Cooler Master’s GeminII M4 bears more than a passing resemblance to the Scythe Big Shuriken 2. If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, the M4 is only a half-hearted compliment.
July 15, 2012 by Lawrence Lee
Product | Cooler Master GeminII M4 CPU Cooler |
Manufacturer | Cooler Master |
Street Price | US$30 |
Back in 2009, we did a couple of roundups of smallish CPU heatsinks which consisted of some petite stock unit replacements and performance coolers of varying sizes. The 86 mm tall Cooler Master GeminII S was one of the reviewed models, but today it wouldn’t even qualify as a compact heatsink. The proliferation of mini-ITX motherboards and cases over the past two years has fueled the need for smaller coolers, closer to 60 mm or less in height.
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The latest GeminII, the M4, is more contemporary with today’s standards. It bears more than a passing resemblance to one of the best small heatsinks on the market today, the Scythe Big Shuriken 2. Its dimensions are almost identical, though the M4 is substantially lighter, and its slim 120 mm fan is a bit thicker. On paper, the other big difference is the use of four direct-touch heatpipes; the Big Shuriken 2 has five heatpipes and a copper base plate.
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The box is no larger than it needs to be. The heatsink comes packed in a protective foam layer along with the accessories. The mounting hardware includes a backplate despite the M4’s low mass, and LGA2011 clips are provided right out of the box. There’s also an instruction sheet, a tube of thermal compound and a nut-driver.
Cooler Master GeminII M4: Key Features (from the product web page) | |
Feature & Brief | Our Comment |
Super low profile cooler (59mm / 2.3in height) with 4 direct contact heat pipes. | For a smaller heatsink, four heatpipes seems like a lot but they’re quite short. |
A base engineered to minimize CPU contact gaps provides excellent heat conduction. | Okay. |
Suitable for limited space applications (e.g. HTPC or slim systems). | That’s why we’re here. |
Newly developed thin fan profile delivers uncompromised cooling performance in a compact package. | A thinner than normal fan is utilized to keep the size down. |
Unique heat pipe layout combines two very effective cooling methods to increase cooling efficiency while maintaining a low profile heat sink. | Direct-touch heatpipes contact the processor heatspreader directly, making a separate base plate unnecessary. |
Cooler Master GeminII M4: Specifications (from the product web page) | |
Model | RR-GMM4-16PK-R2 |
CPU Socket | Intel Socket: LGA 2011 / 1366 / 1156 / 1155 / 775 *AMD Socket: FM1 / AM3+ / AM3 / AM2+ / AM2 |
CPU Support | Intel: Core™ i7 Extreme / Core™ i7 / Core™ i5 / Core™ i3 / Core™2 Extreme / Core™2 Quad / Core™2 Duo / Pentium / CeleronAMD: FX-Series / A-Series / Phenom™ II X4 / Phenom™ II X3 / Phenom™ II X2 / Phenom™ X4 / Phenom™ X3 / Athlon™ II X4 / Athlon™ II X3 / Athlon™ II X2 / Athlon™ X2 / Athlon™ / Sempron™ |
Dimension | 137 x 122 x 59mm (5.4 x 4.8 x 2.3 in) |
Heat Sink Dimensions | 120 x 118 x 44 mm (4.7 x 4.6 x 1.7 in) |
Heat Sink Material | 4 Direct Contact Heat Pipes / Aluminum Fins |
Heatsink Weight | 210g (0.46 lb) |
Heat Pipes Dimensions | ø6mm |
Fan Dimension | 120 x 120 x 15 mm (4.7 x 4.7 x 0.6 in) |
Fan Speed | 500 – 1,600 RPM (PWM) ± 10% |
Fan Airflow | 17.4 – 58.4 CFM ± 10% |
Far Air Pressure | 0.18 – 1.76mm H2O ± 10% |
Fan Life Expectancy | 40,000hrs |
Fan Noise Level (dB-A) | 8 – 30 dBA |
Bearing Type | Long Life Sleeve |
Connector | 4-Pin |
Fan Rated Voltage | 12 VDC |
Fan Rated Current | 0.2A |
Power Consumption | 2.4W |
Fan Weight | 79g (0.17 lb) |
Warranty | 2 years |
UPC Code | 884102013140 |
Notice | * Supplied accessories may differ by country or area. Please check with your local distributor for further details. |
PHYSICAL DETAILS
The Cooler Master GeminII M4 is composed of four 6 mm thick copper direct-touch heatpipes surrounded by 56 aluminum fins. With the fan mounted, it measures 137 x 122 x 59 mm (W x D x H) and weighs about 280 grams total.
