Thermaltake Extreme Giant III

Introduction

I would like to thank Thermaltake for supplying me with the unit for review.

From the manufacturer Thermaltake:

• Application for video card with mounting holes on the PCB only
• Dual heatpipe moves the heat more efficiently
• Much better heat dissipation is delivered by larger heatsink surface
• Ventilation channel and blower fan improve the cooling performance
• Fan speed switch control the fan at different speed and noise level
• Universal clip for both nVIDIA and ATI
• Eight Copper Ramsinks included, can be applied on any chipset

Specification

Heatsink:	Aluminum
Fan Type:	ReverFlow Fan		Blower
Fan Dimension:	60x60x10 mm		40x40x40 mm
Rated Voltage:	12V		12V
Startup Voltage:	7V		7V
Rated Current:	0.35 A		0.35 A
Power Input:	4.20 W		4.20 W
Speed Settings:	High, Medium, Low		On, Off
Fan Speed:	High: Medium: Low:	5300 RPM 4200 RPM 3000 RPM	9000 RPM
Max. Air Flow:	22.3 CFM		3.53 CFM
Max. Air Pressure:	3.68 mmH2O		6.56 mmH2O
Noise:	High: Medium: Low:	38 dBA 30 dBA 21 dBA	41.6 dBA
Bearing Type:	1 Ball, 1 Sleeve		Sleeve
Life Expectation:	40,000 hrs		30,000 hrs
Power Connector:	4 Pin		3 Pin
Heatpipe:	Nickel-plated copper tube
Ramsink:	Copper, 20x9x6 mm

Packaging

Box contents:

• Front Heatsink
• Back Heatsink
• Two Heatpipes
• PCI Slot Cover with two switches
• Eight Copper Ramsinks
• Front Heatsink Fan
• Blower Fan
• Thermal Grease
• Front and Back Heatsink Base with clipsets to hold them in place.
• Screw Packages A, B and C.
• Booklet with Installation Instructions

As you can see in the next two images, the surface of the cooler that makes contact with the core is convex towards the outside. This makes sense since GPU chips which are packaged in plastic (GeForce 2/3/4) are concave towards the center- as we will see later it does not affect contact with ATI's chips where the heatsink is mounted directly on the unpackaged core.

Installation

Installation of the Giant III is relatively complex because there are many parts. The instructions are very precise - split into three chapters keeping confusion at a minimum. The installation process takes about one hour if you do it the first time.

Here is a quick summary of it:

1. Remove the stock cooler and clean GPU.
2. Put thermal paste on GPU.
3. Put front heatsink base on GPU.
4. Put clipset on front heatsink base and fix it.
I found this step a bit difficult to perform since the front heatsink easily moves around while tightening the screws. It helped a bit to just hold the screw with the screwdriver and tighten the backside screw with the other hand.

5. Put rear heatsink base on video card backside.
6. Put clipset on rear heatsink base and fix it.
While screwing down the fixing screws I heard a strange 'pop' sound. After looking I found out that the screws go through the rear heatsink base, and push the protective adhesive tape on it away from the heatsink which makes a sound. This is perfectly fine and does not create any problems.

7. Apply thermal grease where the heatpipes will contact the front heatsink base.
8. Install front heatsink.
9. Apply thermal grease where the heatpipes will contact the back heatsink base.
10. Install back heatsink.
11. Install fan on front heatsink.
12. Install blower fan.
13. Connect fans to speed switch.

On the backside the spacing between the Giant III backside cooling plate and Northbridge cooler is about 2 mm. Which is not enough if you plan on using a bigger aftermarket heatsink on your Northbridge.