Thermaltake Extreme Spirit II Chipset Cooler Review

[Capper]

As most enthusiasts know, the most important factor in achieving a good system overclock is good cooling. Without effective cooling the best components available wouldn't overclock far, if at all. While much attention is focused on finding the best CPU and GPU coolers, often times the Northbridge is overlooked! For those who might not be in the know, the Northbridge handles all the traffic between the CPU, RAM, AGP/PCIe bus, as well as the Southbridge. As the system Front Side Bus speed increases, the northbridge requires more voltage to remain stable, and with more voltage comes more heat. As with all electronics, the northbridge is sensitive to heat and must be properly cooled to function properly. Many motherboards have passive coolers that are barely adequate at stock speeds. Some boards have loud and annoying active coolers. Armed with copper heat-pipes and a 40CM fan, the Thermaltake Extreme Spirit II aims to solve both problems.

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[Jokerswild]

Nice review Drew, glad to see you were able to tear youself away from that jeep long enough to write it. Being new to OC'ing I didn't think much about cooling the northbridge but I can see where the benefits of doing it would come in.