DH Review: Arctic Cooling Accelero X2

***Zardon*** · Feb 20, 2006, 03:58 PM

Stuart takes a look at a tasty GFX cooler from Arctic which if you are lucky enough to own one supports the new X1900 series of cards from ATI.

"Arctic Cooling have been making enthusiast coolers for gpu’s and cpu for quite a while now. In fact one of the Driverheaven review systems has been using the freezer range of CPU coolers for a while now and we have been completely satisfied with the performance and even more impressed by the low noise they create. When building our media centre system noise was a consideration and with the AIW X800 cooler not being the best we replaced it with an Arctic Cooling Silencer 5 and this was a complete success though when we recently moved to the more advanced AIW X1800 series card we hit a brick wall as far as noise levels are concerned. You see the mounting holes on the X1k series of cards are completely different to those on the X8 series and you therefore can’t just use any cooler on your nice new shiny X1k product.

Luckily Arctic Cooling are on the ball and have recently launched a new line of GPU coolers – The “Accelero” series which features the X1 for Geforce cards and X2 for Radeon X1k cards."

Read the review here

mike2h · Feb 20, 2006, 04:11 PM

thx again guys. kinda surprised they did not vent it out the back of the case seeing as it is a 2slot setup.
going to their site to see if the x1 will fit 7800gs. you know, the one im going to win

Sandok · Feb 20, 2006, 04:14 PM

Great review (and lovely read) and kudos again to arctic cooling (swiss quality of course

)! They make the best coolers! My only gripe is not the height imho (true though for media center cases) but mostly that before it would exhaust the heat out instantly and now...

Straight onto the board

Brutality · Feb 20, 2006, 04:18 PM

Damn. Gonna buy it.
But...is X1800 card included?

***Veridian3*** · Feb 20, 2006, 04:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sandok

Great review (and lovely read) and kudos again to arctic cooling (swiss quality of course

)! They make the best coolers! My only gripe is not the height imho (true though for media center cases) but mostly that before it would exhaust the heat out instantly and now...

Straight onto the board

I didnt see that as a big problem as venting down onto the PCIe slot is one of the places your likely to see no impact from. I think this design also allowed them to use a smaller fan rather than the larger one used to blast air out of the silencer models so its a bit of a compromise (and one i'm happy with).

BWX · Feb 20, 2006, 04:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mike2h

thx again guys. kinda surprised they did not vent it out the back of the case seeing as it is a 2slot setup.
going to their site to see if the x1 will fit 7800gs. you know, the one im going to win

Of course you mean the one I am going to win.. but thanks for looking out for me.

Sandok · Feb 20, 2006, 04:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Veridian3

I didnt see that as a big problem as venting down onto the PCIe slot is one of the places your likely to see no impact from. I think this design also allowed them to use a smaller fan rather than the larger one used to blast air out of the silencer models so its a bit of a compromise (and one i'm happy with).

Very true it does have no impact almost and the fan is smaller but all in all, the case temps must (I have no clue since I don't have that cooler) go up a little no? Since no heat is exhausted out of the case? Anyhow, I trust them but for a safer mind, I'd prefer rear exhaust

Don't worry I'm a bit strange when it comes to this stuff but if you've killed as many cards as me, you'd understand

***Veridian3*** · Feb 20, 2006, 04:51 PM

The cooler has quite the oposite effect on case temps...if you think about it, with a stock cooler you have a near 70 degree component in your case creating heat all round it. With the X2 you have a 53 degree component. My case temps went down a little using it however a rear exhaust would have taken it down a degree or two more i guess.

Still, down is better than up

Sandok · Feb 20, 2006, 04:58 PM

I'm totally agree with you on that

mike2h · Feb 20, 2006, 05:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BWX

Of course you mean the one I am going to win.. but thanks for looking out for me.

my gerbils & ferrets are looking out for you to. with the info they got from the moles... well you will see

germanjulian · Feb 20, 2006, 05:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Veridian3

The cooler has quite the oposite effect on case temps...if you think about it, with a stock cooler you have a near 70 degree component in your case creating heat all round it. With the X2 you have a 53 degree component. My case temps went down a little using it however a rear exhaust would have taken it down a degree or two more i guess.

