AC Accelero S1 is the BEST cooler for 8800GT / ATI38?0 cards

~El~Jefe~ · Post by **~El~Jefe~** » Sun Dec 09, 2007 8:50 pm

low speed fan = waste of the best passive cooling system

not really the answer

it solves worries but not really the step to silence. hm.

i guess I should buy those 10 dollar black sink set for it after my card comes tomorrow

Do you own a 3870?

im not sure what is meant by the vrm not fitting the 3870 that comes with an s1 set. are they saying it doesnt screw on properly? Could one get some thermal tape and just stick the x1900 series vrm sink on anyways? not enough coverage? confused. i want to know so i can get this ball rolling. online buying sux ass. takes so long so much pre-decision making.

rpsgc · Post by **rpsgc** » Mon Dec 10, 2007 9:59 am

Do you think I could run a HD3870 with a passive S1 inside a Antec Solo with 2x92mm front fans @ 5V? Of course I'll use the stock memory and VRM heatsinks

djkest · Post by **djkest** » Mon Dec 10, 2007 10:01 am

Unless your system is 100% fanless, adding a low speed fan isn't going to defeat the purpose of buying a better cooler for your video card. You've still reduced noise AND temps. The old cooler drowned out my other fans. The new one could be the quietest fan in the system.

rpsgc · Post by **rpsgc** » Mon Dec 10, 2007 10:04 am

djkest wrote:Unless your system is 100% fanless, adding a low speed fan isn't going to defeat the purpose of buying a better cooler for your video card. You've still reduced noise AND temps. The old cooler drowned out my other fans. The new one could be the quietest fan in the system.

Gah, I guess my question was really dumb... If a passive S1 is enough great, if not I'll just add a Nexus 120mm I have here. Win-win

This stock cooler is getting on my nerves... that horrible, horrible fan noise

~El~Jefe~ · Post by **~El~Jefe~** » Mon Dec 10, 2007 1:20 pm

djkest wrote:Unless your system is 100% fanless, adding a low speed fan isn't going to defeat the purpose of buying a better cooler for your video card. You've still reduced noise AND temps. The old cooler drowned out my other fans. The new one could be the quietest fan in the system.

fitting a fan takes up 3 slots

3 slots for a 55nm process vga card = teh suck

i use all my expansion slots

they call me, the expansion slut

Tsorovan · Post by **Tsorovan** » Mon Dec 10, 2007 1:32 pm

ionfresko wrote:To Tsorovan: SI is available all over Sweden, the most widespread is through "EMS-butiken", a network of small shops in many places (if ordering per mail, the delivery fee is almost as much as the cooler itself, which is nice to avoid).

I bought one a week ago for 194 SKR, a bargain (approx 250 US) in Stockholm, LidingÃ¶, but there are at least 15-29 more places (google on "prisjakt" or "ems-butiken") to buy it from, having the same delivery source (oskarshams)

No reports on it, though, I have not put it on yet,

ionfresko

Thanks, but yeah, the shipping is pretty crappy. I sadly don't have any of those EMS stores close to me (LidingÃ¶ is pretty far out of the way too, even though I work in Stockholm).

Currently, I'm hoping that Webhallen will get some soon. Then again what I really need for my new system (featuring an 8800GT) is a cooling solution that evacuates that hot air... the Accelero S1 seems just like a band-aid.

~El~Jefe~ · Post by **~El~Jefe~** » Mon Dec 10, 2007 4:20 pm

its the best cooler for vga according to a host of sites that normally find passive solutions kinda crappy. I havent found a vga cooler like this ever since zalman had its passive sandwich for my 9700pro.

Leor says, "It's Work!"

I think leor is dead nowadays but he had a nice broken english phrase that lives on. go Leor.

I am switching from a 250 dollar watercool zalman setup to give this a go. I love my zalman. There has never been a real spcr standard for high end gaming cooling until this guy. HR-03gt I guess is the other one. Zalman's vga cooler sux terribly. other passive solutions were super weak, etc etc.

