AeroCool DoublePower VGA Cooler Review

I installed the AeroCool DoublePower VGA cooler on to one of my EVGA 7800 GTX cards and installed it on my ABIT Fatal1ty AN9 32X Motherboard. The build includes an AMD Athlon AM2 5600+, 2 x 2GB Mushkin XP2-6400 modules, and powered by an Ultra X3 1000 Watt power supply. Storage was provided by both 160 GB and 250 GB Maxtor SATA II drives and a Lite-on 16x DVD burner all mounted in the Tagan El Diablo case.

Hardware	Model
Operating System:	MS Windows XP Professional
Motherboard:	ABIT Fatal1ty AN9 32X
CPU	AMD AM2 5600+
Memory	2x 2 GB kit of Mushkin XP2-6400
Graphics	EVGA 7800 GTX
Power Supply	Ultra X3 1000 Watt
Drives	160 and 250 GB Maxtor SATA II, 16X Lite-on DVD Burner

The first step required to install the DoublePower is to remove your factory cooler and prep the heatsink for the new components. Here you can see our donor EVGA 7800 GTX prepped for surgery. It is critical you make sure the memory chips are clean and dry.

Next place one of the memory heatsinks firmly onto the card. I found that getting these guys to stick is like playing the lottery, the lucky ones will find one that just doesn't want to stick. I got my best results when the heatsinks sat for a bit after they were installed. Moving the card too soon resulted in one or more falling off during the card install. The reality is most cards don't need these extra heatsinks if the system airflow is good, but the inclusion allows for more effective cooling which should lead to better performance!

Next I placed eth mounting screws through the board using the included non-conductive washers and applied the included heatsink compound. There are a lot of different theories on how to apply the compound, I use a thin layer smoothed out by a finger.

Now center the heatsink over the chipset and gently set it down. The heatpipes should lead towards the back and top of the card.

Finally place one tension spring and a washer on each of the screws. place the nut on each post and tighten the screws in opposite order like changing a tire. This should result in an even pressure on the chipset and a smooth layer of heatsink compound for optimal performance.

The Double power can be plugged into a standard 12 V run or any 3 pin controller. Since the 7800 GTX has a four pin socket, I ended up plugging the 12 V pass through into may motherboard accessory socket.

Now install the video card back into the system gently. Take care to not accidentally knock off one of the memory heatsinks because its a real pain to get to some of them with the cooler installed! The end result looks pretty good with the lights all lit up.

To test the performance of the AreroCool DoublePower I first let the system idle overnight to record a good idle temperature. Next I ran the system solid for about an hour in TeamFortress 2 to get it warmed up and then recorded the peak temperature during a run of Futuremarks 3DMark 06. For comparison I will also test the lab favorite Artic Cooling NV5. Test temperatures were taken from the center of the chipset and from the exposed back of the card, the higher temperature was recorded each time.

As you can see from the above chart. The AeroCool DoublePower idles at a solid 108 F (42 C) and reaches a load temperature of 135F (57 C). Compared to the more expensive Artic Cooling design the DoublePower looks pretty good.

The only major concern with the DoublePower design is the lack of any method to exhaust the hot air out of the case. With the card installed in the Tagan El Diablo Case and the 320mm side fan at max, the card temperature dropped another 6 degrees on average. Without this solid system airflow to depend on, all of the hot air from your video card will be expended right into the center of your system.

The AeroCool DoublePower VGA Cooler represents a new way to incorporate a heatpipe design into VGA cooling without breaking the bank. I found the performance about what I would expect at this price point but the Double Power faces some stiff competition for your hard earned $40. The size if the heatsink and the placement of the fan section make a dual card setup impossible on most standard motherboards. The only other major drawback is the lack of any external exhaust solution to draw all that heat out of your system. Installation was easy and the overall look is unlike anything else I have tested. The neutral choice of a white light makes the DoublePower an aesthetic match for your windowed installations too. Based on the performance, I would call this cooler a solid buy that should hold its own in any single card installation.