Gigabyte G-Power Pro

The G-Power series from Gigabyte has only one purpose: to get a huge fan directly over your processor and keep it cool no matter what. Rather than making different designs for each CPU model, this one is capable of being used on Socket A, 478, 754, 939, 940 and LGA-775.

In the box they provide a series of brackets, which enable the base plate to be secured to each type. What I liked about the way this was done was that, unlike other designs, it didn't involve removing the plastic cradle or mounting screws; getting underneath a motherboard in a working system is a pain, and Gigabyte has cleverly avoided the need to do that.

The cooler is an unusual design, to say the least. It uses a thick solid copper plate intercepted by three heat pipes that then carry excess heat to a finned radiator and fan assembly. So it's with some pride that I can tell you that the heat pipes are advanced sintered powder wicks! In more conventional language this means they channel heat effectively to the radiator - and its enormous fan.

It's that fan that brings me neatly to the downside of the G-Power: its sheer scale. Although adjustments can be made to the height of the heat pipes, many systems just won't have the vertical clearance around the processor for such an imposing structure. This is a shame because operationally it works impressively, nailing my Athlon 6400 3800+ to 48c at maximum fan speed of 3200rpm. It should be said that at this velocity the fan is noisy, but the Pro model comes with a fan controller which allows that to be reduced to a whispering 21.3 dBA at 1700 rpm. The controller can be adjusted through a rheostat that can be mounted either on a card plate or floppy bay front panel.

Overall, I like the G-Power as it is easy to install, works well, and with its blue LEDs can look pretty funky. It's also not very expensive as coolers go. Just make sure it will fit in your system before making a commitment to buy one.

Gigabyte

Gigabyte

£36

n/a

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