Today we're testing three of the largest graphics card coolers available: Arctic Cooling's Accelero XTREME Plus, DeepCool's V6000, and Zalman's VF3000F. Can these products bring performance to the table commensurate with their large triple-slot size?
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:
| Arctic Cooling Accelero XTREME Plus | DeepCool V6000 | Zalman VF3000 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 Card Fan Header | Two Motherboard Fan Headers | Single Motherboard Fan Header |
| Construction: | Copper Cooling Block Copper Heat Pipes Aluminum Cooling Fins | All-Aluminum Construction | Copper Cooling Block Copper Heat Pipes Aluminum Cooling Fins |
| Compatibility: | 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 460/470 VF3000A: Radeon HD 5800 series VF3000N: GeForce GTX 200 series |
Mine runs alittle above the benchmark above (60c on load) but compared to previous generations of cards its not actually that hot anyway!
Also is 58.5 degrees c under overlocked load alot? maybe i have been around to long but for a powerfull card that's pretty cool imo.
That cost for -5 degrees = pointless (to me).
im sure there are plenty of anally retarded people that think that will make a difference, but i will stick with the normal cooler thanks, everything runs fine and is quiet enough for me as is ^^
Thanks for the informative bench as allways
(awaits the downrank fury for owning nvidia stuff)
the fans are wisper quiet and barley audible @100% over my stock antec 900 mk2 tri cool fans at idle. ie they in no way add to the case noise. which is pretty damn impressive for the cooling it gives.
i do like a quiet pc and this was a perfect addition. way way quieter than the jet engine fan that powercolor fitted, even at 37% that was noisy and at 100% was the noisiest thing in the room, not quite hoover loud but not much quieter...
so if you have a need for a new cooler i can heartily recommend the AC cooler. 9/10
oh yeah, and it allows me to oc further than the stock cooler ever did, 875/1300 (is as far as i have tested so far and its stable) on stock volts, compared to 850/1250 max with the stock cooler.