*POLL* Which GPU Cooler Should I Purchase?

[GeeFizzleDizzle]

I'm thinking about getting either an Arctic Cooling AVC-NV6 Rv.2 or a Zalman Vf700-cu cooler to put on my XFX 7600GT XXX PCI-E card and I was wondering if anyone has any experience with either one and would like to give me their opinion.

I'm looking for a GPU cooler that's relatively quiet, cools well and won't cause any major increase in my case/CPU temp.

 

[DerwenArtos12]

for $22 bucks, sure is worth it, I've spent twice that cooling a chipset. They are pretty easy to install. With my latest install of one onto an evga 7800gt, it was 10x as hard to remove the stock fan as it was to install the new one. Previously, on cards like a 6200 and a 9600 among others it was a 5 minute job.

 

[GeeFizzleDizzle]

Thanks...I just hope I don't destroy my card trying to get the HS and fan off.

 

[pkme2]

I use a slot fan for my video card cooling. http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dl...ftrv=1&saprclo=&saprchi=&fsop=1&fsoo=1
Here's another choice http://www3.shopping.com/xPO-Antec_Ante...on_Slot_VGA_Cooler_Retail_Free_2nd_Day

 

[RallyMaster]

uh...are you sure it fits on your video card?

 

[imported_Dvesilly]

Well worth it. The metal heatsink is LOTS thicker than the original. The fan is not any noiser than the original either. It is a little harder to keep clean. Dust will get into the "nooks and crannies". If you don't have a clear case of a case with a side window, that is not much of a problem. I have one on my 7800 Gtx and love it.

 

[RallyMaster]

It's easy to clean it out. Blow into the cooler from the exhaust and dust balls will come flying out. Vacuuming from the back doesn't help.

 

[pkme2]

Originally posted by: RallyMaster
uh...are you sure it fits on your video card?

These fit on side slot next to video card.

 

[GeeFizzleDizzle]

Originally posted by: RallyMaster
uh...are you sure it fits on your video card?

According to the reviews at Newegg it will fit my card. I've just never done one of these before and don't want to kill my card in the process.

I'm now hearing that Arctic Cooling is releasing a cooler specifically for the 7600 GT in June so I may wait on that one instead.

 

[DerwenArtos12]

Originally posted by: GeeFizzleDizzle

Originally posted by: RallyMaster
uh...are you sure it fits on your video card?

According to the reviews at Newegg it will fit my card. I've just never done one of these before and don't want to kill my card in the process.

I'm now hearing that Arctic Cooling is releasing a cooler specifically for the 7600 GT in June so I may wait on that one instead.

it'll more than likely just be a revision of a current one that is guarinteed to fit cards based on the refrence design for the 7600gt, still not always gaurinteed to fit. I had an evga 6200 that was built on the 6600 refrence card but with non-refrence spec caps and i had to moify the hell out of a nvsilencer that was supposed to fit.

 

[RallyMaster]

The Accelero S2 (I think that's what it is) will certainly have better cooling than the Silencers due to heatpipes.

 

[DerwenArtos12]

Originally posted by: RallyMaster
The Accelero S2 (I think that's what it is) will certainly have better cooling than the Silencers due to heatpipes.

you're done.

 

[Howard]

According to this thread, it fits:

http://forums.vr-zone.com/showthread.php?t=68885

And if the NV Silencer 6 fits, then this cooler should fit too:

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Evercool/Turbo2

which SHOULD (just guessing) perform better, but the 7600GT isn't on the compatibility list.

Hmm...

 

[GeeFizzleDizzle]

Originally posted by: RallyMaster
The Accelero S2 (I think that's what it is) will certainly have better cooling than the Silencers due to heatpipes.

The problem I have with the Accelero and the Zalman Vf900cu is that they just blow the GPU heat into the case and the NV Silencer blows the air directly out of the system.

