When I got this Cooler, (Being in the big box that it is) I was very ecstatic knowing that it will solve my cooling problems. Now to be honest, this wasn't the ONLY product I bought to reach my goal. I paired this with a Cooler Master CM690 case that includes a front fan and a back fan (+ 2 fans for the top) for max airflow.
My situation was that I had a Micro-ATX case with a Quad Core, an 8800 GT (The hot hot GPU), two HDD's and a tv tuner smacked right close to the Graphics Card. You can imagine what kind of MESS it made. My temps were 63C on 8800 GT and 50C on the Quad Core, Which is a Phenom 9500. Ambient temperatures were near the 50's and all of it - ON IDLE! My comp shuts off without notice when playing games that use both the CPU and the GPU semi intensive to Intensive.
Now on to the Cooler; this cooler is HUGE. Not too heavy, but it's definitely big. The cooler that I had (Stock), could fit 6 times in this baby. It's only an inch away from the side panel, where I was planning to attach another fan but the performance of this cooler really brings no need for this.
I will say that it's a bit tricky to install. For you AMD users, you'll have to remove the existing retention bracket and install the one that comes with it, and also a supporter at the back of the motherboard. One thing's for sure - READ THE MANUAL. One thing they don't tell you is that you have to flip the Motherboard upside down while the cooler is in place to fasten the back supporter. Definitely tricky to install. I took an example from 3D GAME MAN on his youtube. Definitely helps if you need visual explanation. To top it off they added a nice red LED light inside.
The Results;
Previous Setup w/o V8
CPU IDLE 52 C
CPU LOAD 65 C
GPU IDLE 60 C
GPU LOAD 75 C
New Setup With V8
CPU IDLE 32 C
CPU LOAD 40 C
GPU IDLE 55 C
GPU LOAD 63 C
Conclusion; So this is on a fairly decent setup. My Phenom is OC'd to 2.6 Ghz and the temp budges a few degrees but not much. This type of cooler doesn't quite live up to its potential on this type of CPU, but I can assure you that dropping your CPU temperature by 20 Degrees does wonders in the overall ambient temperatures. WONDERS I say! This is because there's a point where the 8800 GT's fan starts to make a lot of noise. This is when it exceeds 65C. If you manage to keep it below this temperature, it won't make a noise. This is another bonus when dropping the ambient temperature and i'm glad I waited till Amazon got this baby back in stock, it was worth the wait!