Introduction
Pretty much ever since the performance heatsink market for computers was created, there have been Orbs. Today I'm reviewing two of them, the Thermaltake Mini Copper Orb and the Thermaltake Super Orb. Both Orbs were provided by our newest sponsor, Heatsink Factory. They will be put up against one of the higher end heatsinks on the market today, the Globalwin CAK38. I will also be performing a comparison of the CAK38 with and without the fan risers that come installed on the CAK38. (I got this idea from Node's original review of the CAK38)

Heatsink Specs, Construction, and Installation
First, the Mini Copper Orb:
5500 RPM Fan that produces 23.1 CFM @ 29dBa
Pure Copper Base
Aluminum Fins
Thermaltake TIM (promptly removed and replaced with Artic Silver 2, which is also available at Heatsink Factory)

The Mini Copper Orb


The Copper Rods


The Ugly Yellow TIM


The Pretty Copper Base without the Ugly Yellow TIM

The Mini Copper Orb has a solid copper base to pull the heat off the processor faster (since copper is a better heat conductor than traditional aluminum). The fins that give the Orb Line their unique look are made of aluminum. Even though aluminum doesn't dent quite as easily as copper I found a slight dent in the sides of three of the fins when my unit arrived. The copper rods protruding from the copper base look like they were professionally made, as they should. The one thing missing from the Copper Orb that would be a good addition is a finger gaurd. Even though the fan isn't spinning as fast as some heatsink fans on the market, it could still nick your finger pretty effectively. I couldn't find any obvious sharp edges that could potentially cut a finger. Overall the Mini Copper Orb is very well constructed.

This heatsink isn't very difficult to install, as long as you have the right motherboard.

Spacing Difficulties


Success!

As you can see from the above pic, getting the copper orb to fit on my Abit KT7A-RAID was a bit of a task, but I got it done. The clip that comes with the heatsink is actually part of the heatsink itself. It uses three of the Zif Tabs on one side of the Heatsink and one on the other side. Removing the heatsink is even more difficult than installing it. Not only do you have to over come the space issue, but the clip is a bitch to get off the one side. It took me somewhere between 3-5 minutes to unhook the clip (I can get the CAK38 off in under a minute).

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