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INSTALLATION
The most critical aspect of installation is that the heatsink
be securely mounted. A firm mating results in good contact between the heatsink’s
base and the CPU heatspreader and more efficient heat conduction. Ideally it
should also be a simple procedure leading to consistent results with the user having to handle as few pieces
of hardware as possible.
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TESTING
Before thermal testing, we took some basic physical measurements.
Approximate Physical Measurements | |
Weight | 200 g 280 g with stock fan and clips |
Height | 59 mm |
Fin count | 56 |
Fin thickness | 0.29 mm |
Fin spacing | 1.46 mm |
Vertical Clearance* | 26 mm (inner section) 44 mm (outer section) |
* measured from the motherboard PCB to the bottom fin of the heatsink. |
Small Heatsink Comparison: Average Fin Thickness & Spacing | ||
Heatsink | Fin Thickness | Fin Spacing |
Scythe Big Shuriken 2 Rev.B | 0.29 mm | 1.13 mm |
Scythe Big Shuriken | 0.33 mm | 1.19 mm |
Reeven Vanxie | 0.28 mm | 1.39 mm |
Reeven Arcziel | 0.28 mm | 1.41 mm |
Cooler Master GeminII M4 | 0.29 mm | 1.46 mm |
Noctua NH-L12 | 0.49 mm | 1.51 mm |
Scythe Kozuti | 0.12 mm | 1.69 mm |
Scythe Samurai ZZ | 0.33 mm | 1.74 mm |
Testing on larger heatsinks are done on our
LGA1366 heatsink testing platform, while smaller coolers like this CoolerMaster tackle our LGA1155 heatsink testing platform. A summary of the test system
and procedure follows.
Key Components in LGA1155 Heatsink Test Platform:
- Intel Core i5-2400 Sandy Bridge core, LGA1155, 3.1 GHz, 45nm, 95W TDP, overclocked/volted to 3.6 GHz and 1.300V.
- Intel DP67BG ATX motherboard.
P67 chipset. - Asus
EAH3450 Silent graphics card. - Kingston
SSDNow V 30GB 2.5″ solid-state drive. Chosen for silence. - OCZ Platinum Extreme Low Voltage DDR3 memory. 2 x 2 GB, DDR3-1333 in dual channel.
- Seasonic X-400 SS-400FL
400W ATX power supply. Passively cooled - Arctic Silver
Lumière: Special fast-curing thermal interface material, designed
specifically for test labs.
The systems are silent under the test conditions, except for the CPU cooling
fan(s).
Normally, our reference fans are used whenever possible, the measured details
of which are shown below.
Reference Noctua 140mm fan Anechoic chamber measurements | ||
Voltage | SPL@1m | Speed |
12V | 28~29 dBA | 1250 RPM |
9V | 21 dBA | 990 RPM |
7V | 15~16 dBA | 770 RPM |
6V | 13 dBA | 660 RPM |
Reference Nexus 120mm fan Anechoic chamber measurements | ||
Voltage | SPL@1m | Speed |
12V | 16 dBA | 1080 RPM |
9V | 13 dBA | 880 RPM |
7V | 12 dBA | 720 RPM |
Reference Nexus 92 mm fan Anechoic chamber measurements | ||
Voltage | SPL@1m | Speed |
12V | 16 dBA | 1470 RPM |
9V | 12 dBA | 1150 RPM |
Measurement and Analysis Tools
- Extech 380803 AC power analyzer / data logger for measuring AC system
power. - Custom-built, four-channel variable DC power supply, used to regulate
the fan speed during the test. - PC-based spectrum analyzer:
SpectraPlus with ACO Pacific mic and M-Audio digital
audio interfaces. - Anechoic chamber
with ambient level of 11 dBA or lower - Various other tools for testing fans, as documented in our
standard fan testing methodology. - SpeedFan,
used to monitor the on-chip thermal sensors. The sensors are not calibrated,
so results are not universally applicable. The hottest core reading is used. - Prime95,
used to stress the LGA1366 CPU heavily, generating more heat than most real applications.
