EVGA Teases ACX 2.0 GPU Cooler
New graphics cards are always exciting, and along with new graphics cards from Nvidia and AMD we often find the AIB partners also preparing new coolers. EVGA is the latest to tease its new solution, which the company dubbed the ACX 2.0.
Perhaps the ACX 2.0 isn't particularly compelling at first glance, but upon closer inspection, you'd see that EVGA used thicker heat pipes than on the cooler's predecessor, and more importantly, the fan blade structure is different. In a teaser video, EVGA did not show the fan blades spinning, but that might be to avoid revealing the big secret. Have a peek at the fan blades, though, and you might see that they mirror the shape most commonly found on fans, suggesting that EVGA might have adopted a reverse air-flow design. Again, we are not sure about it, but it is possible.
From the teaser video we can also see that EVGA opted for ball bearings with the fans.
At this time, we don’t really know more about the cooler. EVGA did claim that it will be the world’s most efficient air cooler, so we are hoping for noteworthy improvement in thermals. Chances are that we’ll be seeing these on Nvidia’s next generation of graphics cards, which if the rumors are correct will be a lot more efficient and thus generate less heat. Combine that with a more efficient cooler and we’ll likely be seeing some very cool and quiet graphics cards.
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Niels Broekhuijsen is a Contributing Writer for Tom's Hardware US. He reviews cases, water cooling and pc builds.
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DarkSable Could be awesome, but to be honest...Reply
I would actually rather have the stock cooler. A cooler that is QUIET when it handles a 250w card, that blows the hot air out the back of the case, that's been put on a 165-180w card? Yes please! That's pretty much a dream for a small form factor builder like myself. -
tom10167 I'm completely bored of the "teases" and rumors now. It's now just a video card to me. Release the damn thing already or shut up about it.Reply -
cbrunnem more efficient doesnt mean lower temps..... theres more ways to get better efficiency in heatsink design than to just lower temps.Reply -
airborne11b cbrunnem, your comment makes no sense.Reply
What the article is talking about is that the new 980 GTX is going to be running 175w tdp, in comparison to the 290x which is 290w tdp and 780 GTX which is 250 tdp.
Less power = less heat generation, and if it performs the same or better, would by definition make it more efficient. derp -
ohim My Sapphire Vapor-X cooler makes my 290 run a bit cooler than a 780/Ti. Had E-VGA GPU in the past... i was impressed about it at first then i got my 290 Vapor-x ... this card is impressive... and all this time i was looking at Sapphire as a low grade company.Reply -
PapaCrazy Could be awesome, but to be honest...
I would actually rather have the stock cooler. A cooler that is QUIET when it handles a 250w card, that blows the hot air out the back of the case, that's been put on a 165-180w card? Yes please! That's pretty much a dream for a small form factor builder like myself.
Out the back is the problem. The non reference designs can be very cool and very quiet, but they pass the responsibility for cooling to the rest of the case. Shoulder your own burdens, GPUs!
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Drejeck I don't love anymore EVGA since Palit got a lead with it's high quality Gainward Phantom series.Reply -
EasyLover Ball bearing! Really! Teaser video does not really catch the eyes. What EVGA is really upto?Reply -
MEC-777 The fans are not reverse flow. Look at the cross-section of each blade - they subtly curve downward, which means they will most likely blow down on the card.Reply
As for the blades curving out in the opposite the direction of rotation - this reduces drag (less pressure build up in front of each blade). Given EVGA's goal to make this the most efficient cooler, they also wanted to reduce the power draw of the fan motors. Reducing drag reduces the power required to spin the fans.
It looks to me like they were looking for a good compromise between static pressure, air flow, reduced drag/motor draw and low noise. Only issue I can see is that an outward blade curve design like that will tend to create more centrifugal (outward) flow and less axial flow (downward). One way to combat this would be to have a close-tolerance shroud or duct surrounding each fan.
But, we'll have to wait and tested it to see how it actually performs.