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OCZ Gladiator 3
Page 1 - Introduction
In this review I am taking a look at the OCZ Gladiator 3. It is fairly often that I get a chance to review heatsinks. However, it is not often that I get to review a heatsink before it is officially released. This review should give you enough information to decide if you want to purchase this heatsink when it hits store shelves.

What You Get
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The Unit
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First off, I'd like to mention that the OCZ Gladiator 3 is available in two flavors: one with a tri-color LED fan that puts out a moderate amount of sound and a black quiet fan. I'll be rating both in this review. Here are the specifications of the heatsink and fans:
OCZ Gladiator 3 |
Supported CPUs |
Socket A/462 up to Athlon XP 3200+ All Socket 370 CPUs |
Construction |
Single-piece, pure copper |
Dimensions |
60x60x30mm |
Fan Dimensions (both) |
60x60x25mm |
Voltage |
12V |
Fan Type (both) |
Ball Bearing |
Sound/Air Output |
Black Quiet Fan: Less than 28 dBA The Rest is unknown/unreported for both fans |
As far as packaging and instructions go, I am unable to comment on those at this time. I received pre-release packaging. These factors will not be considered in this review. I can tell you what was included. I received the heatsink, both aforementioned fans (consumers will only receive one or the other), and a big syringe of OCZ Ultra II silver thermal compound. The heatsink has a piece of plastic stuck to the bottom of the heatsink to protect it. The quiet fan is a 4-pin pass-through connector and the tri-led fan has a standard 3-pin power connector.

The Surface
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Protective Plastic
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Installation, on the other hand, is something I can and will comment on. The clip on Gladiator 3 is a dream. Installation was a breeze, both ends of the clip are three prong. I just clipped one side down and used a flat head screwdriver to push the other end down. The clip is not overly stiff and it holds well. If you have ever used a ThermalTake Dragon Orb 3, you will notice the night and day difference when you install the unit. The OCZ paste spreads on easy and has a similar consistency to Arctic Silver. Installation, overall, was a thing of beauty. I am glad to see OCZ covered this base well.
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