Heatsink Top: The fan is firmly attached inside of the aluminum finned section so it could not be removed. Under the clear plastic cap which comes off a little too easily, we find the PCB and circuitry which controls fan speed, and the blue LEDs. A fan speed controller attaches to the PCB here, and connects to a PCI bracket or aluminum FDD bay bracket which can be placed at the front or rear of the case depending on your preference.

Side A:
The entire 3Dcooler-pro heatsink stands about 92mm tall, making it pretty big compared to the last few heatsinks to cross our test bench. The forged copper base is about 6mm thick on average, and connected to the rest of the heatsink by four sections of 6mm diameter copper heatpipes (2 heatpipes bent into "U" shapes). The aluminum fin section measures 51mm tall by 83mm wide. Note the translucent plastic cap which protects the circuitry and diffuses the blue LED illumination when the heatsink is powered up.

Side B:
The 43 aluminum fins each measure 0.4mm thick, and are spaced approximately 0.8mm apart. The copper base is capped with a small section of stainless steel, and it is over this that the K7 and K8 clip mechanisms rest to hold the Gigabyte 3DCooler-Pro in place. The socket 478 clips rest on the small copper tabs visible in the picture to the left. Installing the heatsink isn't all that complicated since it is a tool free unit, but it is vital to make sure the heatsink is oriented properly for each particular socket and processor.

The copper of the 3DCooler-Pro has been nicely machined from the granular casting, and measures 40x40mm. Being forged, the copper is a little more stiff than with a traditional punched sheet metal base, and takes milling nicely. The surface finish is very smooth, and surface flatness is excellent according to our straight edge. The 3DCooler-Pro even comes with a small syringe of thermal compound to make installation a breeze.