Hi. More for your info really than a review!
I am upgrading from a gtx570 overclocked with a thermalright shaman installed with a 140mm fan.
Firstly, the performance is excellent, not quite double my gtx570 fps but not far off. I have recently got a 120hz Samsung 3d monitor so wanted higher than 60fps in games to benefit from my new monitor.
Now, noise levels..... Jesus, its like a hairdryer! I had a asus 7970 direct cuii before this and this but sent it back. the sapphire vapor x is better than that but is far from silent! It is quiet when in 2d, fans cannot be heard over my gentle tycoons at 700rpm but when in 3d mode it's loud!
I plan on putting a accelero 7970 on soon to rectify the problem and will update the post accordingly.
I would say for average mr joe bloggs, it's fine, for us silence lovers, it's not!
Below is the graphics card details:-

http://www.sapphiretech.com/presentatio ... 1679&leg=0

210W TDP for the 7970 vs 219W for the GTX 570. Maybe you can transfer the cooler over to the new card?

It doesn't fit unfortunately. The 7970 needs a cooler with a special "bump" on the heat sink.

Vapor-X sounds cool (and the tech is cool too) but for some reason they didn't use as nice a fan profile as on their "regular" cards. I picked up a Sapphire HD7950 (which also has a Vapor-X version) around christmas and that one is really quiet at idle. Supposedly from what I could gleam from reviews when I pondered which one to pick, the fan curve is aggressive with the Vapor-X edition. But have you tried some tweaking software to adjust that? Sapphire's Trixx software is okay, though I'm using MSI Afterburner with my card right now. Both have fan curve adjustment settings although the end result is also up to the cards BIOS.

I am going to go aftermarket. I really like the prolimatech mk-26, looks wicked and all my other slots are free so doesnt matter about taking up 5 slots! It got a good review on here.
Im just not sure if it will fit in my lian li pcx tyr 500 case. It will fit length wise but not sure about width. And also, with 2x140 mm fans its heavy and bends the board quite a lot. It cant be much heavier than my shaman though?

http://www.lian-li.com.tw/v2/en/product ... =62&g=spec
http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&source ... havrls_7Bg

I installed my prolimatech mk-26 this morning, wow, what a difference!
I have it running with 2 nexus basic fans at 1000rpm and its silent but I have 2 noctua nf-f12's coming tomorrow which can spin up a little more and have three times the static pressure.
Temps are great, gpu 65-68 and vrm's 62-68. Installed with as5 so will drop when that cures. I expect them to drop further though when new noctua fans are installed tomorrow.
Will update further.
What was strange though is the card sags really bad to the right, when I try to prop it up, the temperatures rise much faster and higher, strange? Best to leave it sagging as temps better but it's properly sagging, will try and put a photo on ltr.

Congrats on the improved temps/noise. Is your "prop" interfering with case airflow past the GPU? You could always use nylon fishing string (or a cable tie, etc..) tied between the GPU and a case tie-point to relieve the mechanical stress/sag.

The prop wasn't interfering with anything, it was very thin and propping up the fan which was in turn, propping up the heatsink. It wasn't large enough to cause air disruption. Maybe I need to hold up the right hand side of the actual board instead of pressing up on the fan/heatsink. I will try and upload a photo tomorrow but its worrying me, could it snap the gfx card? I like the idea of nylon holding up the card also but unsure I have anything to attach nylon to to hold it up. I will have another play tomorrow.

Ah - perhaps your prop was torquing the fan/heatsink enough to pull the heatsink away from the gpu enough to register. You are better off attaching something to the card itself.

I have got my new noctua fans this morning and its even better, customer fan profile running in msi afterburner with fans running around 700RPM in 2D mode and ramping up to about 1100RPM-1300RPM depending on temps but even at 1300RPM they are very quiet.
GPU temps are about 60 degrees now and VRM's about 58-60 Max. Very impressed.
Now, about this sagging, i have used some tie clips to hold up card (not the heatsink/fan) and temps have stayed the same not gone up like they did before so i think you was correct.

I cannot upload photos direct to this website so may have to attach a link to photo bucket to show you 2 before and 2 after photos. Will this cause any problems though and should i have left it alone or will the tie clips cause less pressure/strain on the gpu board and motherboard?

