The Quest For A Bigger Gun
If you care about tweaking and tuning your PC, then you already know that heat is your enemy. Too much heat in your computer means limited overclocking ability at best and premature hardware failure at worst.
There are two components in a modern computer that are responsible for the lion’s share of heat output: the central processing unit (CPU) and the graphics processing unit (GPU).
Modern graphics cards can create an exceptional amount of heat, and standard cooling systems struggle to keep temperatures low. Nvidia's GeForce GTX 480 is perhaps the most poignant reminder of the interaction between power, heat, and noise since Intel's Pentium 4 based on the Prescott core. We're using the GTX 480 as our example here because, frankly, it stands to benefit from aftermarket cooling the most.
To remedy this problem, you can bypass the reference cooling solution on your graphics card altogether and lean on an aftermarket solution designed to bring GPU temperatures far below what the standard models can accomplish. Today we’re testing three monster VGA coolers that promise to do just that: Arctic Cooling’s Accelero XTREME Plus, DeepCool’s V6000, and Zalman’s VF3000.
Let’s have a look at the vital statistics for these coolers before we discuss them in detail:
Header Cell - Column 0 | Arctic CoolingAccelero XTREME Plus | DeepCoolV6000 | ZalmanVF3000 |
---|---|---|---|
Dimensions: | 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: | 622 grams | 759 grams | 430 grams |
Fans: | Three 92 mm fans | Two 92 mm Case Fans | Two 92 mm Fans |
Power Cables: | Single Graphics CardFan Header | Two MotherboardFan Headers | Single MotherboardFan Header |
Construction: | Copper Cooling BlockCopper Heat PipesAluminum Cooling Fins | All-Aluminum Construction | Copper Cooling Block Copper Heat Pipes Aluminum Cooling Fins |
Compatibility: | GenericFive compatibility set options:VR001-Multiple Radeon/GeForce CardsVR002-GeForce GTX 200 seriesVR003-GeForce GTX 470/465VR004-GeForce GTX 480VR005-GeForce GTX 460 | GenericSix mounting hole size options:43 mm, 51 mm, 53 mm,58 mm, 61 mm, 80 mm | VF3000F: GeForce GTX 480VF3000F: GeForce GTX 465/470VF3000A: Radeon HD 5800 seriesVF3000N: GeForce GTX 200 series |