Intro:

    Gigabyte, a name you'd come to think of as a motherboard company, has been diversifying themselves over the past few years. Video cards, wireless networking, laptops, even HSF's, and there are many more things that I didn't mention. We'll take a closer look at one of their HSF's, the G-Power Pro cooler. Sporting support for pretty much any mainstream system board out now, it sure could be a great HSF now, and it'll probably handle your next mainboard upgrade as well later. If that sounds remotely enticing, continue on for the review...


Features:

 • Universal 4-in-1 design fits all mainstream platforms
 • Omni-directional cooler design with new advanced sintered powder wicks
 • Advanced sintered powder wicks structure, enhances heat dissipation
 • Quad-Way Airflow Design - Fully compliant with MOSFET thermal functions
 • Solid pure copper base with nickel-plating finish
 • Quad high-performance heatpipes
 • High-density fin placement maximizes heat dissipation area
 • Tooless 4-in-1 bracket enables easy installation of G-power series.
 • Raised heat pipes avoid interference with neighboring components
 • Fan speed control on 3.5'' front panel
 • Fan speed control on PCI rear panel
 • Attractive packaging


Specifications:
 
 Dimension: 110 x 110 x 109mm
 Heatpipe: 4
 Base Material Cooper w/ Nickel coating
 Fin Material: Aluminum
 Power 12V, 0.1~0.5A
 Fan Speed: 1700~3200 rpm
 Airflow :36.2~68.5 CFM
 Noise: 21.3~40.1 dBA
 Bearing Type: Ball Bearing
 Life Expectancy 50,000 hr 
 Weight 430g
 

Compatible CPU:

  Intel® Pentium® 4 Processor 870/670/570 (3.8GHz)
  Intel® Pentium® 4 Processor 478 (3.4GHz)
  AMD AthlonTM FX 55 (939/754)
  AMD AthlonTM 64 4000+ (939/754)
  AMD AthlonTM XP 3200+ (Socket A)


The packaging:

    As you can see from the below 4 pictures, the packaging that Gigabyte used to show off the G-Power Pro is quite pleasing, and contains all the "pertinent" information that you would need to justify your purchase. As in, everything you just saw above and more. I'll get into more of the details of what is in the package in the next section.

    My only two comments in closing are that the knob that you can see in picture 1, did rub against the plastic packaging, and received some minor abrasion in shipping. Not shipping to me, but shipping from the factory I would suspect. You can see how minor it is in picture 6 below. Getting everything out of the packaging was more like trying to open a puzzle box. Ok, it wasn't that bad, but it was interesting to say the least. It wasn't just pull this flap and it's open. Not a big deal in that regard at all, I just thought I'd mention it. And I mean that to be taken in passing.

(1) Front	(2) Right side

(3) Left side	(4) The back

What's inside you ask?:

    I guess I'll just start with everything in picture 5. The other two are just close-ups really, so...We have clipping mechanisms for the LGA775, the P4, K7, and K8 sockets. We also have a manual, which I'll get into shortly, the 3.5" bay fan controller knob, the fan controller itself, (with two sided mounting tape) a specially designed PCI slot, incase you wanted to put fan control at the back of your PC, arguably generic type thermal paste, mounting hardware for the various mechanisms, cables needed for hooking up your fan controller knob, and of course the fan controlling box.


 The Manual:

    To be fair, and well, honest, for the most part, the manual is almost useless. Although it's in many languages, the pictures are far too small, and in gray scale, to be of any use. The manual is also a bit light on words. For example, in changing out the fan controller knob from the 3.5" bay, to the back PCI bracket, the manual says, "Disassemble the turn knob, bolt, and fan speed controller from the 3.5" bracket and reassemble these parts onto a PCI bracket in sequence." There are two maybe Dime sized pictures showing the knob disassembled from the 3.5" bay, and then the other one shows it complete in the PCI bracket. It's just not clear on how to do it. While I'm not trying to play dumb, and perhaps being a bit harsh, the fact of the matter is most definitely, I had to use the PDF file of the manual to get some of the crappy pictures in color, for a better understanding of how to mount the cooler on the K7 socket. The other clip instructions seem a bit better, but even in the .pdf, the pictures were too small to be useful. Go see for yourself! I've put the .pdf on my site. It's right HERE! It's only about 550kb, so please take a look...

