Don't buy Arctic Cooling VGA Silencer!

afrost · Post by **afrost** » Sat Feb 21, 2004 3:47 pm

If you want a quiet computer stick with the Zalman heatpipe vga cooler. I had a zalman on and switched it to the Arctic cooling p.o.s. to bring down case temps. that was a huge mistake.....i am going to put the zalman back on. At first the Arctic Cooling was great, but after a month the fan has started making a really LOUD clicking sound....it's really annoying. I just wanted to share this so you don't waste time and money like me. The fan is not replacable so if it goes bad like mine you're stuck.

Wedge · Post by **Wedge** » Sat Feb 21, 2004 9:52 pm

This is the first negative comment I've read about the Arctic VGA Silencer. It sounds as if you really had bad luck

I'm still debating whether to buy one or not. I just hate to void the Built-by-ATI warranty.

Prince of Persia · Post by **Prince of Persia** » Sun Feb 22, 2004 8:32 am

at first I thought it was an initial review =)

I just got mine in yesterday and I am happy with it so far. my Radeon 9800 running @ 450 core and its rock stable, and fairly quiet. even on 'H' setting I can barely hear it. I was leaning towards the Zalman but heard the assembly was somewhat cumbersome and it would not adequately cool a higher end card passively.

afrost · Post by **afrost** » Sun Feb 22, 2004 9:54 am

maybe even what mine is doing wouldn't bother most people. my pc is really very quiet. i'm sure that i don't have the most silent pc on the forums, but even the most extreme here would not mind working next to my pc.....that is when the vga silencer is not acting up. sometimes it doesn't make this sound....but it has been doing it a lot lately. if you don't mind the silencer on the high setting then you definately do not look for the same level of silence that i am looking for....which is great for you if it doesn't bother you.

anyway, it was just meant as a word of warning for anyone who has put work into getting a really silent pc, the arctic cooling might bite you in the end. i'm mostly just mad that i put all that work putting the zalman on, then taking it off, and now i have to put it on again.....at this point it should go fast because i'm an expert!

Prince of Persia · Post by **Prince of Persia** » Sun Feb 22, 2004 10:47 am

LOL =)

well, I got 3 L1A fans running in my case (1 for CPU, 1 intake and one output) and I think they are fairly quiet. its not the most silent PC, but the fan noise is a homogenous hum so it doens't get that annoying. the original fan on my 9800 annoyed me though, just to give you a sense of my tolerance.

Wedge · Post by **Wedge** » Sun Feb 22, 2004 11:24 am

After re-reading a couple of pro-Arctic VGA Silencer reviews, I went ahead and ordered one last night for my 9800.

For those who might be interested, they have these for $13.99 here. I'm not sure which revision it is, but for my card I don't think it matters. Also, SVC is selling revision #2 at the moment.

Edit: It appears that xoxide is also selling revision 2.

afrost · Post by **afrost** » Sun Feb 22, 2004 1:58 pm

hmmm if i paid $14 for it i prolly wouldn't be as pissed, i paid $30 including shipping for mine.

i have 5 L1A's but they are all at 5V.

Wedge · Post by **Wedge** » Sun Feb 22, 2004 2:45 pm

afrost, did you try to return the silencer?

If you live in the US you might want to order one from where I did.

Post by **Rusty075** » Sun Feb 22, 2004 6:25 pm

I've been using one continuously since they came on the market. (actually, it may have been before you could buy one

) Thus far, the fan is just as quiet as it was when new, and in my machine you would be able to hear a change.

Arctic Cooling has a good reputation for customer service, you should definitely contact them directly.

Not to add insult to injury, but Artic-Cooling lists the MSRP for the ACS as $22. Almost any reputable online dealer should be selling products for under the MSRP not over. Would you mind sharing where you got it from?

afrost · Post by **afrost** » Sun Feb 22, 2004 8:33 pm

i got it at SVC. i looked and they now have them listed for $22...i'm pretty positive that they were $25 before xmas....maybe not....i seem to remember it being $30 with shipping. i have not tried contacting arcitc cooling because i don't even have a receipt. i think that i am content to go back to the zalman....it was working well for me with my 9800 overclocked.

dukeman · Post by **dukeman** » Wed Feb 25, 2004 5:41 am

i have had my artic installed since before christmas and it is still working like a charm.. I dont have the guts to run it on low though. on high i can barely hear it over my powersupply if i put my ear next to the case. I voided my warrenty on my card because i removed the shim to install it with good contact. i figure if i need to i can put the shim back on and send it to ati like that.