Reviews for Cooler Master GeminII Cooling Solution

Good Performance But With Significant flaws (AM2...

Strengths: Good overall cooling power - keeps many critical motherboard areas cool. Very Inexpensive for the cooling power.

Weakness: Not really a good universal design - some AMD motherboards can't mount this & No backplate for the intel platform. Large and unusual dimensions.

This cpu cooler just screams potential when you first look at it, but after trying to install it and use it, you'll soon see that there are a few glaring flaws.


By itself, the cooler is pretty well designed and put together - the ability to mount 2x downward facing 120mm fans is really something and will be especially helpful for those with systems suffering from poor airflow. Unfortunately, the problems start when trying to get this thing situated. For AM2, the rubber dampeners are simply too short to fit on the supplied screws and are effectively useless unless you pair them up with the plastic washers meant for installations on intel's platform. On the plus side, the backplate is a very welcome addition as I noticed much less warping of the motherboard as with Thermaltake's bigtyphoon on many intel motherboards. Finally getting this cooler inside my Antec Superlanboy case necessitated that I remove the 120mm exhaust fan. One final miscellaneous gripe that I have with this is that it gets much heavier when you mount the fans, so it might be a good idea to look for some light-weight fans.


In my opinion, this cooler is a great starter for those seeking a silent system - I've paired this cooler up with a pair of Enermax 120mm fans featuring Enlobal bearings, and at 950rpm each, I can keep my AMD x2 5600+ at 39C in silence. Other components that I'm using are an Antec Neo HE 500w PSU and a quiet HIS HD 2600 Pro 512mb.

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Cooler Master GeminII Heatsink

Strengths: Excellent cooling with 2 120mm fans, affordable with rebate

Weakness: Extremely large heatsink, will not fit on some motherboards (won't work on the DFI Lanparty UT Ultra-D)

I ended up putting this on my Asus A8N-SLI Deluxe motherboard because it would not fit on my DFI Lanparty UT Ultra-D mobo. According to the instructions this heatsink can not be used on a motherboard whose CPU retention bracket screws are mounted horizontally, versus screws that are mounted vertically (think of the motherboard mounted in a mid tower case) a bit hard to explain, but be aware of this won't work on every board.
Once mounted on the Asus board, which had to be removed as there is no way to mount this heatsink with the motherboard installed in the case, results were good. With a couple of 120mm fans cooling a FX-55 bumped to FX-57 speeds, temps were in the middle 30's C with load temps tipping 40 C. Not bad for an inexpensive cooler. The Antec window case it sits in, lets just say the heatsink dominates the view.
All in all, good buy with a rebate.

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RR-CCH-ANU2-GP GeminII Heatsink.

Strengths: Massive cooling; useable without fan if not overclocking; very effective; solidly built; fan(s) also cool(s) other components.

Weakness: Bulky; might not fit in some small and medium cases; difficult to install.

RR-CCH-ANU2-GP GeminII Heatsink is the best heat sink I ever had for a desktop PC, particularly HTPC. Adding a 120mm fan running at a very slow speed, I was able to overclock a duo core 1.8 GHz E4300 to a stable 3.1GHz fast performance in a very cool and quiet computing environment. In fact, it could be used reliably without a fan if aggressive overclocking is not required. I like it so much that I had to get another one for a future quad core system. Highly recommended.

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Effective cooling with 2 large 120mm fan

Strengths: Effective cooling

Weakness: With 2 120mm fan, you need to be sure you have space in your case for them. In addition, they may get in the way of accessing certain parts of MB (e.g. memory module slots).

With 2 120mm fan mountable on the cooler and six cooper heat pipes, the cooling is effective with awesome airflow. It keeps my CPU at about 25 degree C at idles. However, note that the cooler with the 2 120mm fan does take up some space and at times made it difficult for me to access some parts of the motherboard. Removing and installation of memory module was more challenging for example. It does also get in the way of plugging wires. If possible get all the components and wires in place first before installing this monster (unless you are willing to redo thermal paste and cooler re-installation frequently).

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The BIG CPU Cooler

Strengths: Supports multiple platforms, allows clearance on most motherboards for memory removal and replacement

Weakness: It's big, and I mean big.

