Cooler Master GeminII: Performer or Poser?
by Wesley Fink on April 30, 2007 2:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Cases/Cooling/PSUs
Cooling at Stock Speed
Some users will never overclock their CPU, but they still want to run the coolest CPU temperatures possible to enhance stability and extend CPU life. The Cooler Master GeminII does not come with fans, so we tested with four fan configurations as detailed on page four. Since there was little difference in performance among the four fan configurations results are reported with the dual Noctua SF12 configuration. This was the only tested configuration that managed to hold noise below the system noise floor while still cooling at temperatures very close to the high-output 110+63CFM fan configuration.
Where the very good Intel stock cooler keeps the X6800 at 41C at idle, the CoolerMaster GeminII manages 30C in most fan configurations. This is a significant improvement over the Intel stock cooler performance, but it is still far from the best we have tested. The Thermalright coolers, at the top of our heatpipe tower performance charts, cool to 26C and 27C, and the Tuniq 120 maintains 27C. The GeminII is obviously not the best stock idle cooler we have tested, but it is broadly competitive.
It is more difficult to effectively simulate a computer being stressed by all of the conditions it might be exposed to in different operating environments. For most home users CPU power is most taxed with contemporary gaming. Therefore our stress test simulates running a demanding contemporary game. The Far Cry River demo is looped for 30 minutes and the CPU temperature is captured at four second intervals with the NVIDIA monitor "logging" option. The highest temperature during the load test is then reported. Momentary spikes are ignored, as we report a sustained high-level temp that you would expect to find in this recording configuration.
Cooling efficiency of the GeminII was compared under load conditions at stock speed to the retail HSF and other recently tested CPU coolers.
The GeminII under load at stock speeds reached a maximum temperature of 39C with most fan configurations. Best performance was with a Silverstone 110CFM fan plus Scythe SFLEX configuration at 38C. This was only 1C cooler with a big increase in noise. This performance compares to the Thermalright coolers at 32C and 33C, the Tuniq at 34C and the Cooler Master Hyper 6+ and Zalman 9700 at 36C. Stock load performance is average at best among tested coolers.
Some users will never overclock their CPU, but they still want to run the coolest CPU temperatures possible to enhance stability and extend CPU life. The Cooler Master GeminII does not come with fans, so we tested with four fan configurations as detailed on page four. Since there was little difference in performance among the four fan configurations results are reported with the dual Noctua SF12 configuration. This was the only tested configuration that managed to hold noise below the system noise floor while still cooling at temperatures very close to the high-output 110+63CFM fan configuration.
Where the very good Intel stock cooler keeps the X6800 at 41C at idle, the CoolerMaster GeminII manages 30C in most fan configurations. This is a significant improvement over the Intel stock cooler performance, but it is still far from the best we have tested. The Thermalright coolers, at the top of our heatpipe tower performance charts, cool to 26C and 27C, and the Tuniq 120 maintains 27C. The GeminII is obviously not the best stock idle cooler we have tested, but it is broadly competitive.
It is more difficult to effectively simulate a computer being stressed by all of the conditions it might be exposed to in different operating environments. For most home users CPU power is most taxed with contemporary gaming. Therefore our stress test simulates running a demanding contemporary game. The Far Cry River demo is looped for 30 minutes and the CPU temperature is captured at four second intervals with the NVIDIA monitor "logging" option. The highest temperature during the load test is then reported. Momentary spikes are ignored, as we report a sustained high-level temp that you would expect to find in this recording configuration.
Cooling efficiency of the GeminII was compared under load conditions at stock speed to the retail HSF and other recently tested CPU coolers.
The GeminII under load at stock speeds reached a maximum temperature of 39C with most fan configurations. Best performance was with a Silverstone 110CFM fan plus Scythe SFLEX configuration at 38C. This was only 1C cooler with a big increase in noise. This performance compares to the Thermalright coolers at 32C and 33C, the Tuniq at 34C and the Cooler Master Hyper 6+ and Zalman 9700 at 36C. Stock load performance is average at best among tested coolers.
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
44 Comments
View All Comments
Cableaddict - Thursday, June 5, 2008 - link
This review ranks with Anantech's H2O kit review as one of the all-time low points for internet reviews.Once again, accurate & useful data marred by horrendous conclusions.
To wit:
1: Some people have small cases, like HTPC cases & such, and cannot fit any of the top heatsinks. For all of these users, the Gemini II is quite possibly the BEST heatsink that will actually fit. (It will JUST fit into a 3U rack case, with Noctua fans installed)
2: Some people care about low noise. The Gemini II was shown, by this very review, to excel with low-noise fans. Compare any heatsink made, with the possibly exception of the Ultra-120, to the Gemini with both using 1300 rpm Noctuas- The Gemini is the clear winner.
----
But sadly, the reviewer here fails to take these situations into consideration and decides to say that the excellent Gemini II is a "poser." Because this review was the first major one to be published, no one else really bothered much, and the product all but disappeared from the marketplace.
SHAME on this reviewer. Seriously.