What everyone needs is a case with a large front intake for constant positive pressure. but that's another forum section. I need to get a few 120mm nexus fans going on now and a cpu cooler.

fabre · Post by **fabre** » Tue Dec 11, 2007 9:24 am

I will be getting a turbo module today, if anyone interested I will post the temperature differences between passive, with the Turbo Module (12v and 6v) or with a D12SL-12 (12v and 6v)

seraphyn · Post by **seraphyn** » Tue Dec 11, 2007 12:33 pm

seraphyn wrote:So i just installed the S1 package. Cleaned up my card after removing the stock cooler and put on the heatsinks. My main airflow in my P180 goes in from the front and then goes up to the CPU and out the back.
I don't use the middle HDD bay so my intake is at the front of the case and little air gets pushed over the now totally passively cooled 8800GT.

Temperature differences:

Idle: 55C (with duct) 58C (normal stock, no duct) and now 54C (with S1 passive)
Load: 85C (with duct) 89C (normal stock, no duct) and now 78C (with S1 passive)

Expanding on this a bit. Out of curiousity i fitted a Nexus Real Silent fan on top of the S1. On inaudile level (600RPM) this resulted in a drop in temperaure to:

Idle: 40C
Load: 46C

When ramping up the fans to max (1000RPM) temperatures drop even lower.

Idle: 32C
Load 35C

Since I'm not using the PCI slots much and it hasn't lead to a noticable louder system, I will be leaving on the fan.

As always:
Idle temperatures were taken after first gaming for a bit and then leaving the system alone for an hour or so. Load temperatures are read during intensive UT3 gaming sessions. All temperatures read by Everest Ultimate.

~El~Jefe~ · Post by **~El~Jefe~** » Tue Dec 11, 2007 1:13 pm

has anyone tried using the optional dual fans that arctic makes?

normally, anything besides nexus kinda sux sound wise. never know though!

leifeinar · Post by **leifeinar** » Tue Dec 11, 2007 3:45 pm

any one seen the S1 in 3870 CF? im planing to do this im my htpc. i cant use any fans but i have 3 14cm fans at 500-900rpm in fornt this really should cool the boards. but would be nice to see some pics.....

im more worried about my sound card?? how wide is the card with the cooler? 2 slots or 2,5?? want to fin the soundcard in the bottom PCI

http://prisguide.hardware.no/product.ph ... eId=372140

jimmyzaas · Post by **jimmyzaas** » Tue Dec 11, 2007 4:30 pm

seraphyn wrote: Expanding on this a bit. Out of curiousity i fitted a Nexus Real Silent fan on top of the S1. On inaudile level (600RPM) this resulted in a drop in temperaure to:

Idle: 40C
Load: 46C

When ramping up the fans to max (1000RPM) temperatures drop even lower.

Idle: 32C
Load 35C

Holy crap. What kind of case are you using? I'm curious. Those are really low temps! Who needs water cooling??

Something tells me the S1 is a lot better than the HR 03 GT.. decisions decisions.. damn it all..

HR 03 GT looks so pretty

seraphyn · Post by **seraphyn** » Tue Dec 11, 2007 6:41 pm

jimmyzaas wrote:Holy crap. What kind of case are you using? I'm curious. Those are really low temps! Who needs water cooling??

Something tells me the S1 is a lot better than the HR 03 GT.. decisions decisions.. damn it all..

HR 03 GT looks so pretty

Antec P180:
- 1 intake fan, 1 out, 1 on CPU aiming at rear exhaust.
- Hard sealed PSU/HDD bay.
- Cut fangrill at the front, also cut the lines of the door which held the fan filter. Took out the upper fan filter as well.
- Hard sealed upper exhaust since it broke airflow somewhat.

As for S1 vs HR03:
I think it heavily depends on your case layout, for some the HR03 will just be vastly superior, while for others the S1 performs as well, but at a much lower cost. The HR03 is about flexibility, while the S1 is a straight shooter.
I think that for Crossfire / SLI the HR03 would really outperform the S1, because you could put one in the path of upper airflow with the Northbridge and CPU, while leaving the other at the bottom and exhausting there as well.

johnniecache7 · Post by **johnniecache7** » Tue Dec 11, 2007 6:47 pm

jimmyzaas wrote:
seraphyn wrote: Expanding on this a bit. Out of curiousity i fitted a Nexus Real Silent fan on top of the S1. On inaudile level (600RPM) this resulted in a drop in temperaure to:

Idle: 40C
Load: 46C

When ramping up the fans to max (1000RPM) temperatures drop even lower.