I bought this CPU heatsink for a silent (passive) socket 939 computer system. Wasn't meant to be as I had to mount 2 low speed Yate Loon 120mm low speed fans on the cooler. In all fairness the CPU I'm using draws 89 watts. This would be a better passive cooler for a 65 or 45 watt CPU. I also thought that due to the heatsink size and type of mounting it uses it made for a tedious and "clumsy" installation.

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The big GeminII CPU cooler

Strengths: Lots of surface area.

Weakness: Must purchase two additional fans to make it active rather than passive. Very large.

This is the mother of all CPU coolers run with fans. The thing is just flat out huge. It provides plenty of surface area to dissipate heat, but you'll have to buy two 120mm fans to take full advantage of the cooling capabilities. Also, because of its size, you may run into problems with nearby components. Usually not a problem, but good to be cognizant of this issue. Cooling is much better than stock fans, but not nearly as good as water cooled solutions. Fine for the average over clocker that is just looking to get better results than the stock fans. Be careful when you install not to over tighten and crack your motherboard. Other than that, a decent cooler at a very good price.

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powerful, quiet CPU cooler

Strengths: Well craft It's big, and I think that makes it interesting

Weakness: Im going to install the two fans that can be mounted (just gotta buy them) i beilive thats how its ment to be used, and thats how you get the max affect (obviously)

This is nice, i bought when it was 30 dollar mail in rebate, plus free shipping (and was only $30 bucks at the time) Works nice! idle CPU temps on a Atholon X2 4200 2.2 (overclocked to 2.6) idle temp = 41c underload never goes higher then 47c

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Good cooler with passive cooling option

Strengths: Huge, option of two 120 fans or passive cooling

Weakness: Huge, no fans included

I have it installed in Antec P180 case as a passive cooler with AMD X2 CPU. It\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s doing a great job with a help of two case exhaust fans. However I would recommend at least one fan if you don\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'t have a good air circulation in your case.

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GeminII Heatsink

Strengths: Large cooling area, cools other components of mb, reasonable price

Weakness: fans not included, weight, access to memory on some motherboards

Installation is more difficult than most coolers. The motherboard will have to be removed from case. The included hardware is adequate for the job. Added attention should be payed to size of case and clearance for memory modules and chipset heatsinks. Noise could be a problem with high speed fans.
May need to install memory beforehand. With planning and patience it is a good cooler for the price.

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GeminII

Strengths: Affordable

Weakness: Very large, not easy to install, fans not included

This is a monster of a heatsink, and 120mm fans need to be purchased separately. Besides cooling the cpu, it cools the memory and gfx card. Motherboard removal is required for installation. That being said, it is an inexpensive heatsink that does a decent job. I really don't want to have to take it out now that it's in the case.

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big but cool heat sink

Strengths: bring down both surrounding and cpu temperature

Weakness: not ideal for intel cpu, take up space, 2x120mm fans was not included

installing this heatsink was not like other heatsink. its different and large shape makes it difficult to place it accurately over the cpu, but after proper installation it does pay off. both cpu and surrounding temperature drops significantly to about 8-10 degrees lower. I would recommend this hs for amd cpu

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cheap & quiet HSP

Strengths: Good price after rebate, Pretty quiet

Weakness: not easy to install

In general, I like this HSP. Coolmaster runs promotion all the time and makes the purchase cost for customer between $5~$10. It is pretty quiet and keep the CPU and memory cool. But it doesn't cool them to well IMHO. My E4300 used to run at 30c and now it is like 40C.

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Cooler Master RR-CCH-ANU2-GP GeminII Heatsink

Strengths: Extremely Huge, cools everything

Weakness: Huge and Heavy. Hard to install. No fan included

This cooler is extremely huge. Great price after the rebate. It does not come with any fans. Temperature dropped 10C after installing this cooler with two 120mm fans. Installation was not easy.

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Very Good Cooler

Strengths: Quieter than my stock cooler. Cools everything in sight.

Weakness: Big. Does not come with any fans.

