REVIEWED Accelero X1

[fireandice]

Introduction.



Editor note. Due to the large number of images in this review. Please click the links to see the images. If any of the links are broken please report them to me.


Arctic Cooling is a very well known company for making top of the line performance computer cooling products.

In this review, we will be looking at the Accelero X1 to see if it lives up to Arctic Cooling's reputation for great
provenance.


The Product.



The Accelero X1 is for Nvidia GeForce 6800 series and 7800 series but please not some manufacturers may use a
different layout for the graphic cards components, and the Accelero X1 may not fit. The card is designed to work


with cards based off Nvidia refinance design. Some of the key features are:

-Extremely Quiet Operation
-Unique Cooling Performance
-6 Heat Pipes
-Voltage Converter Coolling
-Long Service Life
-Patented Vibration Absorption
-6 Year Warranty
-Easy Installation
-Pre applied MX-1 Performance Thermal Compound
-60mm 500-2000RPM Fan Controlled by PWM. "See end of review for info on PWM"




What's in the package"


-Accelero X1
-8 Thermal Pads For The Ram
-1.5mm Alu. Heat Spreader For 512mb Versions Of 6800 And 7800
-10 Plastic Washers
-10 Counter Sunk Head Screws
-10 Cap Head Screws
-Arctic Cooling Case Badge






http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/...64 Pro/8L and 12L/accelerox1/ScanImage023.jpg
http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/...64 Pro/8L and 12L/accelerox1/ScanImage021.jpg
http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/...64 Pro/8L and 12L/accelerox1/ScanImage022.jpg
http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/...64 Pro/8L and 12L/accelerox1/ScanImage019.jpg
http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/...64 Pro/8L and 12L/accelerox1/ScanImage020.jpg
http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/...64 Pro/8L and 12L/accelerox1/ScanImage018.jpg

Overall first thoughts:



The package is very nice. The clam shell packing opens nice and easy, but not easy enough to open during shipping. This is nice since you don't need a knife to open the package. The Cooler is very light for its size and packs a lot of features and innovation into the cooler that a lot of companies overlook. Arctic Cooling has made this cooler very user friendly so even the average jo can change his graphic cards heat sink without the risk of damaging the graphic card.

http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/... Pro/8L and 12L/accelerox1/ScanImage01111.jpg
http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/...64 Pro/8L and 12L/accelerox1/ScanImage031.jpg
http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/...64 Pro/8L and 12L/accelerox1/ScanImage041.jpg
http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/...64 Pro/8L and 12L/accelerox1/ScanImage015.jpg


Installation


By looking at the cooler, I could tell how to install it very easy. However to see how easy installing the cooler is i asked my mother to install this giving her only a screwdriver and the included instructions. To my amazement she uninstalled the stock cooler and installed the Accelero X1 correctly! I looked over the instructions and found them easy to understand and to the point. This is very helpful for people who never attempted to change the heat sink before.

http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/...zer 64 Pro/8L and 12L/accelerox1/P1010193.jpg
http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/...zer 64 Pro/8L and 12L/accelerox1/P1010191.jpg
http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/...zer 64 Pro/8L and 12L/accelerox1/P1010188.jpg
http://i105.photobucket.com/albums/...zer 64 Pro/8L and 12L/accelerox1/P1010184.jpg



Performance.


The Accelero X1 easily beat the stock Nvidia reference cooler even with the stock cooler was pared with Arctic Silver 5 and the fan was set from 53% to 100%. The Artic Silver 5 was properly broken into achieve Maxim thermal transfer. Below are the results of the Accelero X1 when first applied and after the thermal interface has been
properly broken in.


Test Rig.

Athlon 3000+ @2.3GhZ
Giga Byte K8NS
BFG GeForce 6800GS OC Unlocked to 16 pipelines 6 vertex shades.


1GB PC3200 Super Talent 2.5CL Memory
FSP AX400-PN Power supply
Codegen "Briza"
Case cooling, "3 Delta 31cfm 80mm Case Fans 1 intake 2 exhaust."



The program used was Real Time HDR Benchmark. We let it run for one hour, and then by looking at Riva Tuners temperature log, we recorded the highest temperature. We used Real Time HDR Benchmark because it loads the GPU more than other benchmarks such
as 3DMark.

-Stock Nvidia Reference Cooler 50c Idle 78c Load Stock 370/1050
-Accelero X1 47c Idle 62C Load Stock 370/1050
-Accelero X1 47c Idle 63C Load over clocked to 425/1100
-Accelero X1 46C Idle 59C Load Stock 370/1050 after four days normal use.


(EXTRA PHOTOS)
http://s105.photobucket.com/albums/m240/neeksreviews/Freezer 64 Pro/8L and 12L/accelerox1/


Final Thoughts:


The 6800 puts out a lot of heat. The stock Nvidia reference cooler does its job but leaves very little room for over clocking,


and hotter than normal ambient temps. The Accelero X1 was able to beat the Reference cooler without a problem. Even when we
over clocked the core and memory from 375/1050 to 425/1100 And the Accelero X1 still has more cooling power to offer! This
cooler can very easily handle a volt modded and heavy over clocked 6800 or 7800 without a problem as our test results show.
The climb in temp. Under load after one hour of Real Time HDR Benchmark only hit a peak of 62c at 370/1050 and 63c over clocked
to 425/1100.

This product has really impressed me, and rest assured from now on all my Graphic Cards will have a Arctic Cooling Cooler on them.


Pros


-Low Price. Around $33 USD
-High Performance
-Silent Operation even with the fan at 100%
-Works with SLI set ups
-Very High Quality


-Everything needed is included except for a screwdriver.


Cons.

-Side panel case fans may interfere with the cooler.




I give this cooler a 10 out of 10.



I would like to take this time to thank Arctic Cooling for provideing me with a sample for this review.

* Pulse-width modulation of a power source involves the modulation of its duty cycle, to control the amount of power sent to a load. This information was taken from wikipedia.

For more information on this, please visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulse-width_modulation

My digital camera was stolen during this review so i apologize for the low quality photos.

 

[enz660]

plz use a diff host like imageshack....all the image links are broken... Nice review anyways. Does the 6800 put out more heat than the 7800 series cards?

 

[fireandice]

i think it does. i know my card would idle at 53-55c and load at 80c to 83c


i'll fix the links a.s.a.p

 

[Femto]

Nice guide, was impressed with how you tested your own mother lol, my mom wouldn't even try haha!

Very nice, would like to see the temps with AS5 or Zalman Super Grease, that would be interesting to see.

Anyway, great job. Was a good read, keep it up!

 

[fireandice]

Thanks. I thought i would show people how easy it was to install. my mother cant even work windows but she was able to install the cooler.