Arctic Cooling Accelero X1 [Archive]

Rob Williams

03-05-2006, 09:15 PM

Arctic Cooling is soon to release a new GPU cooler called the Accelero. There are two versions of the cooler, one for top end NVIDIA and the other for top end ATI. I am taking a look at the NVIDIA version which I throw on a card that's known for overheating often. Let's take a closer look.

Feel free to discuss the review in this thread!

sbrehm72255

03-05-2006, 09:33 PM

Good review of another great Arctic Cooling product. If I were to go back to air cooling I would go bak to the Arctic Cooling Silencer serise of video card coolers. I had/have one of the first VGA Silencers that I use on my 9800Pro for a long long time, so if the new ones last as well as the old ones, they should last as long as the video card it's self.

madmat

03-05-2006, 09:49 PM

That's one big cooler, are those "stubs" heatpipes? I wonder how the new Zalman will stack up to the AC-X1. It should be interesting to see although it'll be on a totally different card :(

How heavy exactly is the X1, BTW?

Rob Williams

03-05-2006, 10:28 PM

The Zalman cooler hasn't been announced yet :P

Yup, those 'stubs' are the ends of the heatpipes. It's definitely a unique design. It's not heavy at _all_ really.

X1: 262 Grams
nV 5: 428 Grams

madmat

03-05-2006, 10:32 PM

The new Zalman might not be announced but it was at CES '06 this year. I could find pics of it if you wanted...

Rob Williams

03-05-2006, 10:38 PM

Oh, I believe you 100%.

madmat

03-05-2006, 11:34 PM

Never thought you doubted me, just thought you might like to see it, it's kinda like a shrunk down 9500 that's been cut in half and laid on the GPU core.

Hard to explain but if you see it you'll grok what I'm saying.

Rob Williams

03-05-2006, 11:36 PM

Ok, you win! Show me :D

madmat

03-06-2006, 12:33 AM

It's from matbe.com
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v474/madmat_2001/000000025745.jpg

Rob Williams

03-06-2006, 12:36 AM

That looks pretty sweet actually.

madmat

03-06-2006, 12:51 AM

Yeah, they have a blue LED fan version too...I think they both look great though.

Jakal

03-06-2006, 12:53 AM

Quite ingenious. Zalman continue to impress with their designs. Is there any info on if it will include ramsinks? Or is it going to cover the ram with the unit as well? That's really neat how the heat pipes wrap around the fan and fins like that. Can't wait to see what turns up.

madmat

03-06-2006, 01:25 AM

I have no clue if the sinks are included, I can't read French and that's what I think the site is although I might be able to answer that at a later date...

Jakal

03-06-2006, 01:32 AM

http://www.freetranslation.com/free/web.htm

Paste in the URL there and click French to English and in about a minute the site should be translated.

madmat

03-06-2006, 01:47 AM

Yeah, there's that and babelfish but I really dislike those as they do a literal translation so the words are the English equivelent but the syntax is still jumbled unlike a translation done by someone fluent in the language. I've done that and still couldn't really understand what they were talking about due to the jumbled words.

Thanks anyways :)

Unregistered

03-06-2006, 11:54 AM

i see you have a DFI board. can you rerun the tests on the accelero and give temp readings for the NF chipset and PWMIC? i know the graphics card temp will go down, but since you are blowing that hot air directly onto the motherboard, i would like to know the effects on other temps in the system. also, b/c of the way this cooler directs air, it isn't really a fair review unless you can put the case side cover back on. unless you always plan on leaving the side cover off. thanks.

Rob Williams

03-06-2006, 12:15 PM

Unregistered

03-07-2006, 05:05 AM

i see you have a DFI board. can you rerun the tests on the accelero and give temp readings for the NF chipset and PWMIC?

Sorry, the GPU was taken out of the case due to the fact that I couldn't put the door back on. It's also a buggy card that's ready to be RMA'd yet again, so I don't want to mess with it any more.

it isn't really a fair review unless you can put the case side cover back on.

I am not about to take the time to switch cases when I am busy enough as is. I admitted the case door couldn't be put back on, so people will have to take that as is.

Leaving the case door off completely invalidates the review. Of course it's going to be cooler if you leave the door off. It's only a valid test if you give the temps of the stock cooler with the door off as well. From checking various other reviews of this cooler, I'd be betting the reduction in temperature is more down to the door being off than the cooler itself.

If you're too busy to do a proper test, you shouldn't be surprised when people are too busy to read a site that doesn't test things properly.

Unregistered

03-07-2006, 06:06 AM

Did you compare the sound level to the stock cooler?

madmat

03-07-2006, 07:09 AM

Leaving the case door off completely invalidates the review. Of course it's going to be cooler if you leave the door off. It's only a valid test if you give the temps of the stock cooler with the door off as well. From checking various other reviews of this cooler, I'd be betting the reduction in temperature is more down to the door being off than the cooler itself.

If you're too busy to do a proper test, you shouldn't be surprised when people are too busy to read a site that doesn't test things properly.

The case door was off during the entire comparison. Do you not think we'd factor in the fact that "hey if I can't put the side on with cooler A then I better leave it off wirh cooler B"? Besides in both situations the door was leaned up against the case just not attached due to the fact that the radiator for the water cooling setup for the case is attached to the door so it can't go too far away.

Unregistered

03-07-2006, 11:10 AM

The case door was off during the entire comparison. Do you not think we'd factor in the fact that "hey if I can't put the side on with cooler A then I better leave it off wirh cooler B"? Besides in both situations the door was leaned up against the case just not attached due to the fact that the radiator for the water cooling setup for the case is attached to the door so it can't go too far away.