Its big heat pipe and two 120mm fans cools not only the CPU but also the memory and GPU. I bought it because I wanted to overclock my E6750 to 3.6GHz, which was done relatively easily with this cooler and some twicking the vcore voltage. As the other reviewer said, this cooler is huge. The motherboard has to be taken out to get it installed.

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Better than stock cooler.

Strengths: This is better than stock cooler by 5C. Also Cools the Northbridge chipset and memory.

Weakness: Too big and heavy. Hard to install. Cant change RAM memory after installation.

This is a good cooler and at the price I got this for with a rebate on top of it, a steal. I get good cooling with quite operation with 2 Yate Loon 120mm fans. But installation is a pain.

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great

Strengths: It's so huge. looks nice and strong.

Weakness: it's huge too. takes me some time to put it in.

My CPU temperature get lowered by 5 degrees than the stock cooler. A very nice try. But I am a little worried about the settle on my motherboard. it looks too heavy to afford it.

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huge heatsink

Strengths: huge size, looks cool

Weakness: fan not included. it does not reduce cpu temp very much

this heatsink is much bigger than it looks in the picture. It did not reduce my cpu temperature significantly (even with 2 120mm fans). The weight of this heatsink makes me think about placing my computer horizentally.

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Cooler Master GeminII Heatsink

Strengths: This beast will cover your ram, your northbridge (depending on your mobo) and lower temps! Paired the fan slots with 2 120 mm Yate Loons - quiet and cool operations!

Weakness: The main weakness is the size of the cooler and the strain it might be putting on the mobo. Since there is no backplate for the intel platform - maybe CM will provide backplate accessories

All in all, i was skeptical of this product at first. However, when used with a good thermal paste (such as Arctic Silver 5), your temps will go down drastically. I can overclock my e4300 to around 2.8ghz using this and still maintain reasonable temperatures. Just be careful that there is no physical bending of the mobo or else you might end up cracking it! If there wasnt this issue or Cooler Master provided a backplate accessory for the core2duo platform (there is one for AMD), then i would give it a 5 star rating. However, i still like this product a lot!

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I have 3 of these and only using 1 of them right now.

Strengths: inexpansive, 2x120mm fans, low profile, better than stock fans, cools chipset and memory

Weakness: not as effecient as Tuniq Tower or Sonic Tower that only have 1 120mm fan, huge in size, not usable without a fan

I have 3 of these and only using 1 of them right now.

1) you can't use it without a fan (or two) -
2) with 2 120mm fans it does better than stock fans from AMD or Intel +
3) even with 2x120mm fans, its not as good as Tuniq Tower or Sonic Tower that has only 1 120mm fan, in my case the result is 5C+ fully loaded. -
4) its huge, you need an open case to install it, I found it very hard to install in my ANTEC 900 case, then again, Tuniq Tower and Sonic Tower installations were equally hard if not harder. -
5) but its low profile, I can install another case fan blowing directly to my video card in my 900 case. and it fits in my HTPC case ion EC2 +
6) it cools chipset and memory +

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BEAST!

Strengths: Fanless design for HTPC use or PC users who like quiet. Build quality. Nicely packaged without any damage from UPS when delivered. Optional fan mounts.

Weakness: It is HUGE. No backplate for additional support. Not easy to install.

I would only recommend this heatsink to someone who absolutely wanted a fanless cooler. There are cheaper and better alternatives which are not as large/heavy and way easier to install - namely the Arctic Cooling Freezer Pro 7. I installed this on my HTPC, which is where it will stay for now. I have not added the optional fans as my case (P180B) has good airflow and keeps everything cool. I only got this cooler as it was on sale and had a rebate on top... quite honestly most coolers do their job and unless you are fussy (for want of a better word) about a few degrees, don't make much difference in performance.

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RR-CCH-ANU2-GP GeminII Heatsink

Strengths: Copper core, 6 pipes heat conduction, large cooling area, 2 120mm fan mounts, can be used for AMD or Intel CPUs, additional cooling for motherboard from the two fans.

Weakness: Large size, may not fit smaller cases, not very detail mounting instruction.

