Extreme Air Cooling: Our Five-Slot (Quiet) Radeon HD 7970
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Cooling
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Radeon
Last response: in Reviews comments
FormatC
July 26, 2012 3:46:03 AM
The good news is that it’s possible to cool AMD’s flagship Radeon HD 7970 GHz Edition to less than 75 degrees Celsius under full load, maintaining a quiet 32 dB(A) at the same time. The bad news? It'll cost you five expansion slots and more than $100.
Extreme Air Cooling: Our Five-Slot (Quiet) Radeon HD 7970 : Read more
Extreme Air Cooling: Our Five-Slot (Quiet) Radeon HD 7970 : Read more
More about : extreme air cooling slot quiet radeon 7970
Maximus_Delta
July 26, 2012 5:00:28 AM
mayankleoboy1
July 26, 2012 5:11:42 AM
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Hazle
July 26, 2012 5:17:20 AM
jossrik
July 26, 2012 5:24:51 AM
Seems to me if you're willing to go 140$ or whatnot to cool your Gfx card, you might be interested in water cooling. 80$ for a Noctua and 100+ for this put you into cheap water cooling territory, and while you could easily spend double or more water cooling, that seems the route to take. Just my two cents.
Score
27
ShadyHamster
July 26, 2012 5:36:49 AM
esrever
July 26, 2012 5:44:50 AM
bak0n
July 26, 2012 5:53:57 AM
amuffin
July 26, 2012 6:02:15 AM
JOSHSKORN
July 26, 2012 6:02:32 AM
memadmax
July 26, 2012 6:54:56 AM
JebbyC
July 26, 2012 7:19:35 AM
Why is there an empty slot between the fans and the heatsink? Looks like there could be some space and efficiency savings there. Also, why did you test 120mm fans when 140mm fans are supported?
Where do the additional two fans you haven't tested fit? I guess they might go in the empty slot, but that seems strange to me - why have a fan blowing directly into another fan.
Where do the additional two fans you haven't tested fit? I guess they might go in the empty slot, but that seems strange to me - why have a fan blowing directly into another fan.
Score
2
monkeymonk
July 26, 2012 7:26:37 AM
jebbycWhy is there an empty slot between the fans and the heatsink? Looks like there could be some space and efficiency savings there. Also, why did you test 120mm fans when 140mm fans are supported?Where do the additional two fans you haven't tested fit? I guess they might go in the empty slot, but that seems strange to me - why have a fan blowing directly into another fan.
its called push/pull you see it on cpu coolers and watercooling all the time. There are 120mm fans available
Score
-1
FormatC
July 26, 2012 7:48:24 AM
JebbyC
July 26, 2012 7:49:24 AM
JebbyC
July 26, 2012 8:01:30 AM
@FormatC I see what you're saying, but compare the picture on the benchmarks page to these:
http://extreme.pcgameshardware.de/luftkuehlung/182842-ekl-peter-lueftermontage-update.html#post3578374
http://www.hardwareluxx.de/community/f136/alpenfoehn-peter-821451.html
It looks like the bracket overlaps the heatsink, so the fans are much closer. Maybe it's just the angle.
Edit: They're on different cards, (a 570 and a 480, if my German isn't too bad), my mistake.
http://extreme.pcgameshardware.de/luftkuehlung/182842-ekl-peter-lueftermontage-update.html#post3578374
http://www.hardwareluxx.de/community/f136/alpenfoehn-peter-821451.html
It looks like the bracket overlaps the heatsink, so the fans are much closer. Maybe it's just the angle.
Edit: They're on different cards, (a 570 and a 480, if my German isn't too bad), my mistake.
Score
0
FormatC
July 26, 2012 8:29:02 AM
This is a HD 7970 problem - the GPU sits higher on the PCB.
< 10mm
Edit:
I've experimented with different VRM coolers (on some photos you can see a slightly lower silver VRM heatsink) and slim fans but only the big black one (original from EKL) gives you the full performance.
Quote:
it doesn't look to me like there's enough clearance between the main heatsink and the VRM heatsink.
Edit:
I've experimented with different VRM coolers (on some photos you can see a slightly lower silver VRM heatsink) and slim fans but only the big black one (original from EKL) gives you the full performance.
Score
1
JebbyC
July 26, 2012 9:32:23 AM
freggo
July 26, 2012 11:37:56 AM
FormatC
July 26, 2012 11:42:07 AM
@JebbyC
The Gigabyte thing is in translation (I hope so)
The Windforce 5X @1,25 GHz is (under full load) quieter (!) than a Sapphire Toxic 6GB (1,2 GHz, Tahiti XT2) - thats fact. In a few minutes I will try a showdown between this two cards on 3840 x 3240 (6 cheap monitors, DVI only) and 3 active splitters.
