Cooler Master GeminII S524 - CPU Cooler with Aluminum Fins and 5 Heatpipes

Pros: Keeps my i7-3820 idle CPU at 33 degrees C when in a lightly air conditioned space of 29 C. It is silent. Since that is cool I have this FAN speed up to levels I can hear if the CPU reaches 45C, the only time that happens is when I am using a very multi-threaded 100% CPU for minutes at a time application, such as a Computer Go opponent. Games like Starcraft 2, this cooler silently keeps the CPU below that 45C threshold. You could install extremely tall memory DIMMs in your Intel 2011 motherboard with no problem due to this cooler's design. I know this is a potential issue with this platform. No lights, thank you Cooler Master

Cons: 10$ mail in rebate difficult to claim. The form appears to be reset every week, so if you did not print the rebate form the week of the purchase you cannot receive 10$ back even with the receipt and UPC. The ability to accept 140mm Fans is NOT appreciated when your hands are struggling to attach this cooler. I had to install and remove it and install it again due to a bad CPU. It takes a good 15 minutes to install, the second time. Mostly because it is so wide. It makes me wish they either included the 140mm fan or saved the 2cm in width and length as that would make it considerably easier to install and probably cheaper. The price is only good with the mail-in-rebate, but what's done is done and I'm still left with an extremely high quality CPU cooler.

Pros: Just wanted I need for my HTPC case (the CM Elite 360), which has about 120mm in clearance. This cooler is about 105mm high. Compared to the stock cooler, this brought the temps on my i7-860 down from being off the charts (75C while gaming and 98C in stress testing) to under 60C while gaming and around 70C during stress testing.

Cons: Surprisingly tricky to install - unlike the CM Hyper 212+ I have, the bracket behind the motherboard does not independently attach. Perhaps CM did this to save on parts, but holding that bracket on while holding the heatsink on the other side and tightening the screws all the while requires more than two hands. I think I managed it by pinning it against the floor, but it was not an elegant operation. Also, and this goes without saying, this heatsink will not be as effective as a tower-style heatsink, but if you're buying this, you probably are doing so because of height limitations. Frankly, the price on this seems to reflect a bit of a premium for the specialized nature of the product.

Overall Review: This can be mounted in four different directions, but only one makes any sense in my opinion - orienting it towards the rear-panel connectors. Otherwise you'll either block the memory slots, extend beyond the top of the board, or block the first PCIe slot. The PCM fan is relatively effective, but it does get loud - allowed to operate automatically via motherboard control, it runs at 700rpm at idle and 1800rpm at full load. I may eventually tweak it to narrow that range a bit.

Pros: Beautifully constructed. Quiet 120mm fan. Like the way it blows air down onto the motherboard and particularly onto the memory dimms.

Cons: Watch the height of your memory dimms. For example, Corsair Vengeance dimms with their tall heat sink don't come close to clearing the cooler fins.

Overall Review: A bit difficult to install. I set the cooler down on my work table, and then lowered the motherboard down onto the cooler.

Pros: It cools well and is very quiet. The downward draft helps to cool everything around it on the motherboard. My i5 2500k OC'd to 4.2 idles at room temp and is at 60-65 C at full load using IBT or Prime95. Lots of ground clearance, but definitely not for small cases. Technically has four mounting choices, but one is not recommended.

Cons: If it had an option for a 140 mm fan why not include it instead of the 120 mm fan? I would have gladly paid a few more dollars for that.

Overall Review: People who said you can't put this on without removing the motherboard must have an incredibly basic case. In my HAF 912 case, there is a cutout beneath the board that allows easy removal of the CPU heatsink while the motherboard is still installed. The instructions are very easy to follow as well, it has lots of illustrations for every type of socket it supports. For Intel, you just put on the brackets, move the pins to the correct slot, mount it to the motherboard, and install the backplate. Sure, the stock cooler was much easier to install but it also sucked. This cooler is fantastic for the price, don't let bad installation stories detract from its value. The versatility, price, and performance are all excellent.

