Thermalright T-Rad² Review

BuddyJBuddyJ Dept. of PropagandaOKC Icrontian
edited November 2008 in Science & Tech

Comments

  • KometeKomete Member
    edited November 2008
    Wow that thing looks monstrous. Looks like video card heatsinks are catching up with cpu heatsink in size and design categories. Great review.
  • BuddyJBuddyJ Dept. of Propaganda OKC Icrontian
    edited November 2008
    Thanks Komete. It's pretty large, but when compared to what else is out there on the market, it's a small fry.
  • KometeKomete Member
    edited November 2008
    I guess it's been about two years since I last looked at VGA coolers. I once had a zalman v something. Taking a look on newegg, they are bigger. But that one looks like it is running with the pack. I'm thinking, sooner or later they'll have to redesign cases and cooling paths to accommodate the need for future gpu coolers.
  • BuddyJBuddyJ Dept. of Propaganda OKC Icrontian
    edited November 2008
    Yep, from what I gather, this one runs well above average, but if you want the best in VGA air cooling, there are others that'll net you a few more degrees. The other Thermalright model is one of them, and the Arctic Cooling Accelero Twin Turbo supposedly is equal to or better than the TRad2. I'd love to review both of them and compare results to the TRad2.
  • LeonardoLeonardo Wake up and smell the glaciers Eagle River, Alaska Icrontian
    edited November 2008
    the Arctic Cooling Accelero Twin Turbo
    I don't know about the "Twin Turbo" part, but I run two of the Accelero coolers on 8800GTs. They are superb. Although you can easily run video cards with the Accelero with no fan at all, I've mounted low-flow (quiet) 120mm fans on mine. Overkill? Definitely! :bigggrin:

    With these big coolers, I assume the T-rad thing also, you can run video cards dead silent at full load.

    Nice work on the review, Buddy J!
  • BuddyJBuddyJ Dept. of Propaganda OKC Icrontian
    edited November 2008
    The engineers at Thermalright don't recommend running the TRad2 without a fan for whatever reason. I took their word for it instead of risking roasting my only good video card. ;)

    The Accelero Twin Turbo is pretty much what you've got, but they've gone and mounted dual 80mm thin fans to it. The guys over at Legion Hardware have reviewed both coolers if you're interested.
  • LeonardoLeonardo Wake up and smell the glaciers Eagle River, Alaska Icrontian
    edited November 2008
    OK, I know what you're talking about now. I already had quiet, low-flow 120mm fans in my parts bin, so I just mounted them. Think back to just a few years ago. Who would have thought of a VGA cooler that would easily accept a 1 2 0 millimeter fan! LOL

    I have two machines running 8800GTs, overclocked and at full load. Both those video cards are cooled with Acceleros mounted with 120s. Ambient room temperature now is 74F (heat in the house radiates up to the top floor). One card is running at 41C and the other at 44C.

    I think the TRad2's design and execution is very good, but at 50-80% higher cost than the Accelero, I just don't see it.
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