TechRadar Verdict
A head-turning design, but it is outperformed by many of its rivals, making this one hard to recommend wholeheartedly
Pros
- +
Looks good
- +
When attached to a fan can be very effective
Cons
- -
Won't fit all cases
- -
Lacklustre performance
Why you can trust TechRadar We spend hours testing every product or service we review, so you can be sure you’re buying the best. Find out more about how we test.
With its unusual horizontal design, in which the heatpipes move warmth through a right angle, the Orochi is a looker you'd want to show off in a windowed case.
You will need to make sure you've got clearance above the CPU, though. This isn't going to fit all cases, especially if the PSU is mounted at the top.
Weak performance
When cooled with just case fans, the Orichi failed to keep our machine going in a couple of tests, although it fared better when we traded down to a dual core processor.
What this essentially means is that you'll certainly want to use the optional case fan - at which point the benefit of passive cooling (i.e. no noise) is lost.
With a blower attached it's a good sink - but it doesn't compare to most of the competition.
Test results:
Full resource draw stress test: Prime 95: 65°C
Max load multi-core stress test: HL2 map draw: 59°C
Real-world gaming stress test: World in Conflict: 55°C
Idle recovery (1 min after stress test): Resting: 46°C