8 instances are used to ensure that all 4 cores (with Hyper-threading) are
stressed. - CPU-Z,used to monitor the CPU speed to determine when overheating occurs.
- Thermometers to measure the air temperature around the test platform
and near the intake of the heatsink fan.
Noise measurements are made with the fans powered from the lab’s variable DC
power supply while the rest of the system was off to ensure that system noise
did not skew the measurements.
Load testing was accomplished using Prime95 to stress the processor and the
graph function in SpeedFan was used to ensure that the load temperature is stable
for at least ten minutes. The temperature recorded is the highest single core
reading. The stock fans were tested at various voltages to represent a good
cross-section of airflow and noise performance.
The ambient conditions during testing were 10~11 dBA and 21~23°C.
STOCK FAN MEASUREMENTS
Specifications: Cooler Master GeminII M4 Stock Fan | |||
Manufacturer | Power Rating | 2.4 W | |
Model Number | FA12015M12LPA | Airflow Rating | 17.4 ~ 58.4 CFM |
Bearing Type | Sleeve | Speed Rating | 500 ~ 1,600 RPM |
Corners | Open | Noise Rating | 8 ~ 30 dBA |
Frame Size | 120 x 120 x 15 mm | Header Type | 4-pin |
Fan Blade Diameter | 113 mm | Starting Voltage | 5.5 V |
Hub Size | 40 mm | Weight | 80 grams |
Data in green cells provided by the manufacturer or observed; data in the blue cells were measured. |
We’ve seen past Cooler Master fans with twisted blades and translucent blades but this is the first time we’ve seen both design elements together in the same unit. It’s a 15 mm thick, 13-blade, sleeve bearing fan with a 30 cm 4-pin cable
Stock Fan Measurements | ||
Voltage | Speed | SPL@1m |
12V | 1580 RPM | 30 dBA |
9V | 1240 RPM | 24 dBA |
7V | 940 RPM | 16~17 dBA |
6V | 770 RPM | 14~15 dBA |
5V | 580 RPM | 12 dBA |
Measuring mic positioned 1m at diagonal angle from the center of the heatsink. Ambient noise level: 10~11 dBA. |
The GeminII M4 fan is fairly inoffensive. Its acoustics are typical for a decent sleeve bearing fan. It has a buzzy and turbulent sound at higher speeds and is generally smooth at lower speeds. Being a 1,600 RPM model, it has quite a large noise range. The cooler is an almost inaudible 12 dBA@1m at 5V, while at 12V, it measures 30 dBA@1m.
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We’re not happy about the way the fan is mounted. The clips are so loose that an undesirable hum is generated by the interaction with the rest of the heatsink. As you can see in the image above, lifting the fan after the cooler is installed physically separates it from the heatsink.
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Naturally we wanted to see how much of a difference this issue made, so we slipped some foam padding under the four corners of the fan to make things tighter. This resulted in a noticeable improvement in acoustics. At the 7V level, a number of tonal peaks in the 120 ~ 1,500 Hz range dropped considerably and the overall noise level dropped by 1~2 dB.
