Aftermarket Cooler Installation (Thermaltake DuOrb)

I wanted to have a bit of fun with this card so I decided to install a different heatsink onto it to see how it performed and if it would actually fit. I chose the Thermaltake DuOrb which we will be reviewing in a few weeks.

Did it fit?


Indeed it did!! To make matters even better…I was able to install it over the stock memory heatsinks. Upon further research it seems that the HD3870 and HD3850 will fit nearly every heatsink which is compatible with the X1900 and HD2900 series of graphics cards. Add to that the fact that any non full coverage HD2900XT and X1900-series water block is compatible with this card and the choices are nearly endless.

Personally, I think it is extremely exciting that you can install many coolers and water blocks without their accompanying flimsy ram heatsinks. The stock copper heatsink on the ram modules does a VERY good job of dispersing heat from the ram chips so for this installation, I really saw no reason to remove it.


As you can see, even though the DuOrb is quite large there is still a VERY small gap between its fins and the memory heatsinks once it has been fully tightened down. Whether this is an unintended consequence of their design or they had inside information, the Thermaltake DuOrb fits beautifully on the HD3870. But, I was still worried that there may not have been good contact between the core and the base of the DuOrb..


Even though after this result I tightened down the screws a bit more (I am always paranoid of breaking something) but the contact with the core was very good with an even dispersal of the Arctic Cooling MX-2 thermal paste.


There is the Money Shot. Not only does the DuOrb fit but it looks pretty damn good too. But how does it perform?


Thermaltake DuOrb Performance on the HIS HD3870



The results are in and I have to say…the Thermaltake DuOrb is staying on my HD3870. Its performance was nothing short of awe-inspiring and goes to show how much more work could have been put into the stock cooler. What more can be said? Look at the numbers!