Who wants to bet, can transfer me the money to my private account (which is unfair because I know the result - already)
The Gigabyte thing is in translation (I hope so)
The Windforce 5X @1,25 GHz is (under full load) quieter (!) than a Sapphire Toxic 6GB (1,2 GHz, Tahiti XT2) - thats fact. In a few minutes I will try a showdown between this two cards on 3840 x 3240 (6 cheap monitors, DVI only) and 3 active splitters.
Who wants to bet, can transfer me the money to my private account (which is unfair because I know the result - already)
Score
2
xxplosiv88
July 26, 2012 12:22:41 PM
When I see something like this behemoth, it reminds me that we really have a long way to go in terms of technology. I think you can tell silicone/transistor technology is really starting to hit a brick wall when 5 slot aftermarket VGA coolers come onto the scene. For that matter, stock 3 slot products like the ASUS Mars II go without mentioning too.
Score
4
nebun
July 26, 2012 12:52:49 PM
Anonymous
July 26, 2012 1:07:35 PM
universal remonster
July 26, 2012 1:20:11 PM
I think it looks like you may not have that installed correctly. After comparing JebbyC's pictures and the close up of yours, it looks like you skipped a slot between the cards mounting screw plates and the brackets mount. The card is mounted in the first and second slot and the bracket is mounted in the fourth, but it looks as though it should be mounted in the third slot so that the bracket is next to the heatsink and thus bringing the fans much closer to the heatsink as it is in the other pictures.
Like this:
http://news.softpedia.com/newsImage/Deepcool-Intros-Dra...
I would be very interested to know thermals after you move it up a slot!
Like this:
http://news.softpedia.com/newsImage/Deepcool-Intros-Dra...
I would be very interested to know thermals after you move it up a slot!
Score
1
JackNaylorPE
July 26, 2012 1:34:34 PM
That's great ..... you can get within 1C of the Asus 670 TOP and get almost as much performance !
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ASUS/GeForce_GTX_670...
The $430 Asus 670 TOP totals 1770.8 fps in techpowerup's game test suite (999 fps in Guri3D's) and tops out at 74C under load and two cards in SLI take up 4 slots
This $580 7970 Ghz Edition gets 1763.2 fps in techpowerup's game test suite (952 in Guri3D's) and tops out at 75C under load and this single card takes up 5 slots.
Color me unimpressed.
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ASUS/GeForce_GTX_670...
The $430 Asus 670 TOP totals 1770.8 fps in techpowerup's game test suite (999 fps in Guri3D's) and tops out at 74C under load and two cards in SLI take up 4 slots
This $580 7970 Ghz Edition gets 1763.2 fps in techpowerup's game test suite (952 in Guri3D's) and tops out at 75C under load and this single card takes up 5 slots.
Color me unimpressed.
Score
-2
ptmmac
July 26, 2012 2:40:15 PM
i am really looking forward to the Sandia Labs cooler.
https://share.sandia.gov/news/resources/news_releases/c...
https://share.sandia.gov/news/resources/news_releases/c...
Score
-1
iknowhowtofixit
July 26, 2012 2:41:41 PM
FormatC
July 26, 2012 5:08:14 PM
iknowhowtofixit said:
The fan bracket was installed one space too low compared to other reviews I've seen for this cooler. Also, I don't see any memory temps compared here either.The answer can be found here:
http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/3246-56-extreme-cooli...
or here:

This is a HD 7970 GHz Edition
Score
0
As I read this, this constant thought was nagging in my mind.
------------------------------
The year is 2012. AMD has furiously raced to match the performance lead set by NVidia.
Enter the 7970 GHz edition!
But the noise was a big concern.
Enter the Peter! With its behemoth cooling and tolerable noise, it seemed like a winner despite its exorbitantly high price!
-------------Meanwhile-------------
Other simply bought a GTX 680 or regular 7970.
------------------------------
The year is 2012. AMD has furiously raced to match the performance lead set by NVidia.
Enter the 7970 GHz edition!
But the noise was a big concern.
Enter the Peter! With its behemoth cooling and tolerable noise, it seemed like a winner despite its exorbitantly high price!
-------------Meanwhile-------------
Other simply bought a GTX 680 or regular 7970.