Cooling Results
Cooler Master GeminII M4 | |||||
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Fan Voltage | Fan Speed | SPL@1m | °C Rise above Ambient | ||
CPU | VRM | RAM | |||
Stock Fan | |||||
12V | 1580 RPM | 30 dBA | 45 | 24 | 16 |
9V | 1240 RPM | 24 dBA | 47 | 27 | 18 |
7V | 940 RPM | 16~17 dBA | 53 | 34 | 24 |
6V | 770 RPM | 14~15 dBA | 56 | 38 | 26 |
5V | 580 RPM | 12 dBA | 64 | 49 | 32 |
Reference Nexus 120mm Fan (+10mm) | |||||
12V | 1080 RPM | 16~17 dBA | 48 | 25 | 19 |
9V | 880 RPM | 13 dBA | 51 | 30 | 22 |
7V | 720 RPM | 11~12 dBA | 54 | 32 | 23 |
The cooling performance was very disappointing. At the lowest tested stock fan speed (580 RPM/12 dBA), it was only about 10°C away from the CPU throttling, something that only happens to very small or very poor heatsinks. The sweet spot seemed to be somewhere between 770 and 940 RPM. Our thicker, reference Nexus 120 mm fan was significantly superior, especially at very low noise levels. The difference was about 10°C at the 11~12 dBA@1m level.
Heatsink Comparison Table
°C rise Comparison (CPU Temperature) | |||||||||
SPL (dBA@1m) | 20 | 19 | 18 | 17 | 16 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 12 |
Noctua NH-L12 (both fans) | 33 | – | – | 34 | – | 35 | – | 36 | |
Noctua NH-L12 (ref. 120mm fan) | – | – | – | – | – | 34 | – | 37 | |
Scythe Big Shuriken 2 Rev.B (ref. 120mm fan) | – | – | – | – | – | 36 | – | 39 | |
Noctua NH-L12 (120mm fan) | – | – | 37 | – | – | 38 | – | 39 | 42 |
Scythe Big Shuriken (ref. 120mm fan) | – | – | – | – | – | 41 | – | 43 | |
Scythe Big Shuriken 2 Rev.B | – | 39 | – | – | – | 43 | – | 48 | |
Reeven Arcziel | – | – | – | – | 42 | – | – | 47 | – |
Scythe Samurai ZZ (ref. 92mm fan) | – | – | – | – | – | – | 44 | – | 51 |
Reeven Arcziel (ref. 92mm fan) | – | – | – | 41 | – | – | – | 52 | – |
Scythe Samurai ZZ | – | – | 45 | – | – | 46 | – | 52 | |
Cooler Master GeminII M4 (ref. 120mm fan) | – | – | 48 | – | – | 51 | 54 | ||
Noctua NH-L12 (92mm fan) | 42 | – | 44 | – | 47 | – | 51 | 57 | |
Scythe Big Shuriken | 43 | – | – | – | – | 46 | – | 61 | |
Cooler Master GeminII M4 | – | – | – | 53 | 56 | – | 64 | ||
Scythe Kozuti | – | – | 57 | – | – | 62 | – | 65 | |
Reeven Vanxie | – | 66 | – | – | – | – | 77 | – | F |
The GeminII M4 poses no threat to the Big Shuriken 2, generating CPU temperatures 13~16°C higher at similar noise levels. It’s not even a match for the now discontinued original Big Shuriken and only edges out the waifish Scythe Kozuti by a few degrees.
°C rise Comparison (VRM Temperature) | |||||||||
SPL (dBA@1m) | 20 | 19 | 18 | 17 | 16 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 12 |
Noctua NH-L12 (both fans) | 17 | – | – | 19 | – | 21 | – | 23 | |
Noctua NH-L12 (ref. 120mm fan) | – | – | – | – | – | 20 | – | 25 | |
Scythe Big Shuriken (ref. 120mm fan) | – | – | – | – | – | 25 | – | 29 | |
Scythe Big Shuriken 2 Rev.B (ref. 120mm fan) | – | – | – | – | – | 27 | – | 31 | |
Noctua NH-L12 (120mm fan) | – | – | 24 | – | – | 26 | – | 27 | 32 |
Cooler Master GeminII M4 (ref. 120mm fan) | – | – | 25 | – | – | 30 | 32 | ||
Scythe Big Shuriken 2 Rev.B | – | 29 | – | – | – | 34 | – | 39 | |
Noctua NH-L12 (92mm fan) | 28 | – | 31 | – | 33 | – | 38 | 43 | |
Scythe Samurai ZZ (ref. 92mm fan) | – | – | – | – | – | – | 36 | – | 43 |
Reeven Arcziel | – | – | – | – | 38 | – | – | 41 | – |
Scythe Big Shuriken | 28 | – | – | – | – | 30 | – | 47 | |
Reeven Arcziel (ref. 92mm fan) | – | – | – | 35 | – | – | – | 47 | – |
Cooler Master GeminII M4 | – | – | – | 34 | 38 | – | 49 | ||
Scythe Kozuti | – | – | 36 | – | – | 40 | – | 45 | |
Scythe Samurai ZZ | – | – | 38 | – | – | 39 | – | 47 | |
Reeven Vanxie | – | 45 | – | – | – | – | 56 | – | F |
The GeminII M4’s VRM cooling is just as poor though it did improve substantially when paired with our thicker reference Nexus fan.
