Features:

- 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.

A Closer Look:

Retail front	Back	Thermal info
Application info	Plastic cocoon	Contents

    The Gemin II comes packaged in a small, low profile box with a carrying handle at the top. On the front, a small window gives a glimpse of the cooler within, while the remaining sides give the standard information on the features, specifications, and CPU application. With the box open, we can see that the cooler is protected in a cocoon of plastic. With the Gemin II in hand, a second thought popped into my head: "This could be used as a ring for Shaquille O'Neal." Anyway, all joking aside, the Gemin II is one beefy cooler with a large surface area for cooling.

Copper Base	Heatpipes	Connection point
Heatpipes	opposite side	Logo cutout

    The base of the Gemin II is made up of copper, with the CPU contact area being polished smooth. On the upper half of the copper base are six channels that the copper heatpipes are keyed into. Copper on copper contact will allow the maximum heat transfer to take place. Now for the fins, which are aluminum and arranged in two banks and sizes. The main set of fins, which is the larger group, is attached to the top of the copper plate. These fins rise up and form the center mass for the cooler. Within the middle portion this area, the shape of the Cooler Master oval logo is cut in. On each side of the main body of fins are groups of smaller fins that make up the overall width of the Gemin II cooler. The six heatpipes pass through and lock all the fins together, thus creating the massive "griddle". 

Top view	Bottom view
Fan rails	Unique shapes

    The last piece, which sits on top of the fins, is the chrome finish piece. This also ties in and stabilizes the fins, and it also serves as the fastening point for the fan rails that hold the two 120mm fans. The fan rails have slots in them to allow for some side-to-side movement. This adjustability allows the fans to be moved over the RAM for added cooling.

Installation:

Intel bracket	AMD bracket	Rubber spacer	Plastic washer
Locking nut	Fan rails	Showing off	Proper install
Dual 120's	Gemin II installed	Fans installed	Full View

    Installation is rather easy and straight forward for such a large cooler: just select the appropriate bracket either for your Intel or AMD processor. Attach that bracket to the cooler base plate with screws. Now get the appropriate back plate and rubber spacers and attach everything together, of course applying thermal grease to the CPU before the final connection. I chose to mount the Gemin II to the motherboard first and then the fan assembly second. Next, I grabbed the fans and laid them side by side, then placed the rails on the fans in the order they would attach to the cooler. I mounted the fans to the rails with the supplied screws and attached that assembly to the cooler. The last thing left to do was attach the fans' power leads to the motherboard for power.

Testing:

    Testing was done on my dual P4 E6850 rig using the SST TJ-10 enclosure. The install of the CoolerMaster Gemin II was done according to the manual, and the gear used for testing is listed below.

TEST GEAR:

• Abit IP35 Pro Motherboard

• Intel Core 2 Duo E6850 (3.0GHz)

• Crucial 2x1GB Ballistix Tracer PC2-8500 Memory

• 2 Noctua NF-S12 120mm Fan

• ASUS EAX1950PRO Graphics card

• WD 80GB SATA II HDD

• LiteOn DVD-RW

• KWI Absolute Power ABT-600CW Power Supply

    For testing, BurnInTest Ver4.0 and Prime95 was used, running a total of three tests in a sequence of ON for one hour at 100% CPU load, then OFF for 30 minutes to cool. The temps are collected and the average temp is calculated.

Conclusion:

    Without a doubt, this is one crazy looking cooler from top to bottom. As crazy as it looks, it functions very well and with the Noctua NF-S12 120mm fans, the cooler was absolutely quiet. Keep in mind this cooler is large and will not fit in everyone's setup. I personally had issues getting this to work with my AMD machine. It seemed like everything was in the way, from the PSU to the heatpipe and the orientation of the CPU socket. I felt like I had to shoe horn it in place. Now, on my E6850 rig using the TJ-10 enclosure and Abit IP35 motherboard, the fit was great, and Gemin II was almost lost in the vastness of space within this enclosure.

    Size isn't the only factor in choosing a CPU cooler, but how well it performs, and if any after-market cooler out-performs the stock cooler, then it's doing its job. The Cooler Master Gemin II did out-perform the stock C2D cooler by a few degrees, which is what we want. The Gemini II, however, is a multitasking cooler. With the length and ability to hold two 120mm fans side-by-side, the area of the fans is greater than the area of the cooling fins, thus allowing air to also be blown across the RAM modules and the capacitors. So, not only does it cool the CPU, it cools other components around it. I would like to thank Cooler Master for sending this item out for VH to review.