Idle: 32C
Load 35C

Holy crap. What kind of case are you using? I'm curious. Those are really low temps! Who needs water cooling??

Something tells me the S1 is a lot better than the HR 03 GT.. decisions decisions.. damn it all..

HR 03 GT looks so pretty

Not even close the HR-03 GT is all around better not to mention you can combine it with HR-11 backside cooler and now can you use 120mm fans with the new clips. S1 is good for the price but I never trust completely passive cooling but S1 is damn good if you on tight budget or want to be risk taker and try completely passive cooling.

fabre · Post by **fabre** » Tue Dec 11, 2007 7:59 pm

~El~Jefe~ wrote:has anyone tried using the optional dual fans that arctic makes?

I installed the Turbo Module (TM) today, here are the results vs a D12SL-12 mounted with zip ties above the gpu core.

Temperatures:

@ 6v
D12SL-12: Idle 39c \ Load 56c
AC TM: Idle 40c \ Load 58c

@12v
D12SL-12: Idle 39c \ Load 51c
AC TM: Idle 38c \ Load 52c

Noise:

@ 12v the AC TM is marginally louder than the D12SL-12 @ 6v
I guess that at around 9v it should be inaudible over the D12SL-12.

~El~Jefe~ · Post by **~El~Jefe~** » Tue Dec 11, 2007 9:38 pm

is that Yate loon silent at 5 volts?

so, what you are saying very carefully is that the S1 fan module is very good at undervolted speeds?

Nemioke · Post by **Nemioke** » Wed Dec 12, 2007 2:43 pm

I just replaced the original BFG 8800 GT OC2 cooler with an Accelero S1.

My case could be better (I'm currently running my system inside a Thermaltake Tsunami - will replace it with an Antec 182 soon-ish) and the airflow is far from optimal.

Setup is:

Thermaltake Tsunami
2*Nexus 120mm case fans @ 750rpm
be quiet! Dark Power Pro 530W (fan running @ 800rpm under heaviest loads)

Intel C2D E6600 (OC, 2400 @ 3000MHz) with a Scythe Ninja (passive), 36Â°C idle, 41Â°C load.
3GB of memory (2*Corsair, 2*Gskill)
BFG 8800 GT OC2 with an Accelero S1 (passive)

Results: Nothing short of stunning. (Burn with GPU Caps Viewer, Fur, 20 minutes),

8800 GT OC2, original cooler:

Idle: 61Â°C
Burn: 91Â°C, leveling to that after 12 minutes of burn.
Noise level: Intolerable. Not as noisy as my old X1900 XT was before replacing the heatsink with an AC Accelero X2, but intolerably loud nonetheless.

8800 GT OC2, Accelero S1

Idle: 40Â°C
Burn: 66Â°C, leveling to that after 12 minutes of burn (again).
Noise level: Well, the noisiest thing in my setup is my CRT monitor.

Crysis, 60 minutes: Burn temps were around 61-62Â°C.

Comments about Accelero S1:

Installation is tricky and should be rethought (those damn plastic clips). The thermal tape of those memory sinks is crappy and you need three extra sinks for PWM hotspots.

Still: Huh. Couldn't be better.

fabre · Post by **fabre** » Wed Dec 12, 2007 4:29 pm

Nemioke wrote:Comments about Accelero S1:
Installation is tricky and should be rethought (those damn plastic clips).

Compared to the vga coolers I installed before (couple of ZM80, VF-700Cu) I actually thought it was the easiest vga cooler installation I ever did.
Plastic clips are actually fairly easy to install as long you apply pressure on both side when clipping them together.

~El~Jefe~ wrote:is that Yate loon silent at 5 volts?

so, what you are saying very carefully is that the S1 fan module is very good at undervolted speeds?

I wouldn't say it's silent (only silent fan I ever heard was unplugged) but it's very quiet.

And yes the AC TM is already quiet at 12v and undervolts nicely, @9v I can't hear it over the other fans.

johnnysd · Post by **johnnysd** » Wed Dec 12, 2007 9:23 pm

Amazingly, I read this entire thread and still do not have a good feel for the heatsink issue.

