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Thermalright's Shaman VGA Cooler: The Quiet Giant?

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  • Cooling
  • VGA
  • Thermalright
Last response: in Reviews comments
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December 28, 2010 3:00:05 AM

Thermalright's Shaman is the largest VGA cooler we've ever seen. Having recently reviewed three competing aftermarket graphics cooling solutions, we're eager to find out if size really matters when it comes to overclocking the ultra-hot GeForce GTX 480.

Thermalright's Shaman VGA Cooler: The Quiet Giant? : Read more

More about : thermalright shaman vga cooler quiet giant

Anonymous
December 28, 2010 3:26:54 AM

Great it you only have 1 GPU and no other expansion cards because the thing takes up like 4 slots
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5
December 28, 2010 3:28:26 AM

It looks like a good option for enthusiasts who want a quiet system. Besides that, I fail to see the point.
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2
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December 28, 2010 3:50:50 AM

It would of been nice to take a picture of the card looking down on it from the top so we could see/estimate how many slots it would take up.
how many slots does it exactly take up?
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8
December 28, 2010 3:58:07 AM

A picture of the card in the case would of been nice
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6
December 28, 2010 4:02:37 AM

so how am i going to set this up in SLI?
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3
December 28, 2010 4:18:44 AM

It's not a case, it's a test bed.
You aren't going to set this up in SLI, especially with the VRM heatsink going one way and the 140mm fan going the other.
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2
December 28, 2010 4:29:46 AM

Wow!
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0
December 28, 2010 5:06:44 AM

I'm a tad bit interested on the total weight card+cooler...
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1
December 28, 2010 5:25:28 AM

ultra mega E peen points. this in a case would look like the backside of your refrigerator.seriously, go look right now!
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0
December 28, 2010 6:04:31 AM

thanks for the nice conclusion. on the same note, watercooling and large air heatsinks are same with this cooler right here, there isn't much to be gained in terms of adding more clock speed.
for the right reasons, i would still get WC or large sinks.
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0
December 28, 2010 7:06:21 AM

behemoth!!!

I'm switching to watercooling before i try to live next to this monster.
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1
December 28, 2010 8:18:47 AM

It is just right for me - but the space is my problem.
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0
December 28, 2010 8:46:05 AM

Prolimatech and Thermalright are the best CPU coolers in most of the solutions. Personally I use them and very much satisfied with their performance on my Workstations. But, if one is looking for a cost effective solution then Cooler Master Hyper212 plus is still the best bet. Choice if yours :) 
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0
December 28, 2010 11:09:58 AM

akula2Prolimatech and Thermalright are the best CPU coolers in most of the solutions. Personally I use them and very much satisfied with their performance on my Workstations. But, if one is looking for a cost effective solution then Cooler Master Hyper212 plus is still the best bet. Choice if yours


the cm 212+ is a cpu cooler, this article is about a vga cooler, there is no way both of those can be compared...



Ok I just don't see the point of this other than trying to make the pc quieter, it takes a lot of space, my guess is that it's not possible to crossfire or sli any cards if both of the cards are using this cooler! If one of the cards is not using it the pc is going to be just as loud so there is no point of having it on not even in one of the cards! So this cooler is just for people that want a quieter pc with a single card with just one gpu (as they don't work with dual-gpu like the 5970..)
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1
December 28, 2010 11:44:32 AM

I need to see that thing inside a case; this review is incomplete without one, Mr. Don. Well, IMO that is.

Cheers!
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0
December 28, 2010 12:55:21 PM

The whole point of this test was to see how well the Shaman compared to the other products and you invalidated the test when you added the additional VRM cooler. What you SHOULD have done was to get the better thermal tape and tested it with the cooling parts in the box, not go and add an additional part that screwed the whole test. Yes, it's only the VRM, but it still counts because Thermalright put their own parts in the box for a reason. I call for a retest.
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4
December 28, 2010 1:05:46 PM

The results are impressive for a cooler on a test bed. But... most of us will have the card and cooler installed in a case. Where does the hot vga air go? Right back into the case where it heats up both the air used to cool the graphics card AND the air used to cool the cpu. That is why A direct exhaust type cooler will be more effective. Let's see a test of these coolers installed in a case.
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1
Anonymous
December 28, 2010 1:13:30 PM

