Thermaltake TMG A1 AM2 CPU Cooler Review

Specifications




First Impressions


The TMG is a fairly standard “double 4” heatpipe tower design cooler with a frameless fan. Some people would call this an 8 heatpipe system but in reality it is really only 4 large “U” shaped heatpipes that start at the top right side of the heatsink, go down and through the copper & metal base and then terminate at the top left side of the heatsink. Overall this makes for a very efficient thermal design that has been nicely executed by Thermaltake.


One thing that did stand out is that unlike some other similarly designed coolers Thermaltake did not take into consideration the cooling of the motherboard. In a “standard” cooler the fan points down towards the chip and pushes air through (and over) the heatsink. This additional air movement helps cool hot MOSFETs located nearby. To make matters even worse, most new motherboards have this air movement factored into the design of the Northbridge / Southbridge cooling design. What this means is that the motherboard has strategically placed heat sinks (and heatpipes of its own) that “capture” this cpu fan air and re-use it to cool these hot motherboard chips.

Here is a picture of how Thermaltake shows their A1 goes about this:


This oversight is a shame because it is so easy to fix. All Thermaltake had to do was slightly bend the ends of the bottom aluminum fins downwards. This simple tweak would force some of the fan’s air down to the motherboard where it would do some good. While this is a minor oversight, it is something that you should be aware of. You should also be aware that the literature on Thermaltake’s website shows that it does actively cool the area surrounding the A1. However, with its straight fins that cannot channel the air downwards it is unclear how this is possible.


The next thing that one notices is that the bottom of the Thermaltake TMG A1 heatsink is not solid copper. Rather it has a copper base, with a metal top screwed onto the copper base that sandwiches the heatpipes between them. It is puzzling why Thermaltake did not go with an all copper base but, with the 4 heatpipes there to move all the heat away from the cpu, it is doubtful if this has any ill effects on its cooling efficiency. If we were to hazard a guess it probably has to do with the fact that copper is softer than most metals and that the top part might get damaged by the retention bracket.


As an added bonus the TMG came with its own Thermal Interface Material (aka "TIM"). It came pre-applied and was a grease based compound rather than the cheaper (and older) wax pad style. This further reinforces the idea that this cpu cooler is marketed towards the less technically inclined end of the marketplace. Everything about this cooler screams “user friendly”.


Here you can see that except for minor polishing marks, the base is even and free of any major tool marks. It is not the best polished base we have seen but it is not the worst either. Overall, the level of quality at this price point was certainly above average.