In most modern gaming systems the cooling of the VGA card is just as important as the cooling of a processor. True enough, the stock coolers of most AM2 socket and Core 2 Duo processors are more than enough to handle the heat generated by the cores, even under mild overclocking, while remaining slightly audible. You would think the same logic would apply to GFX coolers ? Unfortunately quite often VGA cards have exceptionally loud coolers which barely get the job done. You can then begin to fathom the irritation with a SLI or Crossfire system.

Serious enthusiasts need a high quality cooler for their VGA cards, one which will give them reduced temperatures without enducing a headache so gaming enjoyment is maximised. Revoltec released a new, powerful VGA card cooler, the Graphic Freezer Pro. Physically large and almost inaudible, it hopes to appeal to gamers, modders and enthusiasts alike.

Manufacturer features and specifications:
Material: Copper and Aluminium
Heatpipes: 2 Copper heatpipes with 0,6mm diameter
Dimensions: 162 x 112 x 44mm
Power: 3-Pin with speed sensor (4- to 3-Pin Adapter included)
Fan: 80 x 80 x 10mm
Revolutions: 2000 Rev/Min +/- 10%
Noise: 22.0 dB(A)
Airflow: 40,04 m³/h
Weight: 300g

Compatibility:
NVIDIA GeForce 4 MX420/440(SE/8X)/460
NVIDIA GeForce 4 Ti 4200(8X)/4400/4600/4800
NVIDIA GeForce FX 5600(ULTRA)/5700(ULTRA)/5900(XT)/5950(ULTRA)
NVIDIA GeForce 6600(GT)/6800(GT/ULTRA)
NVIDIA GeForce 7600(GT)/7800(GT/GTX)/7900(GT/GTX)
ATI Radeon 9000(PRO)/9200(PRO)/9500/9550/9600(SE/PRO/XT)/9700(PRO)/9800(PRO/XT)
ATI Radeon X300/X600/X800/X850/X1300/X1600/X1800/X1900

Packaging and bundle

The Revoltec Graphic Freezer Pro comes in a half-transparent, well designed plastic package. The rear cardboard of the packaging also contains the installation notes as well, which are not very thorough but easily understandable. Inside the package you will find a wealth of screws, brackets and nuts since the cooler can be installed on many different cards. You will also find a 3-pin to 4-pin adapter, a tube with quality thermal grease and 4 heatsinks.

The cooler

The unit itself is large for a VGA card cooler. It is almost certain that it will cover the entire bottom side of every VGA card and it blocks the adjacent card slot. There is a small, solid copper base and two heatpipes move through it to the many aluminium fins. Airflow is provided by a large but silent 80mm fan placed at the top of the cooler. The fan can be connected to a 3-pin power slot on the motherboard or at a 4-pin Molex by using the adapter, if a slot is not available. The power cable of the fan is sleeved black. The base of the cooler is not remarkable, but it is smooth with no dents or scratches.

Installation

Since the Graphic Freezer Pro can be installed on many VGA cards, you will have to find which holes are used for your specific model, thankfully the installation instructions illustrate them clearly. Additionally you will have to place a stand off and a rubber ring on those two holes. After removing the stock cooler from your video card (the procedure varies, you usually have to remove some screws) you place the card on the cooler and align it with the holes. Then you have to secure the cooler on the card with the spring screws. Finally, you have to connect the fan to a power source. Simple enough, even for the beginner.

System configuration :
• CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E6400
• Motherboard: Asus P5B
• RAM: Crucial Ballistix PC2-6400
• HDD: Samsung 160JJ SATA2
• VGA: Aopen 6800 Ultra
• PSU: Spire Rocketeer VI 600W PSU

For testing, we cleaned the core of the VGA card and placed the included thermal grease on it. We had the card run 3D test loops for 12 hours to allow the thermal material to stabilize. We had the fan connected on a motherboard port without speed control enabled. Full load is achieved by running 3DMark06 loops for 30 minutes. The idle temperature measurements were noted after the system was resting at the windows desktop for 30 minutes. The system is installed inside a NZXT Apollo case and the room temperature is 27 degrees celcius.

The difference between the Graphic Freezer Pro and the stock Aopen 6800 Ultra cooler does not appear large at first sight. However if you consider that the (large) stock cooler was already covering a second PCI slot due to its size, blowing the air directly outside the case while being noisy, you will understand that the Graphic Freezer Pro is far superior to the stock cooler. The Graphic Freezer Pro not only performed better, but was completely silent during the test.

Final words and conclusion

What we did like:
There are many things to like about the Graphic Freezer Pro. Above all, it performs well and remains silent at all times - the two key aspects. Not only that, but it can also be mounted on almost every video card which currently exists. We strongly suspect that since it could stand the heat of a 6800 Ultra easily, you won’t even have to use the fan if installed on many middle to low range VGA cards (especially considering many newer boards are actually more thermally efficent). Finally, the cooler is more than reasonably priced; we consider it quite a bargain.

What we did not like:
The only problem of the Revoltec Freezer Pro is the same problem that many VGA coolers of its class face. This cooler will restrict one, maybe even two PCI slots (depending on the system configuration) beneath your video card. This might not sound like much of a problem to the average enthusiast, but to the HTPC user who uses a mATX motherboard, soundcard and a satellite TV card it can be quite a restriction.

Who would we recommend it to:
The Revoltec Graphic Freezer Pro is a great device. It performs well enough to keep your expensive graphics hardware cool and is silent. While many VGA coolers can do that, very few can be mounted on almost all currently available VGA cards and cost as little as a spindle of DVDs. Therefore, the Revoltec Graphic Freezer Pro is recommended to anyone who wants to cool better and/or silence their VGA card(s).

Considering the above (especially the price), we believe that the Revoltec Graphic Freezer Pro is definitely worthy of our Heavenly Hardware Gold Award.

What do these awards mean?