If I am attaching the S1 to a 8800GT

1. Do I need aftermarket sinks at all, or is the kit as AC says good enough for the entire thing?

2. If I do need aftermarket sinks, what are the ones to get?

yamahaSHO · Post by **yamahaSHO** » Wed Dec 12, 2007 10:12 pm

I just installed the S1 on my 8800GT SSC 512 along with some custom made RAM sinks and my temps have gone way down. My idle used to be 60C now it is 40C. I never tested my load with the old heat sink nor have I properly tested my load now, but after 30 minutes of gaming with the S1, I haven't cracked over 44C yet.

Not bad considering I am running it passive..

Nemioke · Post by **Nemioke** » Wed Dec 12, 2007 11:47 pm

johnnysd wrote:Amazingly, I read this entire thread and still do not have a good feel for the heatsink issue.

Well, it's better than the original - a lot better.

1. Do I need aftermarket sinks at all, or is the kit as AC says good enough for the entire thing?

I think that yes, you need those sinks for voltage regulators. Especially if you're planning to run the thing completely passive.

2. If I do need aftermarket sinks, what are the ones to get?

I think that any decent basic sinks will do. I used some copper memory sinks that I had around, but aluminum ones would do as well.

Although the temps aren't alarming (at all), I'm thinking about adding a 120mm Noctua - not as much for GPU-temps as for the voltage regulators.

seraphyn · Post by **seraphyn** » Thu Dec 13, 2007 12:21 am

According to AC, you won't need heatsinks on the voltage regulators, just enough airflow over them. I wouldn't take that chance if you can't risk losing the money though.

I am currently still running my 8800GT with just the standard S1 heatsinks and my card is doing fine at the moment. No telling how long it can keep up, or if it will die on me, but my card doesn't get warm (to the touch) so I'm beginning to think AC isn't bullshitting us on this.

As for the supplied sinks, they're fine, as long as you either not travel with your case, or if you are not adverse to glueing them yourself with some superglue(at edge) + thermal paste (center).

fabre · Post by **fabre** » Thu Dec 13, 2007 1:01 am

seraphyn wrote:According to AC, you won't need heatsinks on the voltage regulators, just enough airflow over them. I wouldn't take that chance if you can't risk losing the money though.

I am pretty sure AC did some serious testing before announcing the 8800 GT was compatible with the S1 and that no VRM heatsinks were necessary.

Actually I am wondering if the only reason the stock heatsink was cooling the VRM was because Nvidia wanted a clean look and opted for a cooler that covered the whole card, and with the VRM covered it brought the need to cool them.

Note that ECS is releasing an overclocked 8800 GT using the S1 and from the pictures it doesn't look like it has any VRM heatsink as well.

I also emailed AC about the need for additional cooling for the VRM when running passive to which they replied "yes, this cooler should also be able to cool the 8800GT without a VR-cooler, however it's better to use the Turbo Module to increase the cooling performance."

Krazy Kommando · Post by **Krazy Kommando** » Thu Dec 13, 2007 6:28 am

well, i just received my 8800GT and immediately put on the S1 (so no comparison with stock heatsink from me).

Comments
I used the ramsinks that came with the cooler and they stuck on fine. i guess so long as you put some pressure on them, and mind not to touch them until the thermal tape has cured, they should be fine.
i bought some zalman ramsinks and installed them on the VRMs, one sink covered a cluster of 3 VRMs quite well (with 3 clusters in total).
installation wasnt TOO bad, but certainly not the worst ive seen. i found those plastic clips to be a bit of a pain in the arse though. not difficult per say, just some what fiddly.
the pure size of the S1 made it very difficult to install into the case. i had to remove all the cables from the bottom half of the case in order to get it in. and then after it was in, i had a hell of a hard time plugging the SATA cables back in as the SATA connectors on the motherboard are covered by the S1. but i eventually managed to do it.

Performance
temp with turbo module @ 0v (or 'off' for anyone who is confused

):
idle: ~55C
load: 82C (logged using nTune during an hour of playing CoD4)

temp with turbo module @ 5v:
idle: ~45C
load: not measured

The 8800GT: Eye Candy
So far ive only tested it on CoD4, but omg its beautiful! The difference between playing at 640x480 with everything set to low or off, and playing at 1600x1200 with everything maxed with full AA.... words cannot describe the difference.