Score
-2
jeffgedgaud
July 26, 2012 6:12:01 PM
I kind of wonder about the weight, I have an Accelero Extreme on a GTX 460 and worry about the weight of the cooler and fans pulling it down in the slot when in a regular case. I use a block to brace the cards up when installed in regular PC case but at present I have a open case where the MB is flat and the card is sitting upright.
Score
-1
JamesSneed
July 26, 2012 6:44:22 PM
FormatC said:
The answer can be found here:http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/3246-56-extreme-cooli...
or here:
http://media.bestofmicro.com/G/T/346637/original/Cooler.jpg
This is a HD 7970 GHz Edition
I see the 7970 socket is higher up causing a clearance issue with the heat sink and fan bracket. Would it be possible to mount the fans to the heat sink via zip ties or do you feel that would be to much weight or unstable?
Score
0
FormatC
July 26, 2012 6:56:20 PM
Anonymous
July 26, 2012 8:37:40 PM
Am I the only one the finds this kit (per the review) very amateur, poorly made, expensive, and doesn't even fit correctly?!? I'm sorry, but I would NEVER pay for this piece of junk! 143.6 deg F at 40db!!! That's less than optimal, in fact, that's pretty horrible! That's what... 65-70 deg ABOVE ambient? Jesus what a POS! my 450 GTS stays cooler than that with it's stock POS nvidia reference fan. An acceptable temp would be around 100 deg f ~ 120 deg f under full load.
Wow, I can't see how anyone would like this thing. I mean... just... wow!
Wow, I can't see how anyone would like this thing. I mean... just... wow!
Score
-1
kooldj
July 26, 2012 8:40:11 PM
A Bad Day
July 27, 2012 1:02:23 AM
rexdale_punjabi
July 27, 2012 1:34:51 AM
Anonymous
July 27, 2012 3:53:29 AM
FormatC
July 27, 2012 4:06:47 AM
Anonymous
July 27, 2012 4:37:49 AM
FormatC
July 27, 2012 5:15:51 AM
Anonymous
July 27, 2012 6:26:22 AM
jassenjj
July 27, 2012 10:23:02 AM
FormatC
July 27, 2012 10:57:41 AM
mubin
July 27, 2012 2:42:59 PM
Anonymous
July 27, 2012 3:03:44 PM
Anonymous
July 27, 2012 4:33:18 PM
Another thing that really grinds my gears(thank you Family Guy). Why do all these CPU/GPU heatsinks have these heatpipes? Whats the point? I never noticed such high temps. a few years back when if you wanted to overclock, you grabbed a quality beefy, cooper heatsink with a thin sorface and alot of fins. Or if you had to, a huge aluminum heatsink (aka. the Novatech Alpha).
The problem is, when you have such a confined area to work with, heat pipes simply do not work! And just look at that picture, the heat pipes are UPSIDE DOWN! In order for them to function, the MUST remain vertical. This is so the condensed fluid flows back down to the contact area. If they are upside down, the refrigerant just sits there. Besides that, Heatpipes ONLY WORK AT A CERTAIN TEMP. RANGE! What that means is that the CPU/GPU MUST climb to that temp before the refrigerant in the heat pipes start to evaporate.
So.. A think (1/8 inch) slab of copper with a large amount of fins creating a large surface/contact area is by far THE way to go. I'll be happy when all this heat pipe nonsense goes the way of the dodo!
/end rant.
The problem is, when you have such a confined area to work with, heat pipes simply do not work! And just look at that picture, the heat pipes are UPSIDE DOWN! In order for them to function, the MUST remain vertical. This is so the condensed fluid flows back down to the contact area. If they are upside down, the refrigerant just sits there. Besides that, Heatpipes ONLY WORK AT A CERTAIN TEMP. RANGE! What that means is that the CPU/GPU MUST climb to that temp before the refrigerant in the heat pipes start to evaporate.
So.. A think (1/8 inch) slab of copper with a large amount of fins creating a large surface/contact area is by far THE way to go. I'll be happy when all this heat pipe nonsense goes the way of the dodo!
/end rant.
Score
-2
Scotty99
July 28, 2012 9:14:02 PM
3DVagabond
July 29, 2012 6:15:56 AM
FormatC
July 29, 2012 6:41:41 AM
3DVagabond
July 30, 2012 7:30:52 AM
FormatCAgain, I sent an email to Arctic: no response, no sample. In my eyes: no interest or fear. Why do you think?
Fair enough. Not your fault there was no sample. Out of fear? I doubt it. Sorry though, if I had received this to review I'd ask the design team/marketing what they are thinking marketing this. How many of these are they actually going to sell?
Score
0
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