Accelero X2 vs V1 Ultra vs VF900-Cu for silencing X1900XTX?

krille · Post by **krille** » Wed Apr 12, 2006 5:32 pm

jmke wrote:Accelero X2 vs V1 Ultra here: http://www.legionhardware.com/document.php?id=537

Although Accelero X2 performs worse (I wonder at what fan setting?) it is more silent. So that's definitely a plus and silence is what I ultimately was looking for.

NoDamage · Post by **NoDamage** » Wed Apr 12, 2006 7:51 pm

jmke wrote:Accelero X2 vs V1 Ultra here: http://www.legionhardware.com/document.php?id=537

Those results are pretty consistent with what I have seen so far. I assume that all 3 coolers were used with default settings/setup, so the Accelero and stock cooler temps would likely drop significantly once their fans are set to 100%. Similarly, the V-1 Ultra temps would also drop once a second fan is added (by default it only comes with one I think).

I would like to see a review where the Accelero and stock cooler are run at both auto and 100%, and the V-1 Ultra is run with various fan configurations ( one or two fans, high speed Deltas, undervolted Nexuses, etc), and the VF900 set to 12V and 5V.

jmke · Post by **jmke** » Wed Apr 12, 2006 11:02 pm

all I can say is: "soon"

peterson · Post by **peterson** » Thu Apr 13, 2006 4:11 am

The fact that the Accelero is on par with both VF900 and Thermalrights is impressive considering it has 'only' a 60mm fan that pushes ~10 cfm.
To me that is a proof of better design.

I bought one (the X1) today and will hopefully swap my VF700 for it. Assuming i can remove the ramsinks. I have a Panaflo 70mm thin High speed fan on it that is ok at 7V. At 12V it only drops 3-4°C.
I have normal ATX style mobo n stuff but will in a few days switch to 'Lian-Li style' with GPU above CPU. Hoppafully there will be some difference that i can report.

btw: I have a 6800GT so i may be slightly OT.

mimp · Post by **mimp** » Thu Apr 13, 2006 8:13 am

I have a thermalright V1 Ultra

2 Warnings

1) The stock fan is very noisy. Even at 50% speed it's audible over everything else (although only just) in my fairly quiet but not mega-silent system.

2 The stock fan is very tightly screwed on. I can't for the life of me get it loose, although i've been being a bit timid as i didnt think to try before i put on on my graphics card. I suppose i could take a drill to it.

Copper · Post by **Copper** » Thu Apr 13, 2006 8:23 am

jmke wrote:Accelero X2 vs V1 Ultra here: http://www.legionhardware.com/document.php?id=537

50+ DB is far from quiet, which is the problem. And he's calling it "nearly silent." The stock fan on the V1 Ultra at 12 volts makes a freakin' racket.

Given the results in the review, I'd think a good test at cooling an X1900XTX quietly would be the V1 Ultra with two Nexus fans. But doing so will take up two slots next to the cooler, a heavy penalty if you have other hardware to plug in. If anyone wants to send me one and a motherboard to run it on, I'll be glad to test it with my Ultra.

jmke · Post by **jmke** » Thu Apr 13, 2006 8:26 am

he doesn't state his ambient noise, he doesn't state the distance at which he measured the noise, and if it was in/outside a case.

so all those values can be used for is comparison between them; and in that case you can draw your conclusions that "stock" settings compared the Accelero is quietest of the bunch.

don't look at the values on their own as the ambient noise will differ pratically all the time, making inter-comparo's between sites impossible; unless they all start using the same special anechoic room.

also dB != dBA

10dBA increase = twice as loud
3dBA increase = just about noticeable

1dB increase = twice as loud.

A dB is a log number, so a 1dB increase means its twice as loud, a 2db increase means its 4 times as loud.

don't mix them up

peterson · Post by **peterson** » Fri Apr 14, 2006 2:39 am

Comparing th VF700 with a Accelero X1 on a 6800GT: The Vf700 w a Panaflo High speed @ 7V (~19cfm), the X1 @ 12V. The X1 cools a few degrees better, and is just a bit quieter. But it's a different kind of noise. More of a vibrating one. Not noticed with case door closed, case under desk.
Impressive regarding the X1 has half the airflow. (~10cfm)

halcyon · Post by **halcyon** » Fri Apr 14, 2006 1:40 pm

jmke wrote: 10dBA increase = twice as loud
3dBA increase = just about noticeable
1dB increase = twice as loud.

Nope.

3dB rise = twice the intensity
6-10dB rise = twice the loudness (depending on frequency spetrum)

intensity <> loudness

dB(A) = dB with A weighting.

Difference between 20dB(A) and 23dB(A) is 3dB, not 3dBA.

