X-bit labs

New Graphics Card Cooling Solution from Cooler Master: CoolViva Pro Review

Category: Coolers

by Sergey Lepilov

[ 03/12/2007 | 10:12 AM ]

Today we will talk about an extremely quiet and highly efficient graphics card cooling system from Cooler Master. It is built using three heatpipes and sells at a much more attractive price than the competitors’ solutions. Read more in our review!

Table of contents:

• Package and Accessories
  
• Design and Functionality
  
• Testbed and Methods
  
• Thermal Performance
  
• Conclusion
  

Stock coolers of some graphics cards from ATI and Nvidia have been criticized on our site for being too noisy. I think that a graphics card cooler must be very quiet, besides just being good at cooling. Such factors as price, compatibility, ease of installation and others become unimportant when a high-performance cooler proves to be too loud.

Cooler Master seems to agree with me on that point as it has recently released a new graphics card cooler, CoolViva Pro (RV-UCH-P7U1-GP), with a declared noise of only 20dBA. And the low noise level is not the only strong point of the CoolViva Pro. This cooler is said to be able to cool effectively not only the GPU but also the PCB elements surrounding it. The manufacturer declares compatibility with all modern graphics cards and ships the product at a recommended price of $35.

Package and Accessories

The cooler comes in an average-sized transparent plastic box:

So, you can examine the face side of the cooler even before purchasing it. There is a paper insert between the two halves of the box with information about the cooler’s declared noise (20dBA) and compatibility with ATI and Nvidia graphics cards, and with icons that show the key features of the new cooler.

The back side of the insert is more informative:

The cooler’s key features are complemented with a picture of its bottom, a list of graphics cards you can install your CoolViva Pro on, a detailed specification, and other, less useful, information.

The following accessories lie inside the plastic tray under the cooler:

• Installation guide
• Power cable for the blower with two types of connectors and a Molex adapter
• Two metallic clips
• Cooler Master thermal grease
• PCI slot bracket
• Studs, spring-loaded screws, a square soft pad and spacers
• Eight aluminum heatsinks for GDDR3 memory chips