(5) Everything, except the HSF pictured	(6) 3 1/2" controller	(7) Fan controller module

 Everything else that needs some commenting on:

    I do really like the mounting options for this HSF. It's also nice to see the thermal paste included. Albeit it's not a premium thermal paste, it'll get the job done. I would probably think any self respecting enthusiast already would have their own favorite premium paste already though. Having the fan controller separate from the knob is a mixed blessing. The good is that you have two mounting options for the fan controlling knob. On the other hand, there is one more thing to hide in your case. (The fan controlling module.) That would be important if you have a window, and it also adds two more wires into the probably already mess of wires that are inside your case already. My test system is...Cough...

    I would like to comment a bit on the fan controlling knob. If you weren't interested in clicking picture 6 before, you should now. Gigabyte did a helpful thing, and put the fan speed, and Decibel rating right on the shroud of the 3.5" bay. Perhaps not an option that is going to really make you buy it, because generally, if you use a rheobus already, you either turn your fans down to where you can stand it, or watch your temps, and turn them to where you feel comfortable on your case and CPU temps. If the 3.5" bay controller looks a bit dull, it's because there is a protective layer of film on it. It's easily peeled off, and it protects the front of the bay device...Too bad nothing like that was on the knob...


 The HSF:

    In picture 8, we can see the large 110mm fan. It does look impressive, and even more impressive when in use, I can't help to wonder why Gigabyte didn't use a more standard fan on this HSF. It becomes quite obvious, that after your fan fails, or heaven forbid, you break it off somehow, you have a perfectly good HSF, or really, HS. Another thing that comes to mind is that there is NO fan guard on it. Yes, keep your wires and fingers out of it. I can guarantee you that if you stuck your finger at the edge of the fan when running, it'll tear a chunk out of your finger. The tips of the blades are very sharp. Multiply that by rotation, and like I said, missing chunk of finger...

    You'll also notice the open sides of the fan. Those decrease noise, and at the same time increase the amount of air that gets pushed down over the fins of the HSF. That's in theory. I have no proof of concept for that, but other HSF manufacturers are using this new technology as well. Thermaltake comes to mind immediately.

    You'll undoubtedly notice the small base of the HSF. It's copper, and nickel plated. Copper oxidizes with exposure to air, so the Nickel coating protects that. Copper, which incidentally is my dog's name, absorbs heat faster than aluminum, but can't get rid of it as fast as aluminum.  Aluminum absorbs heat more slowly than Copper, but can get rid of it quicker, as I sort of just said. That is why you see a lot of hybrid Copper/Aluminum HSF's. There are some better alternatives to both Copper and Aluminum, but the cost in manufacturing, and reselling with exotic metals is far away from being cost effective for anyone. Manufacturers, sellers, or end users. I suppose someday we'll see some, but who is going to want to buy a $600 HSF? Crap, got off topic, not really, but...Anyway, this HSF uses heat pipe technology. heat from the base is transferred up the four pipes which you can see, into a radiator basically. The greater surface are of the radiator is used to disperse the heat faster than a solid core to a "normal" HSF would do. It apparently works. Heat pipes for HSF's are all the rage as of late aren't they?

    Lastly, for this section, if in picture 9, the HSF doesn't look quite, well, even spaced, or at a right angle, it's not. I doubt this would affect performance in anyway, I'm just a perfectionist in some aspects. I later gave the HSF a little bend, to look correct to me. It didn't take much, and luckily I didn't break the damn thing like I did the clip. More on that later.

