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Chinese GPU cooler

A

a3venom

Gawd
Joined
Mar 3, 2015
Messages
695
So, this cooler costs about $20 on aliexpress, was wondering if it'd be worth it- i know nothign about coolers.
but $20 is nothing i am thinking to try it out.
i have a reference 290, which runs at 80-85 while max load, 80% fan speed

i think this should give me a cooler gpu?

https://translate.google.com/transl...ndex&a=show&catid=13&id=51&edit-text=&act=url

has anyone tried something like this before?
other coolers are around $100, which is more than half the price of my card so i would never even think about getting them
 
I would not trust that cooler. Those fans look cheap and the quality will likely be poor for $20.

The 290/290x is just a hot and loud card.

The great thing about bolt on coolers is that they are not specific to your card. The best solution IMO for the 290/290x cards is to add an AiO cooler. Yes, you'll spend $100, but you'll get lower temps and less noise. Plus, when you upgrade, you can put that cooler on a new card.
 
Probably doesn't get tried often.....20 dollar gamble so its not a huge loss.....from the picture it looks pretty good but i cant even see that its certified to fit a reference 290

its certainly a gamble......was kinda thinking all in one coolers myself regardless that they cost more
 
primetime said:
was kinda thinking all in one coolers myself regardless that they cost more
Click to expand...

I used the same 120mm AiO cooler on a 660ti, 7950, 7970, and 290x. The cooling performance was vastly superior to HSF combo while being greatly lower in noise.

I have now switched to water blocks for the GPU, but I am still using an AiO, Swiftech h220-x.
 
you will need to either use the old school zip tie method or buy a bracket like the g10 to make a cpu AiO cooler work with a gpu.
 
a3venom said:
can that actually work?
Click to expand...

Surprisingly, yes...sometimes. The reference coolers for the 290/290X are poor on a number of fronts, but a big one is the airflow. In order to move enough air through the heatsink assembly to keep temperatures in check, the noise is off-the-charts. Removing the airflow restrictions by removing the shroud and zip tying a couple fans to the bare heatsink may actually be just as worthwhile a $20 gamble.

Actually, after looking at it further, it looks like the reference 290X cooler was designed exclusively for a blower-style fan. That's kind of too bad. I used the previously mentioned redneck method on a 9800 and 480 with good results, but the layout of their reference coolers were different.
 
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I would not get this GPU cooler since it doesnt cool the VRM area.
 
I don't consider the gamble to be the $20 of the GPU cooler, the real gamble is the Warranty on your GPU and possibly the GPU itself, will you risk overheating, and possibly damaging your GPU if the Heatsink does not work as intended?

My other main skeptical part is that, on the specs, it says it is compatible with nVidia and ATI cards. ATI has not been in existence since 2006, which suggests that either the website is very poorly maintained, the webmaster does not know that, or the design have not changed in almost 10 years, all of which, IMHO, raises alarms.

Personally I'd look at heatsinks that are made specifically for your 290 card, or look for a reputable brand.
 
chibe said:
I would not get this GPU cooler since it doesnt cool the VRM area.
Click to expand...

could probably put small heat sinks on the vrms (like 5 bucks?).....those fans might blow enough air to cool them if this is done...keep a very close eye on temps when testing and any risk is minimal
 
I would love to see a CFM/RPM/noise test comparing typical GPU fans vs full-size 80~90mm fans.
Those little fans are SHIT. Take them off and compare them side-by-side in your hands. They're like little fun size (bite size) candy bars.

I have seen the light, I'll never use em again.
 
well the bad thing is, i dont even see the 290 listed as being on the compatible list
Capture_zpsis0hqsbq.png
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http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Twin...-pipe-cooling-fan-to-meet-the/1871645746.html
So it doesn't appear to work for that card anyway unless they forgot to list the 290...but i don't know about that
 
Either there is a real-world review on said cooler or pass it by. I vote the latter in this instance.
 
AceGoober said:
Either there is a real-world review on said cooler or pass it by. I vote the latter in this instance.
Click to expand...

This actually sounds like solid advice.....if its decent somebody somewhere has reviewed it
 
It might work. but you still have to deal with VRM cooling. For $20, it doesn't look bad. It looks to be about the same size as the Rev. 2 ICY VISION by Gelid. I have the Gelid on my 290 and they cool pretty well. On eBay, it's $30 shipped.
 
primetime said:
could probably put small heat sinks on the vrms (like 5 bucks?).....those fans might blow enough air to cool them if this is done...keep a very close eye on temps when testing and any risk is minimal
Click to expand...

With tall solid copper enzotech vrm sinks the vrms on my gtx 280 got way hotter than with the stock heatsink and that was with a lot of airflow.

I had to butcher a d-tek unisink to get the performance that I felt comfortable with.
 
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