The Prolimatech MK-26 is a sprawling nickel-plated GPU heatsink with six heatpipes and enough surface area for two standard 140 mm case fans. It offers excellent performance and cross-compatibility for a premium price.
October 1, 2012 by Lawrence Lee
Product | Prolimatech MK-26 GPU Cooler |
Manufacturer | Prolimatech |
Street Price | US$80? |
Prolimatech burst onto the scene a few years ago with great success thanks
to the superb performance of the Megahalems. It became a top-tier CPU heatsink
brand almost overnight. Still, the landscape wouldn’t look much different if
Prolimatech disappeared, thanks to strong competition from the likes of Noctua
and Thermalright. The market is so mature and saturated, it’s not difficult
to find an excellent CPU cooler no matter where you live.
GPU cooling, on the other hand, is more challenging. High-end graphics cores
power requirements have long surpassed that of desktop CPUs. The TDP of the
most power hungry CPUs has hovered around 130W for many years, while the top
GPU requirement has actually exceeded 250W (for example, the Radeon HD 7980),
and we’re only talking about single core cards. At the same time, discrete graphics
cards remain in more thermally disadvantaged positions on the motherboard and
inside most cases, with much less room for huge heatsinks. Installing a third
party video card heatsink is often a more difficult and delicate operation.
Casual PC enthusiasts are less keen on potentially voiding their warranty on
an expensive graphics card, so aftermarket VGA heatsink demand isn’t as great.
Take all this into consideration, and it’s easy to see why there aren’t that
many high-end VGA cooler options available.
Enter the MK-26, a sprawling nickel-plated GPU heatsink from Prolimatech with
six heatpipes. The heatsink ships bare, taking either one or two standard sized
120/140 mm case fans. According to Prolimatech, it can handle cards with up
to a 320 Watt TDP which is more than any current generation single GPU model.
According to the compatibility
list, the MK-26 is essentially a universal cooler, supporting almost every
mid-to-high end video card that NVIDIA and AMD has released going back four
years or so. Of the current generation, the only notable omissions are the GeForce
GTX 660 and 660 Ti.
Prolimatech MK-26: Specifications (from the product web page) | |
Design type | Dual Radiator |
TDP* target | 0 – 320 Watt |
Mounting system | Omni-mount universal tool-free kit |
Dissipation Fins | x 0.5mm Nickel plated Aluminum |
Fin spacing | 2.0mm |
Pipes | Ø 6mm, type; sintered metal powder wick. |
Fins to pipe contact | Nickel solder |
Recommended Fans | 2 x 140mm fans or 2 x 120mm fans |
Recommended fans specifications | 140mm / 1000rpm 120mm / 1200rpm |
package dimensions & shipping weight | 257.1 x 146 x 47.1 mm / 583g |
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Despite supporting so many cards, there’s surprisingly little mounting hardware in the package. Included are just two different sets of mounting clips and bolts, eight ramsinks, and a motley crew of heatsinks for the VRMs and miscellaneous chips that may require additional cooling. The only unexpected amenity is a dual fan adapter that allows users to power and control standard 4-pin PWM case fans using the small 4-pin header found on most graphics cards.
PHYSICAL DETAILS
The Prolimatech MK-26 is composed of a copper base, 6 x 6 mm thick copper heatpipes and 65 aluminum fins, all nickel-plated. By our measurements, its dimensions are 23.0 x 14.6 x 4.7 cm or 9.1 x 5.7 x 1.9 inches (L x W x H) and it weighs approximately 590 grams or 1.3 lb.
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INSTALLATION
The most critical aspect of installation is that the heatsink
be securely and safely mounted. A firm mating results in good contact between
the heatsink’s base and the GPU core and more efficient heat conduction. Ideally
it should also be a simple procedure with the user having to handle as few pieces
of hardware as possible.
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TEST METHODOLOGY
Test Platform
- Intel Core i3-2100 processor, Sandy Bridge core, dual core 3.1 GHz, integrated HD 2000 graphics, TDP of 65W.
- Thermalright HR-02 Macho
heatsink, an early design prototype with a Scythe
Slip Stream 500RPM 120mm fan. - Gigabyte Z77X-UD3H motherboard, Z77 chipset, ATX, PCI-E 3.0.
- Kingston HyperX Genesis memory, 2x4GB, DDR3-1600.
- Corsair Force GT
solid state drive, 120GB, 2.5 inch, SATA 6 Gbps, refurbished. - Kingwin Lazer Platinum
power supply, ATX v2.2, 80 Plus Platinum, 1000W total output, 83A on +12V rail. - Fractal Design Define R3 case,ATX, modified.