MP3 SOUND RECORDINGS
These recordings were made with a high
resolution, lab quality, digital recording system inside SPCR’s
own 11 dBA ambient anechoic chamber, then converted to LAME 128kbps
encoded MP3s. We’ve listened long and hard to ensure there is no audible degradation
from the original WAV files to these MP3s. They represent a quick snapshot of
what we heard during the review.
These recordings are intended to give you an idea of how the product sounds
in actual use — one meter is a reasonable typical distance between a computer
or computer component and your ear. The recording contains stretches of ambient
noise that you can use to judge the relative loudness of the subject. Be aware
that very quiet subjects may not be audible — if we couldn’t hear it from
one meter, chances are we couldn’t record it either!
The recording starts with 5~10 second segments of room ambiance, then the fan
at various levels. For the most realistic results, set the volume so that
the starting ambient level is just barely audible, then don’t change the volume
setting again.
- Cooler Master GeminII M4 with stock 120mm fan at 1m
— 6V (14~15 dBA@1m)
— 7V (16~17 dBA@1m)
— 9V (24 dBA@1m)
— 12V (30 dBA@1m)
FINAL THOUGHTS
While the Cooler Master GeminII M4 resembles the Scythe’s Big Shuriken 2, its performance does not. At comparable noise levels, the Big Shuriken 2 beats it handily, with temperature differences in the double digit range. If the M4 had fared any worse, it might have even fallen behind tiny, 40 mm tall Scythe Kozuti.
Comparing the design of M4 to more successful heatsinks, one possible explanation for its poor performance becomes apparent. The Kozuti’s efficiency is thanks in part to its fan mounted directly over the heatsink base, blowing air over the CPU without any impedance. Our current champion, the Noctua NH-L12, has a similar setup but on a bigger scale. Not only does the GeminII M4 have a fin stack to blow through, the stack is thicker at the center above the CPU. The fins aren’t arrayed to take full advantage of the fan, either; there are naked spots underneath the fan in a couple of places. It seems to be a poor allocation of resources compared the Big Shuriken.
Another big issue is the incredibly loose fan clips. The fan is not adequately secured so the vibrations it produces are transmitted to the clips and heatsink fins, causing them to rattle against each other. This cases an annoying hum and increases the overall noise level. The fan itself actually has a fairly smooth sound but once you attach it to the heatsink, this positive impression fades.
It’s impossible for us to recommend the US$30 Cooler Master GeminII M4 when the Scythe Big Shuriken 2 can be had for only US$5 more. Its cooling ability is better by leaps and bounds, and it’s almost the exact same size. We do prefer the M4’s mounting system but that consideration is heavily outweighed by the Big Shuriken’s performance.
Our thanks to Cooler Master
for the GeminII M4 CPU cooler sample.
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Articles of Related Interest
Reeven Kelveros & Arcziel CPU Coolers
Scythe Big Shuriken 2 & Reeven Vanxie CPU Coolers
Fans from Noctua & Corsair at Computex 2012
SPCR’s Updated 2012 Small CPU Heatsink Test Platform
Noctua
NH-L12 Low Profile Cooler
Scythe
Kozuti Low Profile CPU Heatsink
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