FWIW, I had a DuOrb on my OC'd Q6600. I couldn't get it past 3.2 Ghz.
I recently switched to a Gemini II with two Noctuas, and have reached 3.5 Ghz under heavy load. - And the noise is almost non-existant.
This review blows.
Patrick Wolf - Monday, January 24, 2011 - link
Exactly. Obviously this cooler isn't targeted or designed to compete against the big boys. So to say it's a poser is just plain ignorant.mrseew - Thursday, December 13, 2007 - link
was looking for a review on the gemini ii vs the 120, thanksFarfle - Tuesday, October 2, 2007 - link
I got this cooler for $1 buck after rebates from Newegg. I don't care if it doesn't cool any better than the Intel HSF; the box and metal itself are worth the $1 just to look at. They're so shiny!!!Uglystick - Wednesday, September 19, 2007 - link
I dont mind AT comparing one product agianst another in fact I welcome it as it gives me a better feel on how the product fits into the market. But I find this review a little lacking. It reviews the coolers ability to cool but states the it comes midrange in all the tests of all aircoolers tested, but i could not find any mention of how much the cooler cost in comparison to the leading performers. A little investigation of the AT site shows that the "TOP" performer costs almost double what the Gemini (the Thermalright Ultra 120 is shown as $60 and the Gemini at $33) wouldnt this indicate that the cooler is not "meant" to compete with the top line models, after all we dont compare the family sedan with a Porsche do we. There's no mention of value for $ anywhere in the article (unless i missed it) so it may not be the great cooler that you were hoping it to be but how does it compare when you bring budget and market placement into it.Samus - Tuesday, September 4, 2007 - link
you never mentioned that memory and northbridge temperatures fall off the map with the gemini IIthe purpose of the cooler isn't to be an exceptional cpu cooler. its purpose is to cool everything else, too. and it does THAT better than ANY other cooler out there. my memory and northbridge have no active cooling, so with this cooler, they run exceptionally cooler. and all at no expense to added noise.
jes1111 - Wednesday, May 16, 2007 - link
Wow! Seems some people (including the reviewer) got out of bed on the wrong side.In common with many people, when I'm in the market for a new oiece of kit, I google up as many reviews and forum posts as I can find and make purchasing decisions accordingly. I find it significant that of all the reviews for the CoolerMaster Gemini II, yours is the only negative one. This tells me a lot about your approach.
The fact is that the vast majority of readers/surfers/PC-owners are NOT looking to "OC this rig to 5.9GHz at 27,000 volts on air!" just so they can brag about it at playschool. And as a good and responsible review site, you shouldn't be pandering to these measurebators.
I find your conclusion misleading and even unfair to CoolerMaster. The Gemini fits a particular need, a niche requirement if you will, and your review should reflect that instead of dismissing it as a gimmick that fails to outperform XYZ brand.
Take my case: I have a Gigabyte DQ6 board in a Lian-Li PC-V2000 Plus II case. I've gone for a mild overclock to 3.2GHz (400x8) with the RAM running at 1:1 (800). Originally I fitted a Noctua big-tower cooler thingee. The CPU cooling was just great but I was running an uncomfortably high temp on the MCH (a common problem with tower-style coolers). Problem: on this board (and many others I'm), a tower-style cooler of the Noctua's dimensions overhangs the MCH, so I'm unable to fit a 40mm fan to the top of its heatsink to cool the wee beastie down. Solution: a Gemini II with two Noctua 120mm fans. Now I get more or less the same CPU temp as the Noctua gave me, but greatly improved MCH temp (even without the 40mm fan running) and I'm sure my RAM and power components are happier too.
In other words, the Gemini is a VERY clever and useful piece of equipment, designed to answer a specific and not uncommon problem and it does so VERY well. So, far from being dismissed as a mere gimmick, it should be praised for bucking a fashion trend (encouraged by reviews like yours) and doing exactly what it says it will do.
And, as others have pointed out, for HTPC applications none of the big towers will fit. Your review could/should have identified these points and given CoolerMaster the praise they deserve.
So there! With knobs on!
fasdl - Saturday, May 5, 2007 - link
Too bad it didn't do better... It has 8 maybe if you had a case with side intake it would have performed cooler? I'm actually going to build a a side intake system using the Enermax chakra case. It has a 250mm fan that would push air into the line of suction of these fans. I also notice it has 6 heat pipes like the 120 ultra extreme, it must be that they made it too short. If the fins were taller it would have had comparable surface area and done better perhaps. I really like the idea though of spreading out more instead of having it one tall tower. It blows on the ram too!Blacklash - Wednesday, May 2, 2007 - link
I noticed you have been reviewing quite a few coolers as of late. Grab a Thermaltake V1 and see how it does. I know it won't out perform the Tuniq tower and it should be good for a mid range OC. I am curious what its limits are. Below is what I am talking about-[url]http://www.allstarshop.com/shop/product.asp?ad=fg&...[/url]
yyrkoon - Wednesday, May 2, 2007 - link
Drop the 'an', or the 's' from supplies
Last page, second paragraph.