|
The size difference
between the CoolViva Pro and the reference cooler is dramatic. The
CoolViva is almost twice as thick at the heat sink and stands almost two
inches above the card. The card weighs in at a respectable 320g.
As you can see above, the fan vents about 1.5 inches from the back of
the card. This means the CoolViva vents inside your case.
From this angle you can see just how
much of the heat sink is open to the case. The Connect3D design
features a vented slot space already, but installing the included vented
slot cover as a third might be advisable if you have the room.
With the card installed in the first
slot the CoolViva is just large enough it covers the second PCI-E slot
on my ASUS motherboard. If you are planning on running Crossfire
or SLI, you will want to measure the distance carefully before going
with the CoolViva.
Testing:
For testing I ran the X1900 XT at the
default clock speeds shown here using the latest driver (Catalyst
Version 7.1). Temperatures were taken at the exhaust vent (the
back of the heat sink on the CoolVita), the back of the video card
opposite the GPU and the RAM furthest from the GPU. Temperatures
were also recorded using the current temperature reading in the Catalyst
Control Center. During testing the ambient room temperature was 74
Degrees.
Idle temperatures were recorded after
allowing the configuration to run overnight. Load temperatures
were recorded during the third consecutive run of
Futuremark's 3DMark
06 Version 1.1.0. All temperatures were recorded using a Cen-Tec
Laser probe at a distance of about 4 inches.
|
Exhaust Temperature |
Idle |
100%
Utilization |
| Connect3D stock
cooler |
91°F |
111°F |
| Cooler Master
CoolVita Pro |
92°F |
101°F |
For our first test we will compare the exhaust
temperatures. Although the CoolVita idle temperature is a
degree higher, remember it was taken much closer to the GPU as well.
With the GPU maxed out the CoolVita really shines with 10°
shaved of the stock cooler! Still I wonder how much difference
in the motherboard and RAM temperatures exhausting the air inside
will make in most builds. In the Nine Hundred setup I used the
difference was only about 2°s
at peak.
|
Backside of GPU Temperature |
Idle |
100%
Utilization |
| Connect3D stock
cooler |
107°F |
156°F |
| Cooler Master
CoolVita Pro |
102°F |
124°F |
The GPU temperature is critical in both stability
and performance. A stable GPU will increase your overclocking
headroom and extend the life of your video card. With the GPU
heat test the CoolVita really shines beating the stock cooler by
5° at idle and a whopping 32° at load!
|
RAM
Temperature |
Idle |
100%
Utilization |
| Connect3D stock
cooler |
99°F |
137°F |
| Cooler Master
CoolVita Pro |
84°F |
89°F |
I was a bit skeptical that the
included heat sinks would be effective with the new fan and heat
sink setup. As you can see here, I was way wrong. The
heat sinks not only trounced the stock cooling buy 15° at idle the
temperature remained stable at load leading to an unreal temperature
difference of 48° at load.
|
Catalyst GPU Temperature |
Idle |
100%
Utilization |
| Connect3D stock
cooler |
48°F |
87°F |
| Cooler Master
CoolVita Pro |
43°F |
72°F |
While the Catalyst Control Center
isn't probably the most accurate measuring tool, the differences
here are pretty consistent with those recorded above. Idle
temps are lower by about 5° and load temperatures by 15°.
It wouldn't be ClubOC if we didn't
find some way to include some overclocking right? Using the
ATI Automated Clock Configuration Utility to get a quick and dirty
overclock (20 MHz??) I recorded the numbers above at idle. As
you can see, the GPU temperature says at 43° even during the
overclocking. With a stronger overclocking effort you will see
much better numbers I am sure!
Conclusion:
As video cards get faster heat
becomes more of a limiting factor on performance. With the
CoolViva Pro, Cooler Master has provided a solid performance upgrade
that performs nearly silent. After the stock cooler, they
could have provided the stock performance at the 20 dBA level and I
would have been happy! The performance increase is simply the
frosting on a very nice looking cake. Size issues may prevent
the CoolViva from working in some installs where space is limited
such as HTPC installations and some Crossfire setups. I liked
the aggressive look of the CoolViva Pro and the size is definitely
impressive. It is also nice to see active cooling and heat
pipe technology moving from the CPU market to the GPU coolers.
The consistent temperature drops across the board we found during
testing make the CoolViva Pro a very attractive addition to any high
end video card.
|
 |
|
Innovation: |
9.0
out of 10 |
|
Performance: |
9.0 out of 10 |
|
Quality: |
9.5
out of 10 |
|
Stability: |
10
out of 10 |
|
Overclocking: |
N/A |
|
Software/Drivers Pack: |
N/A |
|
Value: |
9.0 out of 10 |
|
Overall Rating
9.0 |
 |
 |
|
 |
|
Project Skill Level
(10 being most difficult) |
5
out of 10 |
|
