Results

The performance is quite frankly pretty shoddy for the size of the cooler, but it's hardly unexpected. There's basically a massive gap in the middle that air shoots straight through, meaning the air isn't forced between the fins. A central radial fan might have worked a lot better but even though I know that's been done before I can't name a single cooler that has used it effectively.

The bottom fan does seemingly little as well - it may cool the base and there is air coming out of it, but it doesn't seem to help the PWMs as we found it produces one highest PWM temperatures we've seen. The Scythe Mugen (formerly Infinity) gave a higher temperature but that's because the total airflow was very low and it completely missed the PWMs, whereas in contrast the Gigabyte should be pushing the air down into the PWM heatsink fins.

The performance at the high and intolerably noisy fan speed is only about the same as the Freezer 7 Pro and Thermaltake MaxOrb on its lowest setting. The MaxOrb and ZeroTherm BTF90 might be slightly more expensive but the Freezer 7 Pro is just a fraction of the price (and size).

On a "normal" setting, the Gigabyte is no louder than the ZeroTherm BTF90 and it very tolerable, but isn't truly silent. For the first time it seems a manufacturer actually has real representative decibel numbers on its cooler because 25dB seems appropriate for it, as is 16dB for the "Silent" fan speed setting and 34dB is for "OC". On a normal setting you're looking at a cooling performance under the V1 on low but above the Karma Cross.

Conclusions

Depending on your tolerance it may look a bit gimmicky, especially the "fluorescent bands" and copious use of blue plastic and LEDs, but it does include a variable fan controller none the less. That may not be a novel addition but it's extremely useful as you can install it at the front or back of a case. Installation is a bit more than just a pop in for the LGA775 socket, but it's very simple and requires minimal effort. In comparison the AMD sockets just require a single clip and you're job done. However we're still concerned about the reasonably flimsy mounting plastic bracket for LGA775 CPUs if you're transporting the case - the cooler is very tall and as such, top heavy.

Unfortunately as a cooling product it isn't that great at all. To be honest it needs a complete redesign from the ground up with a fluid dynamics expert at the helm. The air isn't being forced through effectively and the massive cooling potential of eight heatpipes dies as a consequence. We hope the Volar will be better, Gigabyte.

• Build Quality
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• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• -
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• 6/10

• Ease of Use
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• -
• -
• 8/10

• Performance
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• -
• -
• -
• -
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• 5/10

• Value
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• -
• -
• -
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• 6/10

• Overall
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• x
• -
• -
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• 6/10

What do these scores mean?