JND for intensity of a human hear is often approximated at 1dB (it's a function of frequency)

However this doesn't mean that a sound with a 0.3dB more energy at 3.8kHz cannot sound louder and more annoying. Loudness detection for various sounds can go down to 0.1dB.

dB (weighted or not) is not a very useful perceptual measure of comparative sound annoyance.

Psychophysically derived sone measurement is much better for that.

Ultimatetone · Post by **Ultimatetone** » Sat Apr 15, 2006 9:31 am

NoDamage wrote:I think the Sytrin VF1 needs to be added to your list of contenders.
The problem with the reviews is that many of them seem to contradict each other. though.

Tom's Hardware Review of the Sytrin KuFormula VF1 Plus posted April 14, 2006

Ultimatetone

krille · Post by **krille** » Wed Apr 19, 2006 8:06 am

I received my Sapphire X1900XTX today and I just mounted the Accelero X2. I can tell you this: At idle, it is inaudible. I love it. There cannot possibly be a better option for silence. I would recommend it to everyone looking into purchasing a high-end ATI (or nVidia) card! No idea about temps yet though.

Copper · Post by **Copper** » Wed Apr 19, 2006 10:01 am

krille wrote:I received my Sapphire X1900XTX today and I just mounted the Accelero X2. I can tell you this: At idle, it is inaudible. I love it. There cannot possibly be a better option for silence. I would recommend it to everyone looking into purchasing a high-end ATI (or nVidia) card! No idea about temps yet though.

That's good news, Krille. Thanks for letting us know.

halcyon · Post by **halcyon** » Thu Apr 20, 2006 8:07 am

I also put an Accelero X2 on my x1900xtx. It's not inaudible to me at idle (it all depends on your base system sound) when I turn my other fans down.

My computer is not super quiet currently, but X2 is acceptable for what it does (cool down x1900xtx to tolerable levels).

Be warned however that X2 does push the heat out of the back of the card, straight onto chipset and pwm area on some motherboards (including DFI Lanparty NF4 Ultra series).

My NB temps and PWM temps went up considerably. I had to put a separate 80mm fan at 6V to cool these areas.

With a Ninja plus 2 x 120mm X2 80mm extran fan for NB/PWM one 92mm for 4xHD, my machine is by no means silent, but it is tolerable, considering the heat monsters it contains.

I'm still hoping somebody comes out with a quiet Arctic cooling VGA cooler type of efficient cooler that pushes out the heat from the case (and not inside the case).

stukovx · Post by **stukovx** » Thu Apr 20, 2006 1:45 pm

I dont think that reviewer mentioned that the v-1 has the option for a second 80mm fan or the fact that the stock v-1 could be replaced with a much quieter fan.

I have the v-1 myself(not installed yet), but I have tested the fan that it came with. That thing sounds like a rat committing suicide. I had 2X120mm nexus fans at 12v and a seasonic s-12 430w running along with a 5v vf-700. That single 80mmX15mm fan was probably twice if not three times as loud as my whole system.

Tzupy · Post by **Tzupy** » Fri Apr 21, 2006 2:27 am

For those interested, Overclockers UK has now in stock the HIS Radeon X1900 XT(X) IceQ 3.
I doubt it would be as quiet as the Accelero, but for those who don't want to void the warranty it may be acceptable.

krille · Post by **krille** » Sun Apr 23, 2006 6:15 am

Tzupy wrote:For those interested, Overclockers UK has now in stock the HIS Radeon X1900 XT(X) IceQ 3.
I doubt it would be as quiet as the Accelero, but for those who don't want to void the warranty it may be acceptable.

I don't think so.

Iirc AnandTech came to the conclusion the HIS IceQ was about 1dB or so quieter than the reference cooler.

Tzupy · Post by **Tzupy** » Sun Apr 23, 2006 9:29 am

The Anandtech review didn't mention the temps. IIRC the HIS IceQ 3 is supposed to run ~10C cooler than the stock cooler.
For the X1900 XT (not XTX) this may allow for some room for fan speed adjustment.
I agree it can't be SPCR quiet, but it exhausts most of the heat out of the case.
The Accelero may be a lot quieter, but 100W dumped in the case may require an increase in CPU / case fan speeds.

krille · Post by **krille** » Tue Apr 25, 2006 12:51 pm

Tzupy wrote:The Anandtech review didn't mention the temps. IIRC the HIS IceQ 3 is supposed to run ~10C cooler than the stock cooler.
For the X1900 XT (not XTX) this may allow for some room for fan speed adjustment.
I agree it can't be SPCR quiet, but it exhausts most of the heat out of the case.
The Accelero may be a lot quieter, but 100W dumped in the case may require an increase in CPU / case fan speeds.