Okay, cool, thanks for clearing that up - it might be an idea to mention somewhere in the text that those numbers are with the door off for both coolers though...

Rob Williams

03-07-2006, 11:17 AM

Did you compare the sound level to the stock cooler?

I didn't do direct comparisons, because it was too long of a span between testing, I wouldn't have remembered exactly how it sounded. I can say though, that the Accelero is definitely the quietest cooler I have ever used. With my water cooling rig going, I actually had to look over at one point to make sure the PC was still running because it was so quiet.

Rob Williams

03-07-2006, 11:18 AM

Okay, cool, thanks for clearing that up - it might be an idea to mention somewhere in the text that those numbers are with the door off for both coolers though...
I will reflect this in the review, thanks.

Edit: I should mention that had the card been equipped with a Silencer, then the temps of the card would even be lowered further, without a doubt. The Accelero is a solution designed for BTX cases and doesn't use the DHES technology that the AC Silencer uses.

Unregistered

03-07-2006, 01:49 PM

i still can't figure out why even in a BTX system you still wouldn't use DHES. there are probably other cards (sound, lan, TV/radio, etc) above your graphics cards in a BTX system that would block the flow of heat upwards and still cause problems. besides, who the hell has BTX anyways?!?!?! stupid arctic cooling. i used to love their products. but after having the fan die in TWO of thier ati silencers within a month, i am not such a fan any longer.

Rob Williams

03-07-2006, 01:57 PM

Unregistered

03-07-2006, 09:05 PM

With the new emphasis on performance per watt it may be that BTX goes the way of the Dodo bird. Hopefully the wattage of power supplies will go down before 1KW becomes common.

Some questions if you don't mind:
So will this cooler be ok on a standard ATX case?
Does it do a good job of connecting with all the RAM chips?
Will the card configurations of various manufacturers be an issue or the differences between 6800/7800/7900?

Rob Williams

03-07-2006, 09:25 PM

Unregistered

03-08-2006, 12:12 AM

who the hell has BTX anyways

Don't ask me ;)

It should become more popular over the next year though. A lot of case makers seem to be producing BTX cases recently. I am just relaying what they told me.
actually, i have a BTX case. more precisely, an ATX or BTX case. i have a Stacker case that can be either. i currently have it setup in invereted ATX form. but really, no one (with any significance) really has BTX. plus, if intel doesn't start pushing BTX with their stuff, BTX will just die. none of the other motherboard makers wanted to switch from what i remember. so i just can't figure out why arctic cooling would make such a lousy decision. ah well, i will wait for the new zalman before i decide what to do (and there is the thermalright v1 ultra too). decisions decisions.

rower30

04-12-2006, 11:18 AM

Yup, the cooler will fit in your ATX case if you don't have a massive fan on your door. It connects to the ram chips just fine, and the layout of the board is almost identical between 6800/7800 so you should have no issues. The 7800GTX and probably the 7900 have memory chips on the back of the card, but the kit includes a heatsink which you can screw through the back also.

This cooler, I bought two, needs to have the heat pads for the memory chips placement marked on the heat sink itself somehow. This way, the pads can be stuck to the heat sink and not mess with the darn uncleanable memory chips themselves. This would make a pain in the ass job a two second affair. All the 7800GT boards are close to the same, so a few stencils included for the few board layouts there are could do the trick. Just lay the stencil on the heat sink and apply the heat pads (I made my own stencil). It is a WAY TO hard a situation to HOPE that the pads don't fall off when you apply the heatsink to the board with the memory pads just waiting to slip off at the slightest move.

This is a silly gaff that should be easy to fix, design a stencil system that sticks the pads onto the surface they stick to!

Unregistered

04-14-2006, 07:26 AM

1) whats BTX?
2) i have a 6800GS XFX , it supports my card ?

Rob Williams

04-14-2006, 11:58 AM

1) whats BTX?
2) i have a 6800GS XFX , it supports my card ?

BTX is a form factor standard smaller than the normal ATX. It should support your card no problem, but you will want to know for sure, you can remove your stock cooler and print this out:

http://www.arctic-cooling.com/downloads/compatibility/hgt_restr_aclrox1.pdf

Grab a ruler and see if the measurements match.

madmat

04-14-2006, 12:34 PM

This cooler, I bought two, needs to have the heat pads for the memory chips placement marked on the heat sink itself somehow. This way, the pads can be stuck to the heat sink and not mess with the darn uncleanable memory chips themselves. This would make a pain in the ass job a two second affair. All the 7800GT boards are close to the same, so a few stencils included for the few board layouts there are could do the trick. Just lay the stencil on the heat sink and apply the heat pads (I made my own stencil). It is a WAY TO hard a situation to HOPE that the pads don't fall off when you apply the heatsink to the board with the memory pads just waiting to slip off at the slightest move.

This is a silly gaff that should be easy to fix, design a stencil system that sticks the pads onto the surface they stick to!

If you'll thoroughly clean the ram chips first with a good solvent such as OOPS! or Goof Off then go over them with 91% isopropyl alcohol you'll find that the pads will stick. I've run across the same issue with adhesive backed ram sinks and a 7800GTX and what I've outlined made the ramsinks stick very well.

Good luck!

PDH-NicFury

06-12-2006, 04:10 PM

BTX is supposed to replace ATX as the motherboard standard. It rearranges the layout of the board to reduce latencies and help cool the mobo and the hardware attached to it. Some case makers (Lian Li, Cooler Master, etc.) have made cases that are like BTX for ATX mobos by turning the mobo upside down. If you look at the back of a case, the PCI slots are on the bottom and the I/O ports are on the top left; BTX is PCI on the top and I/O ports on the lower right. So far this works quite well, which is why BTX hasn't been widely adopted yet.

PDH-NicFury