The Basics:
Right out of the boxes these coolers look like monsters, being very tall as well as heavy these coolers are not to be classified as 'light weights'. I will start off by taking a look at the V1, which is a very unique looking cooler with a non-standard design; in fact it is about as far from standard as you could get. There is a copper base which has four heatpipes coming out of it (two per side), and the heatpipes are in turn connected to the sets of fins on the cooler. This is where things start to get interesting, because instead of having fins with the fan on top, the cooler has the fan in the middle with somewhat "V" shaped fins on either side.
 
The fan on this cooler is positioned so that when it is running it will be blowing directly towards your rear exhaust fan, sucking air in from the case, as well as other components, and then helping to exhaust it. Something that hit me as kind of a shock was that this cooler has a nearly mirror finish base! Most coolers that I have had still have the machine marks on them, and leave something to be desired.
 
Moving on to the MaxOrb, we find this cooler has a much different design from the V1. Perhaps these diverse styles represent Thermaltake experimenting with different cooling methods, possibly in an attempt to find a more efficient air cooler for the enthusiast market. After ripping open the packaging and looking at this baby I was surprised by the weight, as it was much lighter than I would think. This cooler, like just about all other coolers you see now, uses heatpipes (six of them to be exact). All the pipes come out of one side, curving up and around into the actual fins of the unit. This cooler seems to be more of an orthodox design than the V1, following the classic circular design with the fan located in the middle, blowing down. There is a fan speed controller mounted on this unit which will give you the option to run for silence, for performance, or somewhere in between.
 
Again, a little bit of surprise as this unit has a very shiny bottom as well. I hope that this is a trend I will see continue on future cooling units!
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