 

[Howard]

Originally posted by: GeeFizzleDizzle

Originally posted by: RallyMaster
The Accelero S2 (I think that's what it is) will certainly have better cooling than the Silencers due to heatpipes.

The problem I have with the Accelero and the Zalman Vf900cu is that they just blow the GPU heat into the case and the NV Silencer blows the air directly out of the system.

I've heard that the case temp does not change significantly with video card coolers that reuse the case air vs blowing exhaust out of the case.

 

[GeeFizzleDizzle]

Originally posted by: Howard

Originally posted by: GeeFizzleDizzle

Originally posted by: RallyMaster
The Accelero S2 (I think that's what it is) will certainly have better cooling than the Silencers due to heatpipes.

The problem I have with the Accelero and the Zalman Vf900cu is that they just blow the GPU heat into the case and the NV Silencer blows the air directly out of the system.

I've heard that the case temp does not change significantly with video card coolers that reuse the case air vs blowing exhaust out of the case.

I've seen where people using the Zalman Vf900cu have actually seen their case temps rise since installing it...that's not what I want. I know an NV Silencer is not going to drop my case temps much, if any, but I don't want them to go up from where they are as a byproduct of cooling down my GPU.

 

[Operandi]

Originally posted by: GeeFizzleDizzle

Originally posted by: Howard

Originally posted by: GeeFizzleDizzle

Originally posted by: RallyMaster
The Accelero S2 (I think that's what it is) will certainly have better cooling than the Silencers due to heatpipes.

The problem I have with the Accelero and the Zalman Vf900cu is that they just blow the GPU heat into the case and the NV Silencer blows the air directly out of the system.

I've heard that the case temp does not change significantly with video card coolers that reuse the case air vs blowing exhaust out of the case.

I've seen where people using the Zalman Vf900cu have actually seen their case temps rise since installing it...that's not what I want. I know an NV Silencer is not going to drop my case temps much, if any, but I don't want them to go up from where they are as a byproduct of cooling down my GPU.

Anyone who tells you the VF-900 is going to increase your case temps is an idiot. The stock HS/F doesn?t remove the heat from the case, neither dose the VF-900; case temp is going to be the same, simple logic dictates that.

Both the VF-700 and 900 are compatible with a wide variety of cards are have significantly higher build quality then the AC units, Zalman gets my vote.

 

[GeeFizzleDizzle]

Originally posted by: Operandi

Originally posted by: GeeFizzleDizzle

Originally posted by: Howard

Originally posted by: GeeFizzleDizzle

Originally posted by: RallyMaster
The Accelero S2 (I think that's what it is) will certainly have better cooling than the Silencers due to heatpipes.

The problem I have with the Accelero and the Zalman Vf900cu is that they just blow the GPU heat into the case and the NV Silencer blows the air directly out of the system.

I've heard that the case temp does not change significantly with video card coolers that reuse the case air vs blowing exhaust out of the case.

I've seen where people using the Zalman Vf900cu have actually seen their case temps rise since installing it...that's not what I want. I know an NV Silencer is not going to drop my case temps much, if any, but I don't want them to go up from where they are as a byproduct of cooling down my GPU.

Anyone who tells you the VF-900 is going to increase your case temps is an idiot. The stock HS/F doesn?t remove the heat from the case, neither dose the VF-900; case temp is going to be the same, simple logic dictates that.

Both the VF-700 and 900 are compatible with a wide variety of cards are have significantly higher build quality then the AC units, Zalman gets my vote.

But could the fact that the Zalman is pushing far more heat away from the GPU, which I woud assume is why it cools better than a stock HSF, be the reason for the increase in case temps?

 

[aigomorla]

Originally posted by: GeeFizzleDizzle

Originally posted by: RallyMaster
The Accelero S2 (I think that's what it is) will certainly have better cooling than the Silencers due to heatpipes.

The problem I have with the Accelero and the Zalman Vf900cu is that they just blow the GPU heat into the case and the NV Silencer blows the air directly out of the system.