Still, down is better than up

ok i read the comment 5 times now just to make sure.....
your wrong......

no offence but thats wrong information. the chip produces the same amout of heat but the cooler is more effective at taking the heat away from the chip faster in turn giving you a lower temp. however at a given amount of time the chip produces the same amount of eneger/heat.

since the air will blow into the case the case temps should increase since the engery if blown into the case

dont know what your case temps are lower since its against the laws of physics

cooler room? or ur old artic cooler didnt blow out of the case well enough

Necrosis · Feb 20, 2006, 05:37 PM

I've thought about getting one of these to have a quieter PC again. However, I'm not sure how well it will work with my chipset fan.

brutusmaximus · Feb 20, 2006, 05:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by germanjulian

ok i read the comment 5 times now just to make sure.....
your wrong......

no offence but thats wrong information. the chip produces the same amout of heat but the cooler is more effective at taking the heat away from the chip faster in turn giving you a lower temp. however at a given amount of time the chip produces the same amount of eneger/heat.

This all depends on the cooler design, and is also why the venting cooler designs are very popular as they expel the heat directly from the rear of the case and not inside the chassis......

edperks · Feb 20, 2006, 05:46 PM

I would think that the bigger heatsink & fan would keep the core cooler thus not letting the core reach 70 degrees and keeping the inside of the case cooler. Thats my 2 cents anywho

***Veridian3*** · Feb 20, 2006, 05:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by germanjulian

ok i read the comment 5 times now just to make sure.....
your wrong......

no offence but thats wrong information. the chip produces the same amout of heat but the cooler is more effective at taking the heat away from the chip faster in turn giving you a lower temp. however at a given amount of time the chip produces the same amount of eneger/heat.

since the air will blow into the case the case temps should increase since the engery if blown into the case

dont know what your case temps are lower since its against the laws of physics

cooler room? or ur old artic cooler didnt blow out of the case well enough

I was comparing the stock cooler to the X2 in my comment and the X2 does lower the case temp a little. Yes the chip uses the same energy however as its being cooled more efficiently the the air being released into the case is cooler and the case temps are lower.

germanjulian · Feb 20, 2006, 06:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by edperks

I would think that the bigger heatsink & fan would keep the core cooler thus not letting the core reach 70 degrees and keeping the inside of the case cooler. Thats my 2 cents anywho

Ok I will explain and I only explain so you can learn. 95% of people never learn this and if you dont know this dont take it as an insult. If I make mistakes or dont know something I learn too... (god you should see me at work):

we all agree a chip runs a given amount of energy per second... normally we use watt (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watt).

lets say the gpu needs 80W to run, due to electronic resistance in the gpu some of that energy is lost/converted (energy never disappears it only changes state) into heat.
the gpu always uses 80W of energy! it always has the same electronic resistance converting energy into heat.
that heat has to go somewhere otherwise the chip melts ---> heatsink.

doesnt matter which heatsink we use heatsink takes heat away from chip into metal and air takes heat away from metal of heatsink.

the energy always gets transferred into the air (with air cooling). depending on the cooler more energy can be given quicker into the air resulting in cooler gpu temps. however the same amount of energy is always released, that energy goes into your case with this cooler.

dont worry i explain this to 5 people a week

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermodynamics
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heat

* Zeroth law of thermodynamics, about the transitivity of thermodynamic equilibrium

If two thermodynamic systems A and B are in thermal equilibrium, and B and C are also in thermal equilibrium, then A and C are in thermal equilibrium.

* First law of thermodynamics, or a statement about the conservation of energy

The increase in the internal energy of a system is equal to the amount of energy added to the system by heating, minus the amount lost in the form of work done by the system on its surroundings.

* Second law of thermodynamics, about entropy

The total entropy of any isolated thermodynamic system tends to increase over time, approaching a maximum value.

* Third law of thermodynamics, about absolute zero temperature

As a system approaches absolute zero of temperature all processes cease and the entropy of the system approaches a minimum value or zero for the case of a perfect crystalline substance.

brutusmaximus · Feb 20, 2006, 06:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by edperks

I would think that the bigger heatsink & fan would keep the core cooler thus not letting the core reach 70 degrees and keeping the inside of the case cooler. Thats my 2 cents anywho

You are right, as is germanjulian to a lesser extent. One thing to mention in this debate about temperatures and the core of a graphics card heating up a chassis without using venting cooler design is this.