Disappointed that TH did this review with an additional component rather than the out-of-box cooler only. It is completely misleading no matter how much it is disclosed, that the added vrm cooler is not part of the product being reviewed. If the card were to fail due to the vrm chips cooking, that needs to be part of the review. Instead you are effectively covering a manufacturer deficiency by adding another product.
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5
December 28, 2010 1:49:48 PM

Real cooling -> Koolance!
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1
December 28, 2010 1:55:04 PM

Just another product I will never buy since std GPU cooling has always been enough for me.
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0
December 28, 2010 2:03:41 PM

dstlnIt looks like a good option for enthusiasts who want a quiet system. Besides that, I fail to see the point.


I find this as the biggest attraction to after market cooling; that is silence. Most of the stock HSF setups are very loud in gaming mode, at least that's how both my 4870 and 8800GT cards have been.
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1
December 28, 2010 2:09:37 PM

Heat is much less of a problem with overclocking than you might think. Every CPU/GPU I've had has become unstable long before it approached its thermal limit. Maybe I was just unlucky?
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0
December 28, 2010 2:14:38 PM

Two of those in crossfire... or SLI... right... see my concern here...
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0
December 28, 2010 2:16:05 PM

Who need silence in gaming mode?
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-2
December 28, 2010 2:21:11 PM

redgarlWho need silence in gaming mode?


Depends on what kind of games you play, not every game involves shooting and explosions every two seconds. Besides GPUs are also used for other things nowadays.
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0
December 28, 2010 2:25:47 PM

@the cm 212+ is a cpu cooler, this article is about a vga cooler, there is no way both of those can be compared...

True but I was mentioning about CPU coolers only :) 
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-1
December 28, 2010 3:26:18 PM

Interesting how the Temperature bar graph starts a "0"; and still shows impressive improvements while you had to 'cheat' on the noice bar graph starting at "47" to make the improvement show up as a significant step when in reality it is relatively modest.
Do we really need little presentation 'tricks' like this or is it just me?
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1
December 28, 2010 3:44:28 PM

killerclickDepends on what kind of games you play, not every game involves shooting and explosions every two seconds. Besides GPUs are also used for other things nowadays.


Exactly. Also, "silence" is quite loosely used here. I mean my 4870 sounded like an off brand hair dryer on low (IMO). Also I play games like L4D and Killing Floor where a faint noise here and there can make a difference. Also, I don't want to just turn up the volume to compensate because everything else becomes too loud.
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0
December 28, 2010 5:09:01 PM

I have a Gigabyte 5830 that has two nice big fans and cools the card to these levels and beyond....
And I almost cannot hear it even with an open case....

Just saying....
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0
December 28, 2010 5:25:15 PM

This is piece of crap which let's you to run only one video card.

Those guys from Thermalright must be morons. Do they even know that people run SLI, TriSLI or Crossfire setup
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0
December 28, 2010 6:28:34 PM

freggoyou had to 'cheat' on the noise bar graph starting at "47" to make the improvement show up as a significant step


I hate it whenever they use a non-zero origin for their graphs; it's confusing and always feels kind of dishonest to me.
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1
December 28, 2010 6:40:26 PM

freggoInteresting how the Temperature bar graph starts a "0"; and still shows impressive improvements while you had to 'cheat' on the noice bar graph starting at "47" to make the improvement show up as a significant step when in reality it is relatively modest.Do we really need little presentation 'tricks' like this or is it just me?


Actually it makes sense when sound is concerned. A normal conversation is 60 dB while a gunshot at close range is 140 dB. Would you say a gunshot is only 2.5 times louder than a normal conversation? See, even a few decibels difference is very noticable especially when relatively quiet sounds are measured.
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-1
December 28, 2010 6:51:55 PM

killerclickActually it makes sense when sound is concerned. A normal conversation is 60 dB while a gunshot at close range is 140 dB. Would you say a gunshot is only 2.5 times louder than a normal conversation? See, even a few decibels difference is very noticable especially when relatively quiet sounds are measured.


I seems like that is an argument for a logarithmic graph; a linear graph with a non-zero origin does not really do a good approximation of that.
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1
December 28, 2010 7:19:21 PM

veahDisappointed that TH did this review with an additional component rather than the out-of-box cooler only. It is completely misleading no matter how much it is disclosed, that the added vrm cooler is not part of the product being reviewed. If the card were to fail due to the vrm chips cooking, that needs to be part of the review. Instead you are effectively covering a manufacturer deficiency by adding another product.


