Arctic Accelero Xtreme 7970 VGA Cooler Review

AMD’s HD 7970 has been a hugely popular graphics card among enthusiasts and gamers. Yet, on reference design versions of the HD 7970, taming noise and high temperatures is still problematic – particularly when overclocking. In response to this, Arctic have devised one of their famous high performance silent VGA coolers. Using triple 92mm PWM fans, a dense 84 fin aluminium heat sink array and 5 copper heat pipes – this VGA cooler has the specs to get the job done far better than a stock cooler. Not only does this cooler aim to reduce noise, but also temperatures – a win win situation for any HD 7970 owner. Arctic make a lot of bold claims about the Accelero Xtreme 7970, such as:

• A noise level of 0.5 Sone versus 5.2 Sone on a reference HD 7970
• Over triple the RAM and VRM cooling capabilities compared to the reference HD 7970
• 30 degrees Celsius lower temperatures at full load compared to the HD 7970

Very impressive numbers. The truth will be in the testing as always. However, if past Arctic products are anything to go by then we expect this to be a really solid performer. Before we delve into taking a closer look at the product, lets first recap the main specifications of the Accelero Xtreme 7970 from Arctic:

Max. Cooling Capacity – 300 Watts

Heatpipe – Ø 6 mm x 5

Heatsink Material – Aluminum fins x 84, thickness 0.3 mm

Fan (mm) – 92 mm, 900 – 2,000 RPM (controlled by PWM) x 3 fans

Bearing – Fluid Dynamic Bearing

Noise Level – 0.5 Sone

Current (per fan) / Voltage (per fan) – 0.12A / 12V

Power Consumption – 4.32W

Dimensions (Product) – 288 (L) x 104 (W) x 54 (H) mm

Net Weight – 653 g

Warranty – 6 years

Compatibility – HD 7970 (including GHz edition), HD 7950, HD 7870, HD 7850, HD 6970, HD 6950, HD 6870, HD 6850, HD 6790, HD 5870, HD 5850, HD 5830