's plenty of people to wage holy war against Geeky for his heresy!

    DO YOU HEAR ME?! HERESY. (RE: PWN-BACK)

    Jihad on you too.
  • Geeky1Geeky1 University of the Pacific (Stockton, CA, USA)
    edited November 2003
    mjo, yeah.... I looked up a few old Slot 1 HSF reviews (this was waaaaay before my time... my first comp. was a dual P3/500 running win '98... I only really got into computers a few years ago) and the globalwin seemed to have been outstanding.

    Only a couple issues:
    1. It's not available around here
    2. Why does it use something that looks similar to some of the SECC (NOT SECC2) clips I've seen?
  • MJOMJO Denmark New
    edited November 2003
    I never had an Athlon Classic either.
    But I read some reviews of the VOS32.
    I was indeed an awsome HSF.
    I dunno about the clips though.

    I jumped straght from a Pentium MMX 233@266 to an Athlon T-Bird 900.
  • Geeky1Geeky1 University of the Pacific (Stockton, CA, USA)
    edited November 2003
    Heresy? Heresy?!? I'll give you heresy, thrax.

    I'm thinking about switching the SLK-900A on my 1800 with one of <a href="http://www.frostytech.com/articleview.cfm?articleID=542">these</a&gt;

    If the SLK-900 was good for 2.5GHz, that should be good for at least 3.

    Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go extract my tongue from my cheek- it appears to be stuck.
  • SimGuySimGuy Ottawa, Canada
    edited November 2003
    AFAIK, those clips are only compatible with SECC processors (P2/Athlon Slot A's).

    It was a great heatsink, which I had in use on my old Athlon Slot-A 550 K7 back in the day. The standard VOS-32 came with dual Ys-Tech 27.2 CFM fans, rated at 36 dBA and spinning at 4200 RPM.

    You can still get them at www.bigfootcomputers.com for $42.00 CDN.

    //Edit: My bad. You could use the included "SECC2 clip kit" to modify the heatsink so it could attach VIA the SECC2 mounting method (the usual 4 pins through the CPU PCB). :D
  • Geeky1Geeky1 University of the Pacific (Stockton, CA, USA)
    edited November 2003
    $40 CDN? That's what, like $0.10, right? ;)

    Seriously, I think that's what, ~$25? That's absurd. The heatsink is for a CPU that's essentially an antique, good for little more than a paperweight (except for the >900MHz Athlons...). $10 (U.S.) is the most I'd pay for a Slot 1 HSF.
  • SimGuySimGuy Ottawa, Canada
    edited November 2003
    See? $31.00 USD for this bad boy (yep, insanely overpriced for a now relic heatsink, but it was the SLK900 of the Slot 1/A era).

    //Edit: Classic show-down. Global Win VOS-32 -vs- Alpha P3125 :D
    http://www.thetechzone.com/reviews/cooler/vos32_vs_p3125/
  • Geeky1Geeky1 University of the Pacific (Stockton, CA, USA)
    edited November 2003
    Somehow I don't think that the SLK-900 will be going for $30 when everyone has switched to socket 939...
  • SimGuySimGuy Ottawa, Canada
    edited November 2003
    You never know.... lots of people haven't upgraded from SECC/SECC2/SEC cartridge type processors yet (Athlon K7, P2 & P3). I would think the price is high simply because a decent heatsink for the Slot era of processors are hard to come by today.
  • SimGuySimGuy Ottawa, Canada
    edited November 2003
    Man, they were so large, on most Slot A motherboards, the P3125 and the VOS-32 would block access to the ATX power connector and some of the memory slots. :D
  • SimGuySimGuy Ottawa, Canada
    edited November 2003
    See?
  • Geeky1Geeky1 University of the Pacific (Stockton, CA, USA)
    edited November 2003
    Ah yes, the disadvantages of a slot form factor.
  • SimGuySimGuy Ottawa, Canada
    edited November 2003
    Some people (myself included) actually had a processor rip right out of the SC242 (Slot 1/A) connector because the heatsink weighed so much (yes, even with the safety tabs engaged) :D

    Surprised? Look at the size of the beast...
  • Geeky1Geeky1 University of the Pacific (Stockton, CA, USA)
    edited November 2003
    No, doesn't really surprise me, actually.

    I spend my summers working on my grandparents business' computers... they're getting better, as the older ones wear out and get replaced, but most of them are still P2-400s with 64MB of RAM in either ASUS P2B or DFI P2XBL rev. D2 boards with Diamond Viper Stealth III S540 AGP graphics cards and Netgear FA310TX NICs.

    Slot CPUs... eww.
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