Conclusion
The S1 is a highly effective solution for the 8800GT. in a case with reasonable airflow (by SPCR standards), there is no reason why it cant be run passively. however, the reason the S1 is so effective is also a reason why it is such a pain to handle. its pure size means you must have plenty of space in your pc case, and if your motherboard is anything like mine which has a whole pile of connectors and pins in the area of the gfx card, you should set aside a reasonable amount of time in order to wrestle the card and the cables into place

seraphyn · Post by **seraphyn** » Thu Dec 13, 2007 6:53 am

I lost 2 SATA connectors due to the size of the S1. But since i have 6 internal ones and only need for 3, it was all good. But indeed something to consider.

djkest · Post by **djkest** » Thu Dec 13, 2007 1:38 pm

At this point, I'm not sure if anyone cares, but I could reiterate, I ran an ATI x1800XT using every part in the S-1 kit, completely passive. I ran it 8 months, was able to get a higher overclock, temps were way lower. And yes, fully passive, the closest fan was over 6" away. Passive operation is achievable for 38xx or 8800GT cards with decent case airflow.

I only say this cause some people are still kind of wondering if it's possible.

I only run a fan on mine cause I was too lazy to come up w/ better heatsinks for the RAM/ VRMs right now, but I might change that soon.

It is huge as well, as mentioned before.

~El~Jefe~ · Post by **~El~Jefe~** » Thu Dec 13, 2007 4:20 pm

I got my 3870 Visiontek installed!

it is a super fast, beautiful image card. anyone wondering whether or not to get the 3870 just should. I crank settings on stalker, hellgate, company of heroes, 2142, and play them all at 1920x1200 if they support or 1600x1200 for the 2142 as it doesnt.

The card runs hot. the fan never ramps up for more than a few seconds. The car froze many times. I am going to work on it tonight. I have an odd system though. The cooling might be the issue as it is idle at like 68 degrees

sometimes it is 70. in a game? well, I play such high end games that you cannot possibly just window fast to desktop and check that so who knows.

So far, stock, it is very quiet in spcr standards. I think it is bugged though. it isnt meant to be spinning that slow. Visiontek's Tech department said that is behaving as they have tested it to be. I still say anything over 60 c on load is rediculous for anyone like me with some talent for these things. I have read that if you re-apply the thermal grease that temps can drop massively. apparently it was put on by abused malasian children who just wont be caring about a frag fest like I might be.

I am attempting the re-applying tonight and in a few days I will put the zalman system on it.

so far its a sick card. a huge improvement over a x1900 allinwonder.

huge!

yamahaSHO · Post by **yamahaSHO** » Fri Dec 14, 2007 7:11 am

I am really liking this cooler. I turned my middle case fan up a little yesterday and the GPU was sitting at 39C.

I a thinking about attaching a piece to the fan that directs a little more airflow to the cooler so I can turn the fan as low as my controller will let me. Right now, if I turn it all the way down, most of the time the GPU sits around 44C (which is still 16C cooler than stock.

~El~Jefe~ · Post by **~El~Jefe~** » Fri Dec 14, 2007 7:58 am

very nice setup

i wonder if i would have enough room to put a fan on the hd cage hm.

what fans are those? yate?

djkest · Post by **djkest** » Fri Dec 14, 2007 9:06 am

~El~Jefe~ wrote:what fans are those? yate?

Those are definately Yate-loon fans.
YL fans

BTW, grats on your 3870 El Jeffe. I'm glad I'm not the only one who chose the "inferior" product instead of the 8800GT! Long live competition.

In any case, I wanted to comment on your comments on temps. The last two cards I owned both made by ATI idled between 60-70C and load was 90C. Thats just how they are designed. GPUs can handle the heat. Over 100C, and you need to worry. But the 8800GT has been shown to run as high as 110C without crashing, as demonstrated by a passive 8800GT that tomshardware tested.

It's also true, most GPU heatsinks are not fully in contact with the things they are actually supposed to be cooling. Many times memory and VRM heatsinks are floating above the components they are supposed to cool! My 3870 heatsink had a thick layer of arctic silver lookalike goop on it, but it was thicker than it should have been (thermal compound is only there to fill in the cracks, not be 1/10" thick!!)

AC Accelero S1 is the BEST cooler for 8800GT / ATI38?0 cards

Re: S1 in Sweden