Installation Tips

There is nothing we can say about the compatibility of the new Accelero XTREME 4870X2 cooler, because it is absolutely clear that it can only fit onto Radeon HD 4870 X2 graphics accelerators as it was specifically developed only for this particular card. HIS Company was kind enough to provide us with a proper graphics card for our today’s tests:

The first thing that you need to do is remove the default cooler from your graphics card by undoing all screws along the perimeter of the card and on the retention bracket:

After that you should install the aluminum heatsinks on the voltage regulator components. After cleaning and degreasing the surfaces place the thermal pads bundled with the card on top of them:

After that install the heatsinks over the pads:

If you apply a little pressure to the heatsinks, they will stick pretty securely and won’t come off during the rest of the installation procedure, as it may often happen. Once the heatsink have been installed over the voltage regulator components, place the thermal pads over the memory chips and the bridge chip between the two GPUs:

Then connect two twisted adapter cables…

… and fasten the cooler with screws. However, this is where we experienced a problem. The thing is that there were no retention screws bundled with the cooler that we received for review, because the cooler was intended to be installed using default spring-screws and X-backplates that come with the graphics card. However, during the installation procedure we noticed that the default screws were too short. Take a look (default Radeon HD 4870 X2 screw side by side with the new one):

That is why we had to replace the default screws with longer ones, which we received a little later. As we were told by Arctic Cooling officials, they were already aware of the issue and have decided to include a new screw set in the newly produced Accelero XTREME 4870X2. They also posted up the information on their official website for those end-users who bought the old stock instructing them on how to get new screws free of charge (you have to send a request to freezer@arctic-cooling.com and wait for about two weeks).

Before installing the cooler, do not forget to remove the protective plastic film from the aluminum base plate that will contact the video memory chips through thermal pads. After that you can tighten the screws:

The aluminum plate from the Radeon HD 4870 X2 graphics card default cooler is then installed onto the back of the card, where it also contacts the memory chips via thermal pads. Besides, you also insert three screws through this aluminum plate and they securely hold the heatsinks on the voltage regulator components.

Once we completed the installation, we noticed that the PCB got a little bent:

We took a closer look at Accelero XTREME 4870X2 and discovered that both heat-spreader plates and the aluminum plate between them do not go along the same straight line. This must be a production defect that occurred during heatpipes soldering to the base, or the issue with just this particular cooler sample. You can easily fix it by hand by bending slightly the first cooler heat-spreader.

This is what installed Accelero XTREME 4870X2 looks like inside the system case:

The graphics card with this cooler on it blocks two PCI slots next to it. And even though Arctic Cooling claims that this card can be used in CrossFireX configurations, I am very concerned that its efficiency may not be the same with another cooler like that being dangerously close. Here I also have to add that when we installed Accelero XTREME 4870X2 onto our graphics card, the cooler went 25 mm past the farther side of the already long Radeon HD 4870 X2 card. You should keep it in mind when you decide to buy this cooler or will shop for a system case (there should be at least 295 mm from the back of the case to the HDD chassis). You can download the installation instructions from the official company web-site (PDF-file, 2 MB).