The early review (it's not widely available) is a nice surprise, thank you SPCR!
I find this cooler much more appealing than the very long Accelero Extreme, since it probably fits in a Solo.

Yet another one of those bigger is better beasts... Thanks for the review !
Good to see they provide a good fan for that price !!
I didn't see if the fins were soldered to the pipes/base or just force fitted (something to consider IMO against the Accelero line).

nice, i want one , but first i need a new videocard great review btw

Friction fit.

The greatest benefit seems to be from the improved VRM temperatures, which should leave to better durability in the long run. About the only thing "wrong" with is the space it takes, as not everyone can let a video card take up 4 slots. I can't for instance, as it would cover the second 8x pcie slot on my computer.

From the looks of it, the card was tested with the VRM heatsink from an Arctic Cooling product...
http://www.silentpcreview.com/files/images/tr-shaman/12.jpg

Can it be used with the graphics card's original plate or do I have to remove the original plate and use the provided heatsinks?

This one looks a lot like the Thermalright AXP-140. I've always wanted to mount a CPU-caliber heatsink on a GPU. I bet I can mount the AXP-140 on a GPU with 775 brackets, sort of like this:

Actually card with that cooler takes five slots.

People often forgot about nuts on the backside of the card:



This is a serious issue because motherboards often provide PCIE x1 slot above first x16 slot where the graphics card is installed. That PCIE x1 slot is in a perfect position to put an audio card there, but with that cooler on the gfx card it would be impossible.

I had exactly that issue with Prolimatech MK-13 and Asus Xonar D2X. No way to install anything above gfx card with that kind of nuts holding the cooler.

When comparing the AC Accellero Xtreme plus and the Shaman in the final thoughts section, the article states that:
Is the implication of this comment that the Shaman cannot be controlled by the fan header on the graphics card? I can't see any mention of testing the Thermalright with the GPU header in the article, but I may have missed something.

That's the factory-mounted VRM heatsink on the HIS 5870 Turbo, used as test card. It might be made by Arctic Cooling, they used to make the coolers for some earlier video cards from HIS.

Actually, most normal cards will fit there. Only cards with a heatsink or a shield will have problems, unless a tall component (cap, usually) sits in exactly the wrong place.

On the last page, the link to the sound recordings:

http://www.silentpcreview.com/tr-shaman ... 9v-12v.mp3

Results in a "Page Not Found."

fixed.

I just ordered one Shaman and I have a couple of questions about it:
1. Is it compatible with the 6950 2GB cards, or with 6870 cards (I am still undecided)?
2. What kind of fan can replace the included one? 14 cm with 12 cm mounting, or maybe 12 cm?
3. What thermal interface is included with the Shaman? Should I buy a better one?
Thank you for your help.

I bought the Shaman a few weeks ago. My GTX460 was the loudest component at the time. The Shaman made a huge difference, both in temperature and noise. The card never goes above 50 C (under full load), and it is virtually inaudible in my P183-based system. The PWM fan is wonderful. I like it more than my 120mm Nexus, Gelid, or Scythe fans. It moves a lot of air at a very decent noise level. My Intel board keeps the RPM under 1,000 even at the full load. I also have a 120mm fan mounted on the top HDD cage, very near the video card, so it adds a bit of airflow to the card. I am sure it helps a little.

I agree that the cooler takes a bit too much room (4 slots, maybe 5?), but, at least in my case, I have ample room for it. I hope the cooler remains compatible with future NVIDIA cards so I can continue using it with my next video card.