I need to remove my mother board to install this cpu cooler. It does take some time to assemble it correctly so that the heat sink is in good contact with the cpu. Artic silver is helpful here. To get maximum benefit of the cooling, two optional fans should be mounted. It keeps the cpu as well as the mother board cool. Overclock my AMD 4000+ to 3 Ghz easily. Will use this for dual core overclock next step.

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Good Cooling solution

Strengths: Very efficient cooling solution. It not only cools the cup but also cools the motherboard and other component about it. The copper base makes it easy to conduct heat from cpu to heat pipes.

Weakness: Very large. If you have small case it is tricky to put it in. In addition, you need to remove the motherboard to install it.

If the product is sold with the 120mm fan, it will make it perfect. Now I need to wait for another week for the fan after I bought the heatsink.

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Great air cooler

Strengths: very cool heaksink. its on par with the big typhoon vx. only about 8c hotter than the Thermalrights ultra 120 but at a fraction of the price. very quite.

Weakness: very big, make sure you have enough room before you buy it. also make sure you add 2x120mm fans.

Great air cooler over all. has a very nice design and it is very quite for the great cooling it provides, just make sure you buy quite 120mm fans. not much difference with higher speed fans. i don't think the 2c difference is worth the loud noise.

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GemminII - large but cool

Strengths: Quieter then many other CPU fans. The optional 2x120 is a nice feature. The chip set and ram is also cooled while the CPU is getting cooled.

Weakness: I wish they had a back plate for the intel motherboards.

It is large and should be used only in larger cases that can fit it; like the P180 or antec 900. The chip set is also cooled. The lack of back support worries me. It is a heavier fan and I would feel better having a back plate to add the extra support. I just can't bump the case as much if I move it from place to place.

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A very nice budget air cooler

Strengths: Big surface area to decipate the heat affectively, brought my cpu temp down by 10oC easily, uses 2 120mm fans. even cools my memroy chips.

Weakness: the heatsink is huge, motherboard needs to be removed to install it properly, could damage the motherboard easily if not installed properly.

Big surface area to decipate the heat affectively, brought my cpu temp down by 10oC easily, uses 2 120mm fans. even cools my memroy chips.

the heatsink is huge, motherboard needs to be removed to install it properly, could damage the motherboard easily if not installed properly.

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Peace and Quiet!

Strengths: Quiet, looks cool

Weakness: A little bulky, may need fans

I am impressed with the job this thing has done keeping my CPU cool. I never had any serious complaints about my stock Intel-supplied fan, but this has nonetheless reduced the noise from my case. If you're overclocking and really want to pour some serious air over your CPU heat sink, this thing will very likely get the job done for you. If not, you probably want to consider water cooling.

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Adequate silent cooling solution

Strengths: Copper base, comes with various backplates for LGA 775, K8, AM2

Weakness: Large, heavy, gets in the way

As stated in most of the other reviews, this thing is big, heavy (1.8 lbs), gets in the way of other components, and is a little tricky to install (at least for s939). Having said all of that, it does do an adequate job of silent cooling without fans in an htpc box I have running a Venice 3000+ oc'd to 2.7 ghz (keeps temps in low 40's under load). Considering I picked it up for $1 + cost of shipping after rebates and promo codes, it was a great deal.

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Good one. But it's huge, really huge

Strengths: It just looks cool. You can brag about having the largest heatsink housing 2 120mm fans. Includes thermal compound enough for several CPUs. Just a plus.

Weakness: It's HUGE. Covers memory slots a little as well as motherboard screw mounts, covers 4pin or 8pin power plug, and a pain to install the fan bracket if your case is too small.

Just be prepared to set some time to install the thing. You have to remove the motherboard to install. Installing a small or even mid-case would be a pain. I have an Antec 900. Lucky for my, the top can be easily removed (including the 200mm fan thus giving my more room to work. Smaller cases... buyer beware!

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Mammoth cooler.

Strengths: Seems to cool well. strong build. looks nice.

Weakness: HUGE may not fit in a lot of cases may obstruct objects in case.