What he said.
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0
December 28, 2010 7:27:07 PM

Would have liked to see them try and put this thing in various cases.

It does not look like it would fit too well in my Antec 300, and a lot of other cases with the amount of extra width it adds.
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0
December 28, 2010 7:45:24 PM

Quote:
Real cooling -> Koolance!


Koolance is the bottom of the barrel in most watercooling circles...not sure which one you are in. They make decent waterblocks, but the rest of their kits are trash.

How can Tom's take this product to review and do an actual 'review' when you had to piece it together with another cooling solution? In my mind, this is a failure...not being able to fully utilize the cooler you paid money for, but giving it 'good reviews' in conjunction with a separate cooler installed.

A very poor review...very unscientific and unrealistic. The fact that you needed to use a 2nd cooler alone is enough to recommend this product not to get installed. You are propping this card up even though it suffers a broken leg due to poor VRM cooling/failed install of cooler.

Test the soltuion as-is...even if there are failed components. Don't advertise the review for the single cooler when it was obvious that TWO were used and needed. FAIL.
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0
December 28, 2010 8:13:18 PM

nearly 1kg aint good for a card...
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0
December 28, 2010 9:01:42 PM

Its funny how many of you are bashing the review when toms says outright what the main shortcoming of this cooling solution is, the sub par thermal tape.
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1
December 28, 2010 9:26:24 PM

Good article

I any body else other than me worried that this cooler might break or warp your vga card?
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0
December 28, 2010 9:26:38 PM

redgarlTwo of those in crossfire... or SLI... right... see my concern here...


Exactly. And just about every video card will throttle and shut down when GPU temps get too high.
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0
December 29, 2010 12:03:45 AM

cjmcgeeI hate it whenever they use a non-zero origin for their graphs; it's confusing and always feels kind of dishonest to me.


I agree in almost all cases *EXCEPT* when it comes to deciibels. The ambient noise from the system we used with NO graphics cooler is the starting point, I probably should have stressed that in the article but I hope it makes more sense to you now.
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0
December 29, 2010 2:36:12 AM

What a beast! Even if it is a little impractical to use, it definitely does what its supposed to do, other then the VRM part not sticking very well. And they seemed to have addressed that issue as well.
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0
December 29, 2010 3:06:18 AM

Just picked this up a few weeks ago. For those who still don't see the point, please consider the following: using MSI Afterburner I OCed my Asus EAH5850, with 1.3v, to 1010MHz core clock, 1245MHz memory clock, and I now run at 60 degrees Celsius at 100% load for 1 hour with MSI Kombustor. Obviously, not every card can OC like this, but if you do your homework and get lucky with your silicon, the investment can be pretty exciting as long as you are content to never run SLI/CrossFireX (unless you have one of the very few motherboards that could conceivably support it with this cooler in place).
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0
December 29, 2010 3:07:06 AM

It seems that at $85 (and especially $115 with the second VRM sink) that you're reaching the price of adding a GPU block to an already-established watercooling loop. How's this monster compare with that? Seems to me that the kind of people that buy $85 VGA coolers are the same kind of people who might just already have a water loop.
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0
December 29, 2010 12:45:07 PM

You'll have to be a person who can't stand noise, need ONE GTX580 or GTX480, & have enough room in his case to fit this thing. To actually want OR need this Thermalright dynamic duo, Badman & Birdman... ;-)
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0
December 29, 2010 1:56:11 PM

What the? A full page ad pops up EVERY time you turn a page, even for members!? This had better not be the way Tom's is heading..
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1
December 29, 2010 7:52:25 PM

cobra5000What the? A full page ad pops up EVERY time you turn a page, even for members!? This had better not be the way Tom's is heading..


+1...i find it very aggravating as well. like every page being full of ads wasn't enough. this is the reason i don't come here every weekday to see news updates.
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0
December 29, 2010 11:31:44 PM

Why no GELID icy vision? would have liked to have seen the performance comparison.
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0
December 31, 2010 8:26:39 AM

How many of these do they expect to sell?
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0
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