As an avid reader of forums relating to overclocking, it is interesting to see the trends that overclockers go through.  As new platforms and technologies are introduced, an initial learning period for the entire community takes place before the clear winners are crowned, and these products become the darlings of the entire enthusiast community.  This is especially true for heatsinks.  These lumps of metal, whose only purpose is to be a glorified radiator, can make or break overclocks, and thus, the winners are much adored.  One of the problems with the overclocking community, however, is once these “winners” have been crowned, not much attention is paid to the newcomers.  For the Cooler Master GeminII, however, this is not the case.  Much buzz has been created for this product since it was first seen at CES in January.

     What has been the reason for so much buzz?  Simple: the GeminII cooler is freaking huge.    At 175mm by 125mm, it supports TWO 120mm fans.  As far as I am aware, the only other cooler that supports more than one 120mm fan is the Scythe Infinity.  A simple look at the GeminII will tell you one thing:  this is not only a CPU cooler, it is a system cooler.  So the big question lies before us: will the GeminII be enough to dethrone the reigning kings of Thermalright and Scythe?  We will soon find out!

Specifications:

Features:

• CPU+Board Cooler Design cools CPU and its surrounding components.

• Compatible with AMD X2 Dual Core, Intel Core 2 Duo and Core 2 Extreme.

• Complete cooling solution cools CPU and its surrounding components (motherboard, memory, VRM, chipset and VGA cards).

• Fan bracket design for mounting two 120 mm fan cools mainboard.

• Flexible bracket design provides interference-free installation.

• Copper base with 6 heat pipes design creates superior cooling performance.

• Huge aluminum fin design for excellent heat dissipation.

 In The Box:

      First off is Cooler Master’s attractive box.  On the top is a stylized photographed of what’s inside, along with some basic compatibility information.

On the front is window to the goodies inside; namely the many copper heatpipes.

The other sides of the packaging shows off the features, statistics, and compatibility of the unit.

     The internal packaging includes a baggie with all the bits and pieces, an instruction manual, and a custom formed plastic casing for the actual heatsink.

     Removing the bottom half of the plastic casing reveals the underside of the heatsink and the fan rails.  The interface area is protected with a clear plastic film.  Here we can see the contoured underside of the fins as well.