Conclusion

While Thermaltake's A1 may have felt and looked like a lightweight it certainly did not perform like one. Overall it performed admirably better than the higher-end stock AMD cpu coolers and it did allow for a slightly higher overclock. More importantly the A1 accomplished all this at much lower noise levels. The Thermaltake A1's biggest strength and its biggest weakness is its fan. This low noise, low air flow fan definitely does live up to it’s billing as an ultra quiet fan. However, it has to sacrifice a lot of its cooling potential do to this. It would be interesting to see what would happen if Thermaltake replaced ts fan with one with a bit more static pressure potential. We also like the fact that Thermaltake backs this cooler up with a 6-year warranty which puts it in the upper echelons of warranty coverage.

While I would not recommend the TMG A1 to anyone looking to do major overclocking, I think that any first time “do it yourself” buyer would be more than pleased with this cooler and the same can be said for anyone looking for a quieter solution than any AMD stock cooler can provide. This is especially true at stock speeds and with the older 939 system. It is also good to see the standard AM2 mounting hardware being used instead of a backplate for people who haven't installed an aftermarket heatsink before. Unfortunately, I a bit leary about the fact that the A1 weighs in above what AMD recommends for their standard motherboard mounts.

The only real problem I have with the TMG A1 is its price. The lack of a back reinforcing plate, the limited mounting options, the elevated motherboard temperatures, even its less than stellar performance at higher thermal loads; all this could be overlooked if the A1 was priced more in the $25 range. In fact if it was $25 it would be a Dam Good value. Sadly it is not $25 dollars and as it stands it is only a slightly above average (albeit a very quiet, yet quirky above average) deal for its price range.


Pros:

-Ultra quiet fan
-Better cooling than stock
-Easy installation
-Pre-applied thermal compound
-Very good thermal compound
-Should fit most cases, and motherboards
-6 Year Warranty


Cons:

-Not a cooling solution for major overclocking
-No reinforcing back plate
-Longevity Concerns
-Limited mounting options
-Potentially Higher motherboard temperatures
-Fan does not move enough air to be effective at higher Thermal Loads