Lets say for example your GPU core is hitting 50c at the centre. the cooler design is ensuring it doesnt go above that temperature, this energy is absorbed by the cooler and as it transfers across the cooling fins and heatsinks it lowers exponentially - the heat at the outskirts of this cooler would not be 50c, it would be say 30c leading to lower radiation in this area. If a core pressed against a less efficent cooler is hitting 75c it is not only generating more heat in the center but the rest of the cooler is hotter meaning more ambient heat - via convection/radiation - temperatures on the outskirts would be say 40-50c leading to a higher level of radiated heat. This is a failing to the theory that a GFX core running at xxx speed will generate yyy heat regardless of the conditions. various cooler designs and materials are absorbing varying levels of heat before it is capable of radiation throughout the chassis and heat that does radiate will in fact be lower to a specific percentage.

germanjulian · Feb 20, 2006, 06:06 PM

OH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

mega important to know:
the hotter the chip the more electronic resistance the more heat

thats why we really really want superconducting chips = means no resistance at a given temp. Only problem is all superconducting materials are only superconductiing at extremely low temps

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superconductivity

PS: Yes... I am a geek

***Veridian3*** · Feb 20, 2006, 06:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by brutusmaximus

leading to a higher level of radiated heat.

Thats what i was trying to say

The stock cooler is less effective at cooling and therefore radiates more heat out into the case than the X2. This in turn leads to a lower overall case temp when using the X2.

(which it does, regardless of what germanjulian says because i have the test results right here

)

germanjulian · Feb 20, 2006, 06:16 PM

hey 3C dont count (no seriously how much was veridian3, curious ?)

THIS IS HOW I COOL MY COMPUTER (minus 270C):

mind you might try this cooler... the 0.4 sonne are indeed temping compared to the older artic cooler coolers

brutusmaximus · Feb 20, 2006, 06:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Veridian3

Thats what i was trying to say

The stock cooler is less effective at cooling and therefore radiates more heat out into the case than the X2. This in turn leads to a lower overall case temp when using the X2.

(which it does, regardless of what germanjulian says because i have the test results right here

)

Well germanjulian isnt entirely wrong however he is quoting textbook statistics from websites on the subject which are not geared for this specific application - it is imperative to take into consideration material absortion rates and dynamic transfers across the x and y circumferance of a given area. it is a complex issue.

All we really need to know is that a good cooler DOES make a difference to core temperature/efficiency and ambient temperature inside a given enclosure (chassis).

***Veridian3*** · Feb 20, 2006, 06:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by brutusmaximus

Well germanjulian isnt entirely wrong however he is quoting textbook statistics from websites on the subject which are not geared for this specific application - it is imperative to take into consideration material absortion rates and dynamic transfers across the x and y circumferance of a given area. it is a complex issue.

All we really need to know is that a good cooler DOES make a difference to core temperature/efficiency and ambient temperature inside a given enclosure (chassis).

Very well put...i should have you review my posts before i submit them

***Veridian3*** · Feb 20, 2006, 06:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by germanjulian

hey 3C dont count (no seriously how much was veridian3, curious ?)

5 degrees... and that was in a temperature controlled lab.

Sir On The Edge · Feb 20, 2006, 07:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by germanjulian

ok i read the comment 5 times now just to make sure.....
your wrong......

no offence but thats wrong information. the chip produces the same amout of heat but the cooler is more effective at taking the heat away from the chip faster in turn giving you a lower temp. however at a given amount of time the chip produces the same amount of eneger/heat.

since the air will blow into the case the case temps should increase since the engery if blown into the case

dont know what your case temps are lower since its against the laws of physics

cooler room? or ur old artic cooler didnt blow out of the case well enough

Hmm, I'm not sure about this but according to one of Newton’s laws, he could be right. Increasing the temperature takes more energy than maintaining it.

I’m too tired to explain right now, lets see if some one else that’s quite adept in physics can fill in the blanks I have left.

