Packaging and Accessories

The box that the DuOrb comes in a prime example of classic Thermaltake packaging, it is bold, colorful and above all else it catches your eye instantly. Some people say that Thermaltake crosses the line into garishness with its near seizure-inducing color scheme; but honestly you can’t please everyone and as long as it doesn’t have hologram stickers all over the place with fake awards or flashing LEDS it is neither vulgar nor garish in our books. Like it or hate it, there is very little room for middle ground when it comes to Thermaltake boxes and that is a good thing. After all, no one remembers mediocrity and rather, people remember the outlandish and the exceptional; both of which can be equally applied to this packaging scheme. Honestly, whether you like it or not, no one can contend that it doesn’t get your attention and that truly is the main goal of any retail store shelf packaging scheme.

Now this box is not just a pretty face, it also contains all the necessary information a first time buyer will need to make an informed decision. This is always a good thing as bright and shiny will only hold a persons attention so long, after that it is up to the merits and looks of the product to convince people to buy it. This leads us to the one area that we do not like about this box; that area being the huge cutouts on both the front and back of the box. These cutouts basically give you a darn near 360° view of the item. That is the upside, the downside (and it’s a honkin’ big downside) is that the internal plastic clamshell/ blister pack is all that protects the DuOrb from the big bad world.


When one does remove the DuOrb from is external box one realizes that maybe Thermaltake has learned a trick or two over the years. This is because when you remove the top of the clamshell plastic shipping container you are greeted a secondary layer of protection in the form of another smaller, molded piece of plastic that protects the top of the DuOrb from anything that manages to cut the clamshell. This was a nice little bonus and while it does little to protect the DuOrb from blunt force trauma, it will certainly help keep the unit safe from sharp slashing instruments.


As you can see from the above picture, the accessories that accompany the DuOrb are not complete. Unlike many other coolers this CPU cooling solution uses neither a push pin mounting system nor a backplate reinforced mounting system. While yes, they do include one for AMD based systems, one is expected to just use washers and screws to mount this cooler to a Intel 775 system. We will get into this unique mounting scheme later in the review, but for not let’s just say that a 775 backplate was conspicuous by its absence.

Overall, the first impression one gets from the DuOrb depends greatly on how much you like seeing the cooler before buying. For us the most apt description of the DuOrb would be: cautiously optimistic. We like Thermaltake boxes, but the “missing” backplate leaves us with some doubts about this cooler. Only time and testing will tell on whether our worst fears are realized, or just like the DuOrb itself is a unique idea, so too will be the mounting arrangement!