Ahh this statement is probably very classic.

If your temps inside the case rise significantly because your using a 7600GT then all i have to say is your cable managment is UTTER and COMPLETE CRAP. First off the 7600GT shouldnt give off that much heat being on a 90nm die process. If you were using a X1900XTX that would be a different story, or even a 7900GTX or 7800GTX for that manner. But a 7600GT, lets be real here, they probably dish out a very marginal amount of heat in your case. Much less then a CPU and your PWMIC would for that manner.

Second, the accelero's perform better then the silencers. If AC thought it would need to blow air to the back, im sure they would of designed a heat pipe cooler that exhausts out the back. So dont even worry.

You said you have a VF900? id just stick with that. There low profile and they do a excellent job at cooling. Dont worry about too much heat being blown out by the cooler, if your worried about that, invest in some cable ties and do some cable work in your case to get better air current.

 

[GeeFizzleDizzle]

No, I don't have any aftermarket cooler yet thus the reason for this thread.

My cable management is pretty much as good as it's going to get inside the CoolerMaster Centurion 5 case I'm using...all the PSU cables are run behind the mobo tray and I'm using two rounded IDE cables that are not blocking enough airflow to make any difference.

I'm pretty much ok with my case / CPU temps as they are...both are around 30 C idle-40 C load using the Centurion's stock 120mm exhaust and 80mm intake fans and an 80mm intake fan on the side directly over the GPU.

I'd like to get rid of the side intake fan as it emits a slight high pitched hum thats very noticeable as the rest of the fans (including the stock fan on my A64 CPU) are dead silent. This is why I'm looking for an aftermarket cooler for my GPU.

I want something quiet that's not going to increase my CPU/case temps.

 

[aigomorla]

Originally posted by: GeeFizzleDizzle
No, I don't have any aftermarket cooler yet thus the reason for this thread.

My cable management is pretty much as good as it's going to get inside the CoolerMaster Centurion 5 case I'm using...all the PSU cables are run behind the mobo tray and I'm using two rounded IDE cables that are not blocking enough airflow to make any difference.

I'm pretty much ok with my case / CPU temps as they are...both are around 30 C idle-40 C load using the Centurion's stock 120mm exhaust and 80mm intake fans and an 80mm intake fan on the side directly over the GPU.

I'd like to get rid of the side intake fan as it emits a slight high pitched hum thats very noticeable as the rest of the fans (including the stock fan on my A64 CPU) are dead silent. This is why I'm looking for an aftermarket cooler for my GPU.

I want something quiet that's not going to increase my CPU/case temps.

Well for the price, its going to be hard to beat. You could get a VF700 for 2 dollars more and it will probably perform as well as the Silencer.

If you want to overclock, id get the VF900. I can vouch for these guys, i have one in my HTPC, and at highest setting in my silverstone LC16 case, i cant even hear it unless i put my ear to the case. They cool very well but there very pricey at 39.99 :\

 

[GeeFizzleDizzle]

Please give me your opinion.

As I stated before, I'm looking for a GPU cooler that's relatively quiet, cools well and won't cause any major increase in my case/CPU temp.

Thank you.

 

[Griswold]

Originally posted by: Howard
I've heard that the case temp does not change significantly with video card coolers that reuse the case air vs blowing exhaust out of the case.

You heard wrong. Using an exhausting HSF drops the temperature inside the case by quite a bit and as a side effect, also usually reduces RPM/noise of other fans (if they're temperature controlled of course) due to the lower air temperature. Speaking from experience and it was my main motivation to get a NV silencer for my 7800GT furnace.

Its really rather simple, if you want silence, use a HSF that exhausts the heat and you'll be able to reduce the amount of airflow in your case = less noise.

 

[GeeFizzleDizzle]

Thanks for that info Griswold.

 

[soydios]

Zalman VF900-Cu. It's like the VF700-Cu with heatpipes. Very nice cooler (accordingly expensive, though, being all copper and very well built).