I'm probably speaking nonsense. lol

Edit: Sorry, didn't see the second page (tired you see

) that wikki thing seems usefull, I'll have to cheek into that fairly soon.

edperks · Feb 20, 2006, 10:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by germanjulian

Ok I will explain and I only explain so you can learn. 95% of people never learn this and if you dont know this dont take it as an insult. If I make mistakes or dont know something I learn too... (god you should see me at work):

we all agree a chip runs a given amount of energy per second... normally we use watt (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watt).

lets say the gpu needs 80W to run, due to electronic resistance in the gpu some of that energy is lost/converted (energy never disappears it only changes state) into heat.
the gpu always uses 80W of energy! it always has the same electronic resistance converting energy into heat.
that heat has to go somewhere otherwise the chip melts ---> heatsink.

doesnt matter which heatsink we use heatsink takes heat away from chip into metal and air takes heat away from metal of heatsink.

the energy always gets transferred into the air (with air cooling). depending on the cooler more energy can be given quicker into the air resulting in cooler gpu temps. however the same amount of energy is always released, that energy goes into your case with this cooler.

germanjulian I dont take

dont worry i explain this to 5 people a week

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermodynamics
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heat

* Zeroth law of thermodynamics, about the transitivity of thermodynamic equilibrium

If two thermodynamic systems A and B are in thermal equilibrium, and B and C are also in thermal equilibrium, then A and C are in thermal equilibrium.

* First law of thermodynamics, or a statement about the conservation of energy

The increase in the internal energy of a system is equal to the amount of energy added to the system by heating, minus the amount lost in the form of work done by the system on its surroundings.

* Second law of thermodynamics, about entropy

The total entropy of any isolated thermodynamic system tends to increase over time, approaching a maximum value.

* Third law of thermodynamics, about absolute zero temperature

As a system approaches absolute zero of temperature all processes cease and the entropy of the system approaches a minimum value or zero for the case of a perfect crystalline substance.

germanjulian thanks for the heads up I totally understand your point I just wish I would have worded my thoughts more clearly as I have always had a problem saying what I mean.

Razgriz · Feb 21, 2006, 12:15 AM

Well, all i can say is that the cooler works very well, no matter how much science you throw into it, basically put it does its job, and does it very well. Good review yet again!

The_Neon_Cowboy · Feb 21, 2006, 01:14 AM

cool , Alot of it has to do with those imbeded heat pipes...
now IF only ATI or nvidia would use them in thier coolers...

BWX · Feb 21, 2006, 01:53 AM

Prices on cards would be higher still..

germanjulian · Feb 21, 2006, 03:42 AM

not really, you would buy a card with a better cooler rather then buy the card and get a new cooler

still expensive though

has anyone upgraded from the older models?
what case temp are you getting now and what gpu temps?

oh and you said in your review that the fan speed is always the same? Is it?
cause the fans are adjusted automatically depening on temp or on nvidia cards if your in 3dmore

bug77 · Feb 21, 2006, 04:19 AM

How heavy is that thing?

Found it: 260g. Half the weight of a Silencer. Nice...

Feb 20, 2006, 03:58 PM	#1
*Zardon* enchanted Join Date: May 2002 Location: Driverheaven Posts: 32,256 Rep Power: 3150	DH Review: Arctic Cooling Accelero X2 Stuart takes a look at a tasty GFX cooler from Arctic which if you are lucky enough to own one supports the new X1900 series of cards from ATI. "Arctic Cooling have been making enthusiast coolers for gpu’s and cpu for quite a while now. In fact one of the Driverheaven review systems has been using the freezer range of CPU coolers for a while now and we have been completely satisfied with the performance and even more impressed by the low noise they create. When building our media centre system noise was a consideration and with the AIW X800 cooler not being the best we replaced it with an Arctic Cooling Silencer 5 and this was a complete success though when we recently moved to the more advanced AIW X1800 series card we hit a brick wall as far as noise levels are concerned. You see the mounting holes on the X1k series of cards are completely different to those on the X8 series and you therefore can’t just use any cooler on your nice new shiny X1k product. Luckily Arctic Cooling are on the ball and have recently launched a new line of GPU coolers – The “Accelero” series which features the X1 for Geforce cards and X2 for Radeon X1k cards." Read the review here

Feb 20, 2006, 04:11 PM	#2
mike2h DriverHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: norcal Posts: 6,489 Rep Power: 74 System Specs	thx again guys. kinda surprised they did not vent it out the back of the case seeing as it is a 2slot setup. going to their site to see if the x1 will fit 7800gs. you know, the one im going to win __________________

Feb 20, 2006, 05:46 PM	#14
edperks DriverHeaven Senior Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: Southern Illinois Posts: 782 Rep Power: 0 System Specs	I would think that the bigger heatsink & fan would keep the core cooler thus not letting the core reach 70 degrees and keeping the inside of the case cooler. Thats my 2 cents anywho __________________

