Thermalright's Shaman VGA Cooler: The Quiet Giant?
Table of contents
- 1. The Big Daddy Of VGA Cooling
- 2. Thermalright's Shaman: A Closer Look
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.
After we wrote our last VGA cooler roundup, Thermalright brought its newest entry in this segment to market: the Shaman. Thermalright claims two world firsts for this cooler: the first VGA cooler designed to accommodate a 140 mm fan and the first VGA cooler with eight 6 mm heat pipes.
Of course, we're always looking to put claims of superiority to the test, so we're itching to compare this unit to some of the products reviewed in the past.
Let's have a look at how Thermalright's new VGA cooler stacks up against the competition:
| Thermalright Shaman | Arctic Cooling Accelero XTREME Plus | DeepCool V6000 | Zalman VF3000 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dimensions: | 160(L) × 132(W) × 38(H) mm | 290(L) × 104(W) × 56(H) mm | 212.5(L) × 110.5(W) × 65(H) mm | 239(L) x 98(W) x 51(H) mm |
| Weight: | 500 grams (without fan) | 622 grams | 759 grams | 430 grams (without fans) |
| Fans: | Single 140 mm fan | Three 92 mm fans | Two 92 mm Case Fans | Two 92 mm Fans |
| Power Cables: | Single Motherboard Fan Header | Single Graphics Card Fan Header | Two Motherboard Fan Headers | Single Motherboard Fan Header |
| Construction: | Nickel-plated Copper Cooling Block Aluminum Heat pipes and Cooling Fins | Copper Cooling Block Copper Heat Pipes Aluminum Cooling Fins | All-Aluminum Construction | Copper Cooling Block Copper Heat Pipes Aluminum Cooling Fins |
| Compatibility: | Generic Four mounting hole size options: Radeon 3870/4800/5800 and GeForce 250/9800GTX, GeForce GTX 200 series, GeForce GTX 480 and 8800, GeForce GTX 460 Radeon 6950/6970 GeForce GTX 570/580 | Generic Five compatibility set options: VR001-Multiple Radeon/GeForce Cards VR002-GeForce GTX 200 series VR003-GeForce GTX 470/465 VR004-GeForce GTX 480 VR005-GeForce GTX 460 | Generic Six mounting hole size options: 43 mm, 51 mm, 53 mm, 58 mm, 61 mm, 80 mm | VF3000F: GeForce GTX 480 VF3000F: GeForce GTX 465/470 VF3000A: Radeon HD 5800 series VF3000N: GeForce GTX 200 series |
From the raw specifications, we can see that the Shaman's 140 mm cooler does stand out amongst the crowd. A large fan has the potential for higher airflow combined with lower RPMs (and consequently lower noise) compared to smaller fans. Of course, the drawback is the significantly larger size of the cooler, standing more than 20 mm higher than the next-largest competitor, and even higher when the fan is attached. As a result, the Shaman won't fit in anything smaller than a full-width case with at least 6 3/4" inches of clearance from the motherboard.
Enough statistics for now though; let's have a closer look at Thermalright's VGA cooling beast.
Great it you only have 1 GPU and no other expansion cards because the thing takes up like 4 slots
It looks like a good option for enthusiasts who want a quiet system. Besides that, I fail to see the point.
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?
A picture of the card in the case would of been nice
so how am i going to set this up in SLI?
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.
Wow!
I'm a tad bit interested on the total weight card+cooler...
ultra mega E peen points. this in a case would look like the backside of your refrigerator.seriously, go look right now!
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.
behemoth!!!
I'm switching to watercooling before i try to live next to this monster.
It is just right for me - but the space is my problem.
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
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
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..)
I need to see that thing inside a case; this review is incomplete without one, Mr. Don. Well, IMO that is.
Cheers!
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.
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.
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.
Real cooling -> Koolance!