I ordered this and didn't realize tell it arrived how Gigantic it is. its a really nice piece of work. it works well and Fit amazingly in my case with my motherboard but your case may be different I have a amd64 3000+ and even on the instructions it states it may not work with some motherboards if the direction of the processor faces a different way. If you don't mind something big that keeps it really cool this is a great product.

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Good cooler

Strengths: Very efficient cooling

Weakness: Too large and heavy

I used it as a passive cooler for my AMD athlon 64 2800+ oc'ed to 2.1ghz. It works pretty good,if it's not better than the stock fan. I don't even put any fans on it. It could run very cool if I put 2 fans on it,I believe.
For the price,highly compared.
But be aware of the huge size and heavy weight.

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Good performance, excellent price, can get in the...

Strengths: It performs well. Keeps CPU cool, and if you add the fans, not only cools the CPU further but provides cooling for RAM and graphics card. Price is good, and with rebate it is excellent

Weakness: Huge! If you are like me that can't keep opening your case and tinkering with the components, then you need to be aware that this heatsink covers a lot of air space over the motherboard.

I didn't add the fans to avoid adding more weight to the already heavy heatsink thus stressing the motherboard more. Without the additional fans, it is silent, but still keeps my CPU cool.

I am buying a second to do another build. This one will have the fans as this will be a gaming PC that can use all the cooling it can get.

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GMINII HEATSINK

Strengths: COOLS WHOLE BOARD, COMPATIBILITY, PACKAGING

Weakness: UNDER LOAD PERFORMANCE, GIRTH

If its sheer weight doesn't snap your motherboard into pieces when mounted, you'll game soundly knowing your AMD X2, Intel Core 2 Duo or Core 2 Extreme is being cooled by two 120mm fans blowing over a few dozen flight-worthy aluminum fins and six copper heat pipes. No price, but you'll drop yet another couple hundred bucks this March for a part you'll undoubtedly have to replace the next time AMD and Intel decide to change up their processor mounts.

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Cooler Master GeminII Heatsink

Strengths: Good cooling system support for ram and video cards at the same time with low noise. It is a cheap selection

Weakness: It is very huge and heavy. I am afraid that it will make motherboard distorded. It is extremely to be removed again.

With 2x downward facing 120mm fans, it cools almost the entire system including motherboard,ram and videocard. However, I have to put all my system in a new big computer case. Moreover, this cooler is silent. I put the computer in my bedroom. It doesn't bother me anymore.

It is compatible with AMD X2 Dual Core, Intel Core 2 Duo and Core 2 Extreme. It is a cheap and powerful system.

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Great Heatsink

Strengths: Big aluminum for heat dissipation 2 big fan support for air flow Cool ram and video cards.

Weakness: Too big . Must remove mobo to install

This heatsink cools other component like almost surface of my motherboard.
I had it 33C tempurature on my CPU, dropped by 10C than before
Though i have big case, it's still hard for me to install it.
But anyway i really like it.

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geminiII too big

Strengths: cools mobo

Weakness: ugly, extremely large, heavy with two fans

CPU+Board Cooler Design cools CPU and its surrounding components - Compatible with AMD X2 Dual Core, Intel Core 2 Duo and Core 2 Extreme. - Complete cooling solution cools CPU and its surrounding components (motherboard, memory, VRM, chipset and VGA cards) - Fan bracket design for mounting two 120 mm fan cools mainboard. - Flexible bracket design provides interference-free installation - Copper base with 6 heat pipes design creates superior cooling performance - Huge aluminum fin design for excellent heat dissipation. worked well

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Cooler Master GeminII Heatsink

Strengths: Good Cooler Cools ram also Cheap

Weakness: Large A little harder to install than most heatsinks.

Excellent job of cooling. I paired this with 2 yate loon 120mm fans and it dropped my q6600 10C under load from the stock heatsink. Its pretty quiet with the yate loon fans. Also does a good job cooling the ram. Best cooling solution in its price range, there was a $15 rebate when I purchased it. I'd definitely buy again.

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Cooler Master Gemin II

TestSeek.com has collected 25 expert reviews for Cooler Master Gemin II and the average expert rating is 84 of 100. The average score reflects the expert community’s view on this product. Click below and use TestSeek.com to find all ratings, product awards and conclusions.

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