Pros: - VERY easy mounting solution compared to other Coolermaster systems. When I first looked at it I thought it would be difficult but was actually quite easy. - Quite capable for a top->down cooler. Kept temperatures within 5°c of my Hyper 212+ - Tall enough to allow for memory with taller heatspreaders to fit underneath

Cons: - Instructions were a bit difficult to understand but with some extra time studying them I figured them out. Coolermaster's instructions could use some work as Heatsinks are such an important part of any system. - Doesn't come bundled with a 140mm fan. It has mounting holes for both a 120mm and 140mm fan but would benefit from being bundled with a 140mm for efficiency and acoustics. - Can be difficult to find a working orientation - if you orient the cooler over the memory banks you get efficient cooling of your memory, but you need to remove the heatsink to swap or change memory modules...extra steps can be frustrating

Overall Review: Used this for my Girlfriend's computer. It gave a nice little bit of flash for her system without being over the top. It keeps a heavily overclocked FX-4170 (4.8GHz) under 50°c and within 5°c of what my hyper 212+ was able to keep the processor at when I was using it. It is a very capable cooler that would benefit from minor reworks (similar to the 212+ -> 212evo) and bundling improvements, but as is, is an extremely good value for anyone looking for some more robust full system (memory, MB, and CPU) cooling.

Pros: *Cools extremely well. *Can be set in multiple directions, you make the call. *Once secure, you get the feeling that the mighty Thor himself could not move this cooling unit. *It looks incredible. Other cooling units cower as it shambles past.

Cons: *Getting this unit locked down is an exercise in patience and willpower.

Overall Review: If you are like me, then you will have to re-position this cooler in nearly all of the possible directions it can point in your case. I urge you to not be like me, and plan accordingly the first time. Once it is locked in, you feel that you have scaled the mountain, and nothing more can touch you.

Pros: This cooler and fan run at less than half of what my original stock Intel ran at. That little dog was screaming along at almost 4000 rpm. This Cooler Master idles at about 1300 rpm and under load maxes out at 1800 rpm. Much quieter but certainly not silent. But the price for this semi-pro cooling system is just right.

Cons: Wow, the directions are one sheet with multiple languages. The text size and pictures are incredibly small. I'm in my late 50's but my vision is good. I need reading glasses of course. Even so, I think the average young person won't be able to read them either. Older people build computers too.

Overall Review: Which Intel or AMD backplate and mounting bracket you use, is not easy to determine. There are only two possible ways and still I attempted to mount the wrong CPU type. Easily corrected. The whole assembly is very big and I had to remove my Ultra case cooling funnel (which is easy and designed to come off) to close the case. Keep the box and other hardware and you can easily reuse this cooler if you change motherboard/processor type later. Also the 120mm fan is easily removable if it ever fails and appears to be just a generic type available almost anywhere. The supplied fan is 4 pin PWM adjustable speed type. Good job Cooler Master. A very nice cooling solution for a very reasonable price. Please redo the instructions with better quality and a reasonable font size.

Pros: Outstanding cooling - Dropped my Prime95 CPU temps by at least 20C on my AMD Phenom II x4 960T. Fantastic results for a sub $40 cooler. And the fan is VERY quiet - full load Prime95 testing and the fan only gets up to about 1400 RPM (it idles down around 800-900). The stock fan idled at 2500 and would blast at 5000 under full load. It is a down-draft cooler (and they are getting hard to find) - that's a pro 'cause it is what I want - I think it's a better choice in most systems than the more common side-draft coolers. If you have a case with a side mounted air horn to direct fresh air straight into the CPU cooler, this is the right cooler!

Cons: Will cover some RAM slots and limits total memory height. G.Skill Ripjaw RL types fit with about a full finger clearance (about 15mm), so I think the RMs would also fit - probably not the RH. Must remove the MB to mount if you are not putting it on a new build. PITA to do it after the build, but it was the only way I could compare the performance against the stock AMD cooler. This means I ain't NEVER gonna pull it to try any different coolers! Overall size is slightly too large - it won't clear a rear case fan if you want to position it over the VRMs instead of the RAM. In many cases it will not clear the power supply if pointed it up, and unfortunitely it should not be pointed down. The clearance is made worse by designing it to allow an optional 140mm fan - stupid 'cause the extra size of a 140 fan will just be blocked by the mounting plate! They could have easily trimmed 1/4" or more from all sides of the top plate to provide better clearance without affecting performa

Overall Review: It is really too bad they did not center the fins and fan a bit more over the CPU instead of sticking so far out to the side. The only way I could mount this thing without removing the rear case fan was pointing forward over the RAM. While this works fine, the design actually blocks any air flow to the rear to cool the MOSFETS - I really DISLIKE this! The main benefit of the down-draft design is to cool the other items on the MB, so it should NOT be designed to specifically block all air flow in one direction! When mounted over the RAM, most of the fan is not even under the air horn in the case side, but even so, it still pulls enough fresh air through the horn that most temps are 5C lower with the case closed (which allows the front and rear fans to effectively remove the heat inside the case). I almost moved the rear fan outside the case just so I could mount this cooler the way it SHOULD be mounted.