Gigabyte G-Power 2 Pro Cooler

The Heatsink

Honestly, the initial reactions to the G-Power II were very mixed and not everyone in the office was fabulously enamoured with the faux-chrome shielding and slippery design. It’s certainly a case of chalk and cheese if you’ve got a case window, and while chrome bling might look good on some cars (Or Not – Ed), it won’t necessarily be at home in some PCs.

The Gigabyte G-Power II utilises an unusual 85 degree arc shaped heatsink construction, intended to help cool the PWM MOSFETs as well as the CPU by directing fan airflow down onto the motherboard. The result is extremely odd-looking as the G-Power II curves backwards on itself like an ouroboros in the making.

Elsewhere, the G-Power II just as unconventional – Gigabyte has nickel-plated the copper base and heat pipes to prevent corrosion, allowing the G-power 2 to benefit from the improved cooling afforded by using copper whilst avoiding the tarnishing problems that can sully its look, something every watercooler is probably very well aware of!

This nickel plating is the reason why the base and heatpipes have the same chrome effect as the shroud, which only adds to the odd look and gives the base that sexy mirrored finish. These heatpipes are soldered into place on it, and on top of that is a small passive heatsink which the AMD AM2(+) retention clips fit onto.


The G-Power II’s blue LED 120mm fan is built right into the shroud and funnels the air over the heatsink’s outward splaying fins. This means that you’ll be unable to swap the fan out for a higher/lower CFM model, as is possible with some high end heatsinks, unless you’re a keen modder and want to custom mount another fan – that's some serious effort.

The fan may come with a a nicely sleeved cable, but sadly it only comes with a 3-pin connector, which will prevent you from using the fan-speed adjusting system as that requires a 4-pin PWM connector. This flaw is lessened by the inclusion of the 5/12 volt step down cable which allows you to choose whether the fan runs at full or half speed.


The G-Power II Pro has been not been designed as a brute force heatsink; instead the fins are thin, providing a comparatively small surface area. Rather, the heatsink takes advantage of the standard cooling provided by a rear case fan in a standard ATX case (if there is such a thing as a standard case among bit-tech readers!). By using a curved design, the G-Power II Pro positions its heatsink fins towards the rear exhaust fan/s of a case it’s fitted into, creating a push/pull effect to maximise cooling while utilising its chrome shroud to ensure efficient airflow.

In fact, anyone planning to use the G Power II in a modded case might want to seriously consider how their mod design could affect the airflow within the chassis. Screw with the natural order too much and the G Power II isn’t going to be able to perform to the best of its abilities.

One thing that did irritate us is the barcodes stuck to the top of the heatsink, so when you look into a case at your hardware expecting some chrome shine, these ugly things get right in the way.

Overall, the G-Power II Pro is a perfect example of that splash of unique that Gigabyte always goes for. Despite feeling plastic-y, it looks great in the right case: there are blue LEDs, braided cables, and lots of BLING. What else do you need? Oh, yeah – performance!