Feb 20, 2006, 06:06 PM	#18
germanjulian Back in London Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: London Posts: 1,794 Rep Power: 0	OH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! mega important to know: the hotter the chip the more electronic resistance the more heat thats why we really really want superconducting chips = means no resistance at a given temp. Only problem is all superconducting materials are only superconductiing at extremely low temps http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superconductivity PS: Yes... I am a geek __________________ /\|\ Asus P5W DH Deluxe, Intel C2D E6600, 2GB Corsair XMS2-6400C4 DDR2, E-VGA GeForce 7800 GT, Creative X-Fi Extreme Music, 500GB Seagate 7200.10 SATA, Lian Li PC-V1100 Aluminum Case Black, etc. http://germanjulian.com /\|\

Feb 20, 2006, 06:16 PM	#20
germanjulian Back in London Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: London Posts: 1,794 Rep Power: 0	hey 3C dont count (no seriously how much was veridian3, curious ?) THIS IS HOW I COOL MY COMPUTER (minus 270C): mind you might try this cooler... the 0.4 sonne are indeed temping compared to the older artic cooler coolers __________________ /\|\ Asus P5W DH Deluxe, Intel C2D E6600, 2GB Corsair XMS2-6400C4 DDR2, E-VGA GeForce 7800 GT, Creative X-Fi Extreme Music, 500GB Seagate 7200.10 SATA, Lian Li PC-V1100 Aluminum Case Black, etc. http://germanjulian.com /\|\

Feb 20, 2006, 04:14 PM	#3
Sandok DriverHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Jul 2004 Posts: 9,501 Rep Power: 53	Great review (and lovely read) and kudos again to arctic cooling (swiss quality of course )! They make the best coolers! My only gripe is not the height imho (true though for media center cases) but mostly that before it would exhaust the heat out instantly and now... Straight onto the board

Feb 20, 2006, 04:18 PM	#4
Brutality DriverHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Estonia Posts: 887 Rep Power: 25	Damn. Gonna buy it. But...is X1800 card included?

Feb 20, 2006, 04:51 PM	#8
*Veridian3* Administrator Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Cloaked Posts: 2,999 Rep Power: 72	The cooler has quite the oposite effect on case temps...if you think about it, with a stock cooler you have a near 70 degree component in your case creating heat all round it. With the X2 you have a 53 degree component. My case temps went down a little using it however a rear exhaust would have taken it down a degree or two more i guess. Still, down is better than up

Feb 20, 2006, 04:58 PM	#9
Sandok DriverHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Jul 2004 Posts: 9,501 Rep Power: 53	I'm totally agree with you on that

Feb 21, 2006, 12:15 AM	#26
Razgriz Intelligence? Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: On the edge of insanity Posts: 1,184 Rep Power: 40	Well, all i can say is that the cooler works very well, no matter how much science you throw into it, basically put it does its job, and does it very well. Good review yet again!

Feb 21, 2006, 01:14 AM	#27
The_Neon_Cowboy DriverHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: U.S.A. Posts: 16,135 Rep Power: 77 System Specs	cool , Alot of it has to do with those imbeded heat pipes... now IF only ATI or nvidia would use them in thier coolers... __________________

Feb 21, 2006, 01:53 AM	#28
BWX Spinal Tapped Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: USNY Posts: 19,570 Rep Power: 92 System Specs	Prices on cards would be higher still.. __________________ One Big Ass Mistake America

Feb 21, 2006, 03:42 AM	#29
germanjulian Back in London Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: London Posts: 1,794 Rep Power: 0	not really, you would buy a card with a better cooler rather then buy the card and get a new cooler still expensive though has anyone upgraded from the older models? what case temp are you getting now and what gpu temps? oh and you said in your review that the fan speed is always the same? Is it? cause the fans are adjusted automatically depening on temp or on nvidia cards if your in 3dmore __________________ /\|\ Asus P5W DH Deluxe, Intel C2D E6600, 2GB Corsair XMS2-6400C4 DDR2, E-VGA GeForce 7800 GT, Creative X-Fi Extreme Music, 500GB Seagate 7200.10 SATA, Lian Li PC-V1100 Aluminum Case Black, etc. http://germanjulian.com /\|\

Feb 21, 2006, 04:19 AM	#30
bug77 DriverHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: around Posts: 792 Rep Power: 0	How heavy is that thing? Found it: 260g. Half the weight of a Silencer. Nice... Last edited by bug77; Feb 22, 2006 at 07:55 AM.