Putting stress across the heatsink with such a prop does sound bad. Perhaps you need some better way of retaining the card? In the old days all cases worked with full length ISA cards which were much longer and slotted into a retention bracket at the front of the case. Even 10 years ago some cases came with such a bracket just in case you had full length ISA cards and typically they had an 80/92mm fan mount built in to blow air through the cards. I really do think there is a need for this kind of setup to return with these long graphics cards.

The best way I can think of to hold the card would be to do a bit of woodwork! Take a batton the length of your case, cut a groove into it which the edge of the card slots into, then screw one end to the front of the case and one to the rear of the case. Now your card will go nowhere! It may need a bit of a cutout for the power input and how applicable it is depends on your case but this is much more secure than any clips available.

Edit: just seen the pictures you put up. That doesn't look safe!

When you say it DOESNT look safe, do you mean with the tie clips or without?

Without it! That's a good 15 degrees bending! Cable ties are an intermediate solution I suppose.

Ah, cool good, cant really think of anything else to do except this cable tie method. Im worried the Board on the GFX card snaps with the pressure!
I had a old Voodoo 2 3dfx card or something back in the day, that came with a metal bar to get the card installed level. (Showing my age now)
I am thinking about buying a aftermarket backplate to put on the back to maybe reinforce it?

Did that clip into a front mounted expension card retaining bracket like I mentioned before? I have worked with industrial computers in the past that used such metal brackets extending forward to balance the load.


While that will stop the GPU area from bending so much it will unfortunately concentrate all of the stress on the area near the PCI-E slot and the slot itself. Whats more you're adding weight to it as well. This would be useful but only if the outside and front of the card are suitably retained so that the card is braced all round. Looking between the front fans you've got a nice clear area which would form a suitable place to mount a custom made retaining bracket. Eg. A bit of wood with a groove cut in it!

I sent a Email to prolimatech yesterday explaining the situation and asking if it was safe. I got a response back today asking for photos etc and they will refer to their engineers for advice. I have referred them to this forum so will update if any further news/updates.

While that will stop the GPU area from bending so much it will unfortunately concentrate all of the stress on the area near the PCI-E slot and the slot itself.
Does it? AFAIK it's attached to the rear mounting bracket and actually reduces stress on the PCI-E slot.


Why'd you return the Asus? Noise issues?

Yeah, i thought the back plate would help matters also.

The asus card was faulty, it was actually a "b" grade item from overclockers uk, i took a gamble as it was a lot cheaper but there was a problem with it so i returned it. I actually went for the sapphire version as i heard the vapor x was quieter than the asus. It was, the asus sounded live a hoover but the sapphire still sounded like a hairdryer!

I have just updated this post as i forgot to show the previous message from them and some additional photos, it may make more sense now!


I got a response back from prolimatech today:-

Dear Sir,

According to our engineers, they mentioned that the fulcrum (the red circle of the attached mk-26.jpg picture) is on the left side; therefore, the right side (yellow part) will have the bent problem when you mount heavy fan on the right side.
The weight of MK-26 is similar to standard stock cooler (maybe heavier, but not big difference), you could weight your stock cooler to check about it.


We would suggest you to use light fans, such as our Ultra Sleek Vortex 14 fan.
http://www.prolimatech.com/en/products/ ... 08#showtab
We use two USV 14 fans on MK-26 on our computers and didn't have serious bent problem.

Best regards,

Dear Mat,

We made some tests of USV 14 fan pk other brand 14025 fans internally. Please see the attached pictures of our internal test for your information.
You'll find out that USV 14 fan beats Noctua NF-P14 from the test. After you have the USV 14 fans, please also test them with your other 14025 fans.
You'll be surprised of USV 14 fan's performance. If possible, could you please also share with us of your testing afterwards?
We would love to know about it. =)

Here's the link of one of our UK resellers:
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/search_re ... rolimatech
Please contact them for Prolimatech USV 14 fans. We've been arranging a batch of USV 14 fans to Europe already. I think they should have the USV 14 fans in stock soon.
BTW, you'll also need the USV 14 fan clips to mount the USV 14 fan on Megahalems and MK-26. Please see the attached flyer of USV 14 fan series clip.