- Antec TrueQuiet 120 120mm
fan, two connected to controllable motherboard headers, 1000 RPM, 3-pin. - Microsoft
Windows 7 Ultimate operating system, 64-bit - AMD
Catalyst graphics driver for AMD/ATI based graphics card, version 12.8. - NVIDIA GeForce graphics driver for NVIDIA based graphics cards, version 301.42.
Measurement and Analysis Tools
- Prime95 stability test to stress the CPU.
- FurMark
stability test to stress the GPU. - GPU-Z to
monitor GPU temperatures and fan speeds. - SpeedFan to monitor system temperatures and adjust fan speeds.
- MSI Afterburner to adjust GPU fan speeds.
- Extech
AC Power Analyzer 380803
AC power meter, used to measure the power consumption
of the system. - A custom-built variable fan speed controller to power third party cooler fans.
- PC-based spectrum analyzer
— SpectraPlus with ACO Pacific mic and M-Audio digital
audio interfaces. - Anechoic chamber
with ambient level of 11 dBA or lower.
Test Procedure
Our test procedure is an in-system test, designed to determine whether the cooler is adequate for use in a low-noise system.
By adequately cooled, we mean cooled well enough that no misbehavior
related to thermal overload is exhibited. Thermal misbehavior in a graphics
card can show up in a variety of ways, including:
- Sudden system shutdown, reboot without warning, or loss of display signal
- Jaggies and other visual artifacts on the screen.
- Motion slowing and/or screen freezing.
Any of these misbehaviors are annoying at best and dangerous at worst —
dangerous to the health and lifespan of the graphics card, and sometimes to
the system OS.
Heatsinks are installed on an HIS Radeon HD 5870 iCooler V Turbo, a factory-overclocked single GPU card that draws about 236W by our estimates. The stock VRM heatsink is left on for convenience. Noise is measured and recorded with our test system on with the heatsink installed. Our mic is positioned at a distance of one meter from the center of the case’s left side panel at a 45 degree angle. The GPU temperature is recorded using GPU-Z.
Our main test consists of FurMark stability test running in conjunction with Prime95 to stress both the graphics card and processor simultaneously. This combination produces more CPU/GPU stress than a typical gaming session. As our test system has very limited airflow, our results are not indicative of a real-world situation, but rather a worse-case scenario. If the heatsink in question can cool the card and its components adequately in this environment it means there will be some degree of thermal headroom when deployed in a more conventional situation.
The cooler’s fan(s) (if applicable) are connected to a custom external fan controller and tested at various speeds to represent a good cross-section of its airflow and noise performance. If the heatsink is passively cooled, we use different predefined system fan speeds to determine the effect of system airflow on cooling performance.
GPU Test System: Anechoic chamber measurements | ||
Setting | System Fan Speed | System SPL@1m |
High | 1130 RPM | 26 dBA |
Med | 820 RPM | 18 dBA |
Low | 580 RPM | 12~13 dBA |
Note: mic is positioned at a distance of one meter from the center of the case’s left side panel at a 45 degree angle. |
For heatsinks that support but don’t include standard case fans, our reference fans are used. The measured details
of these models are shown below, derived using our standard fan testing methodology.
Reference Noctua 140mm fan Anechoic chamber measurements | ||
Voltage | SPL@1m | Speed |
12V | 28~29 dBA | 1250 RPM |
9V | 21 dBA | 990 RPM |
8V | 18 dBA | 880 RPM |
7V | 15~16 dBA | 770 RPM |
6V | 13 dBA | 660 RPM |
Reference Nexus 120mm fan Anechoic chamber measurements | ||
Voltage | SPL@1m | Speed |
12V | 16 dBA | 1080 RPM |
9V | 13 dBA | 880 RPM |
7V | 12 dBA | 720 RPM |
Reference Nexus 92 mm fan Anechoic chamber measurements | ||
Voltage | SPL@1m | Speed |
12V | 16 dBA | 1470 RPM |
9V | 12 dBA | 1150 RPM |
TEST RESULTS
Load Test Results: Prolimatech MK-26 (2 x Reference 120mm Fans) | ||||
Fan Voltage | GPU Temp | CPU Temp | Sys. Power (AC) | SPL@1m |
12V | 70°C | 60°C | 297W | 18 dBA |
9V | 74°C | 64°C | 304W | 15 dBA |
7V | 78°C | 69°C | 306W | 14 dBA |
System noise level without GPU fans: 12~13 dBA@1m. Ambient temperature: 24°C |
With a pair of our 120 mm reference fans, the MK-26 delivered solid results.