I'd still go with the X2, but you do have a point. AnandTech used the lower temps to get a higher OC, an SPCR member may instead use it to reduce noise. Still, the X2 at 100% is inaudible when compared to a stock cooler at idle and I think CPU, PSU and case exhaust fan voltages would have to be raised a lot (well-beyond 12v in most cases, considering we're mostly using Nexus fans and the like) in order to emit as much noise as a stock ATI X1900XT cooler emits. Even the HIS IceQ 3 I believe. Can't say for sure of course, since I've never tried it.

~ Kris

hapveg · Post by **hapveg** » Tue May 02, 2006 3:58 pm

Krille, it's been a week, are you still happy with your AC X2 / X1900XTX? No niggling annoyances / overheating problems / second thoughts?

(I'm planning on getting the same setup)

hapveg · Post by **hapveg** » Sat May 06, 2006 6:34 pm

I'm using a PowerColor X1900XTX 512MB. I expected the stock cooler to be horrendous, but was pleasantly surprised. It sounds like it has 3 speed settings, depending on temperature, at normal 2D temperatures the card is noisy, but nothing like a delta.

The Arctic Cooling Accelero X2 was pretty simple to install (at a very cautious slow speed it took me about 10-15 minutes, but if I had to do another it would only take 4), it's a lot quieter, in 2D it's virtually silent, quieter than my CPU cooler (AC Silencer 64, at 1000RPM).

An interesting thing though....

The X1900XTX has loads more pixel shaders than other cards, currently the only games I know of which really make use of these are FEAR and Oblivion.

So I load up Condemned: Criminal Origins (uses the FEAR engine, and looked terrible on my Geforce 6500), and I hear a high pitched whine when using the menus, the freqency changes when my mouse goes over one of the keywords (like NEW GAME - LOAD GAME - etc).

At first I thought it was the PSU, then the vidcard fan, but after testing the noise is actually coming from the card itself. Transistors, capacitors, I dunno, but it's not the fan

I've double checked, and I'm not going mad, this is accurate.

It's fine in the actual game, just the menus, and the problem hasn't appeared in any other game.

Seems a bit odd though.

roadie · Post by **roadie** » Thu May 18, 2006 1:53 am

hapveg wrote: So I load up Condemned: Criminal Origins (uses the FEAR engine, and looked terrible on my Geforce 6500), and I hear a high pitched whine when using the menus, the freqency changes when my mouse goes over one of the keywords (like NEW GAME - LOAD GAME - etc).

At first I thought it was the PSU, then the vidcard fan, but after testing the noise is actually coming from the card itself. Transistors, capacitors, I dunno, but it's not the fan

I've double checked, and I'm not going mad, this is accurate.

It's fine in the actual game, just the menus, and the problem hasn't appeared in any other game.

Seems a bit odd though.

I get something a bit like this when Trackmania Nations is loading up. It is odd but doesn't seem to adversly affect anything.

On another note, I am looking to replace the stock cooler on my x1900xt, as it by far the noisiest thing in my case (Gigabyte Aurora with 3xEverflow 120mm fans @ 900rpm, Arctic Freexer 64 Pro @ 1000rpm). I am in two minds as to get the Accelero or the V1 Ultra.

One part of me likes the Accelero, as it is quiet at stock and cheap but it is really designed for BTX and my motherboard layout means that the air exiting the Accelero would have no where to go, as my PCI card slots are full. The V1 Ultra is more expensive, especially with a replacement fan. What I am thinking about is fitting the V1 Ultra with a 14dbA 80x15mm SlienX or 80x15mm Zalman fan on the GPU side and then a 14dbA 80x25mm SlienX fan on the rear side of the card where most of the heat will go.

What does everyone think of these two options?

I have also been thinking about the 92x25mm fan that Silverstone have fitted in a 80mm frame for the reverse side of the V1 Ultra. However, it may be a tad noisy.
http://www.silverstonetek.com/products-fn82.htm

roadie · Post by **roadie** » Mon May 22, 2006 2:36 am

Ok, so here is what I have decided:

1xThermalright V1 Ultra
1xAcoustifan 80x25mm fan with resistor
1xZalman ZM-OP1 80x15mm fan with resistor

The Zalman will sit on the front heatsink next to the PCI cards to stir a bit of air at 5V. The Acoustifan will sit on the rear to cool the radiator and I will experiment with its orientation. Ideally I would like it to be blowing up so that hot air will be exhausted directly by the 2x120mm fans on the rear of my case.

Overall, I think this will be a pretty good performing, yet quiet solution to cooling the X1900.

Accelero X2 vs V1 Ultra vs VF900-Cu for silencing X1900XTX?

Which will allow the most silent cooling for X1900XTX?

New Sytrin KuFormula VF1 Plus Review