Thank you for supporting Prolimatech.

Best regards,


I thought this was a fob off to be honest but then started looking into weights of fans, the noctuas weigh 330 grams each so that is 660g. the prolimatech thin fans weigh 90g each so thats 660grams vs 180 grams. It could make a lot of difference?
The only thing i would say about the prolimatech fans are the CFM figures at 1000RPM are quite high, especially at the volume they advise but i think im willing to give a go and see. I will try and upload the 8 photos they sent me as a rar file as they are quite interesting!

Strange way to test fans!

I have just updated the above post as i missed out some valuable information and some photos, also, the following link is discussing the heatsink and fans:-

http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?p=1 ... 1039542848

Well, had a excellent resonse from Prolimatech today, they are sending me 3 fans and fan clips and also some additional goodies to test. Here are 3 emails from them. I really like the look of the Fan mounting kit, that looks very good.

A few other companies should take note of prolimatech for customer service. I have had quite a few prolimatech products in the past and they are rewarding me for my custom which is a rarity these days!

Dear Mat,

I've discussed it with my superior. If you could take lots of photos and do some interesting tests of USV 14 fan and post them on different forums, we would love to provide you some USV 14 fans and USV 14 fan clips.
There are 4 varieties USV 14 fan clips. Please see the attached flyer of the USV 14 fan clip.

If the photos and tests arouse people's interest, we would love to provide you more samples of our new coming fans.

How do you think about that?

Best regards,

Dear Mathew,

Thank you for the prompt reply and we would love to send you 3 USV 14 fans, MK-26 and Megahalems USV 14 fan clips (each fan clip package includes 4pcs clips to mount 2pcs USV 14 fans)
Do you have Noctua 14cm fan? Our USV 14 can beat Noctua's 14cm fan too from our internal test.

Please also offer us with your contact phone number for EMS (express mail) shipping use.
We'll arrange to send you USV 14 fans and fan clips by EMS next week and will send you shipping notice afterwards.
And we would love to offer you with more samples in the future.

BTW, do you have interest of our FMK-01 (Fan Mounting Kit) and Magnetic Pin (attached with the picture and flyer for your information)?

Prolimatech FMK-01 (Fan Mounting Kit) :
The Fan Mounting Kit provides you with the ability to mount an additional four fans inside your case!
It is an excellent cooling solution for cases with poor air flow, especially smaller case designs like HTPCs.

http://www.prolimatech.com/uploadfile/en/news/UploadPic/20129251437170305.jpg
http://www.prolimatech.com/en/products/detail.asp?id=1736&subid=1738#showtab

Best regards,

Dear Matthew,

From the test, please note that we test both USV 14 fan and other brand fans all at 1,000 RPM.
USV 14 fan will beat other brand fans at fair condition (all at 1,000 RPM).

Best regards,

i hope these fans are as good as they look, i will hold out any judgement until i receive them to test. They are much lighter than the noctua which weights 330grams each and the prolimatech only weight 90 grams so they should stop the graphics card board bending so much. Also, if the fan specs are correct, they will put out more cooling at 1000rpm than the noctuas at 1500rpm and less noise.

I also like the look of the metal fan adapters they are going to provide, to fit rubber fan holders in my case is really fiddly so hopefully these should make things easier.

Would just like to say what a FANTASTIC company prolimatech are, this is what they sent me:-



Please see the rest of this post here and below for more information but i am REALLY impressed with these fans, its hard to compare them directly with the noctuas as they were 120mm and these are 140mm but these fans have reduced my temperatures substantially more than i thought they would and they are VERY quiet, much quieter than the noctuas were.

http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?p=1 ... 1039542848

congrats

That's interesting. The Asus DirectCU cooler seemed to do very well in this test at Xbit Labs. It was less than 32 db idle and 34 db under load compared to the 7970s which were 59 to 63 db under load. Was something wrong with the Asus fans on your model?

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/graphi ... html#sect0

No, nothing was wrong with the fans, they were just noisey! Im used to noctua fans and the asus cooler was far too noisey