The GPU temperatures were very good, never exceeding 80°C even when the
fan voltage was lowered to 7V. At that level, the system noise was only 1~2
dB higher than ambient, so the fans had a minimal acoustic impact. Keep in mind
this is an extreme torture test on a ~230W card with very little case airflow.
It doesn’t get much better than this.
GPU Temperature Comparison | |||||||||
Sys. Noise (dBA@1m) | 20 | 19 | 18 | 17 | 16 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 12 |
Prolimatech MK-26 (2 x 120mm ref. fans) | – | – | 70 | – | – | 74 | 78 | – | – |
Arctic Cooling Accelero Xtreme Plus | – | 67 | – | – | 73 | – | 84 | – | – |
GELID Icy Vision | 86 | – | 90 | GPU fail | – | – | |||
System noise level without GPU fans: 12~13 dBA@1m. Ambient temperature: 24°C |
When generating noise levels of 18 dBA@1m and 15 dBA@1m, the MK-26 performed on par with the AC Accelero Xtreme Plus which features three 92 mm fans. The MK-26 pulled away by a healthy margin at 14 dBA@1m — it excelled with low airflow. The GELID Icy Vision, which has only two 92 mm fans, wasn’t competitive at all; the GPU exceeded 90°C at lower speeds prompting it to throttle to prevent overheating.
CPU Temperature Comparison | |||||||||
Sys. Noise (dBA@1m) | 20 | 19 | 18 | 17 | 16 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 12 |
Prolimatech MK-26 (2 x 120mm ref. fans) | – | – | 60 | – | – | 64 | 69 | – | – |
Arctic Cooling Accelero Xtreme Plus | – | 67 | – | – | 70 | – | 75 | – | – |
GELID Icy Vision | 68 | – | 69 | GPU fail | – | – | |||
System noise level without GPU fans: 12~13 dBA@1m. Ambient temperature: 24°C |
The MK-26 produced noticeably lower CPU temperatures than the Accelero Xtreme
Plus. This is somewhat strange as the GPU temperatures were similar and the
MK-26 isn’t designed to exhaust heat out through the back panel of the case.
FINAL THOUGHTS
The Prolimatech MK-26 is a high performance video card cooler that does especially
well with low airflow, making it an excellent choice for a quiet gaming system.
Not only is it a superb performer, it offers a fair degree of versatility. Numerous
AMD and NVIDIA graphics cards are supported, from old favorites like the HD
3870 and 8800 GT, to the latest and greatest HD 7970 and GTX 680. Considering
how well it did with our overclocked Radeon HD 5870, it’s overkill for all but
the hottest, high power models.
Standard case fans may take up more space than thinner all-in-one solutions but they provide better cooling and give users more options. You can choose whatever model suits you — low speed whisperers or high speed screamers. It’s also easy to find replacements if the fans ever fail. Prolimatech has even provided a dual fan adapter to reuse the small 4-pin PWM fan header on most cards, providing fan control and freeing up power supply connectors or valuable motherboard fan headers for other uses.
The MK-26’s main drawback is its sheer size. It weighs 590 grams bare. Tack
to that another 240 grams or so for a pair of typical 120 mm fans; combined,
it’s the heaviest GPU cooler we’ve encountered. All this weight forced the back
side of our graphics card to bend downward by an alarming amount putting stress
on the PCI-E slot and the card’s contacts; it would have been nice for Prolimatech
to include something to prop the card up. The dimensions are also massive, taking
up four slots total (if you lift up the right side so it’s level with the slot).
Our only other complaint is that the installation procedure makes it difficult
to ensure a centered setup that delivers equal pressure to all four corners.
The MK-26 doesn’t appear to available in North America as of yet, but it can
be found in the UK for approximately £52 (incl. VAT) as can Arctic
Cooling’s latest, the Accelero Xtreme III (very similar to the Xtreme
Plus). The Xtreme III costs about US$80 on this side of the pond
so using it as a reference, the MK-26 should cost about the same. The pricing
seems appropriate considering the MK-26 is the best GPU heatsink we’ve tested
thus far, but depending on the fans you choose, the final bill could very well
end up over US$100.
Our thanks to Prolimatech for the MK-26 video card cooler sample.
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Prolimatech MK-26
is Recommended by SPCR
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Arctic Cooling Accelero Xtreme Plus GPU Cooler
GELID Icy Vision Dual Fan VGA Cooler
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