(8) The fan	(9) Side view	(10) Another view

 
A little closer look at the HSF:

    In picture 11, you can see the very thin fins around the 4 wicks that bring heat up from the CPU. Quite an engineering feet, or not really when you really think about engineering feats, but they are all perfectly even, and spaced perfectly. In picture 12, you can see one of the LED's that comes out of the fan base. There are of course 4 of them, and with any LED lit fan, looks quite spectacular. More so in person, than what a camera captures obviously.

(11) In through the outdoor	(12) LED

 The base:

    A bright red sticker protects the HSF base in transit, and probably you moving around while you fumble through the manual. Fortunately, for some n00bs, the HSF industry has realized that some people leave on protective film accidentally. This leads to disaster as you can imagine. I'm pretty sure there is no way someone would leave the protective sticker on this one when installing. I'd hope not anyway. While the Nickel plated base isn't as smooth as I would have liked to have seen, it's definitely not the worst. Although it is pretty dull in HSF standards. I'm sure you could get a lapping kit, and go to work if you really wanted to. I have no idea how thick the Nickel is, but perhaps getting to the Copper base would make you feel better. I don't know...I'm just speculating. Maybe you can get a nice shine on the Nickel though...

(13) Bottom view	(14) Mirror, mirror

Clipped:

    Clipping the HSF with the K7 clip is tooless. That is much appreciated, because if you have ever been there, in other words, putting a flat head screwdriver, probably 30+ foot pounds of pressure to try and clip your HSF on the socket, while pointing down at your motherboard is pretty scary. Usually, because you can never find the exact size screwdriver to get the job done right. I've never done it myself, but at pressure, a little slip, and it's very easy to pop off a capacitor, or break a few traces on your mobo. After that, major miniature soldering comes into play at a last resort, because you just killed your board.

    There are two holes lets say, for the K7 clip to fit into. That holds the K7 bracket onto the HSF base. I did have to squeeze them a bit together with pliers for the K7 bracket to stay snug enough, that in mounting, it wouldn't fall out, or worse, shift a little after mounting. Not cool when you have to mod your new HSF to work right. So yeah, seriously, the K7 bracket wouldn't stay in between the two holes. Mounting on the K7 is the only one that you have to take the larger base of off, to mount the K7 clip if I'm not mistaken. Since all the other sockets have larger mounts than the old socket A, 462, or K7, ya know...

    Note on picture 15: Even though the below picture seems to portray the clip not being clipped correctly, I think it was. Or, hmm, maybe it wasn't. I think it was just the camera angle, and I did use the flash, so...Yeah, at this time of writing, it has been many weeks since that particular picture, in a low light situation, was taken. I try not to remember yesterday, so I definitely try not to remember last month.

(15) Clipped in...

Oh Nooo. We have a problem, and even a bigger problem:

    Well, With my Lian Li 6010 case, the thumb clip unfortunately is just about an 1/8" of an inch too high to fit back into the removable mobo tray. I used two pairs of needle nosed pliers to try and "just bend" the thumb clip back to clear the back of the case. I was as careful as I could be, or thought to be, as I didn't want to break the clip. I guess I did put enough pressure on the place I didn't want to put pressure on, because I'd know I'd break the clip. Picture 17 explains the outcome. Oops!

    Fortunately, doing some look up of other people's reviews, to try and convince another review site to send me their K7 clip that they may not use in the future, since Gigabyte didn't have another review sample available at the time. A huge thanks to Jason from BigBruin.com for sending his "extra" clip, via USPS, on his dime even. So without trying to go overboard, I am very grateful for the clip. Thanks again bro!

    I was very careful not to break this one. I found a sanding bit that fit in an electric drill, and went to work on the stainless steel clip. After half an hour, a drink, and a couple smokes, I figured I had ground enough off of the clip for it to fit. I was correct. I didn't take a picture of that, but imagine the thumb clip with less metal on it. Shouldn't be much of a stretch now is it?

(16) Crap. No fit!	(17) Oops, I broke it. My bad!

    We'll light it up next, and do the testing. This is the best part...

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