Thermaltake is a company that needs no introduction. Since their inception in 1999, Thermaltake has become a household name in PC cooling, cases, power supplies and other computer accessories. Earlier this year I had a chance to review their MaxOrb cooler, a copper base and six heatpipe aluminum radial fin heatsink that performed very favorably in our tests. It seems Thermaltake has decided to expand on the success of the MaxOrb with their latest iteration in the Orb cooler series, the MaxOrb EX.


The EX is by all appearances, the same size, shape and design as the original MaxOrb, with one minor difference. It replaces the outer section of fins with copper instead of aluminum. Comparing the MaxOrb to the MaxOrb EX side-by-side they appear identical other than color. They both support Intel LGA775 and AMD 754/939/AM2 socket types, although the MaxOrb EX adds "official" support for AM2+, but both should be compatible with either. They also share the same dimensions, use the same blue LED 110mm 3-pin fan and offer identical fan speed controls. The MaxOrb EX weighs in at 580 grams, a 115g increase over the original MaxOrb, due to the more extensive use of copper in the cooling fins.

Let's see how the improved MaxOrb EX compares to its predecessor.