The Sytrin KuFormula VF1 Plus VGA Cooler

I wonder, how would it perform on a real video card?
 
I'm thinking they should remove "Intelligence" from their site name.

Talk about sagging in the slot (I don't trust that bracket)...and yeah, reviewing it on anything but a high end card is kinda useless.
 
Um, I've had the VF1 Plus on my X1800XT for about a week now. (Got it from a freind whom did a review). I also have a X1900XT with an Accelero X2 on it. The VF1 first off has no stability issues. It is tight with the card and feels as secure as the older "Silencer" models by Arctic Cooling for example. As a comparrison, the Accelero took my X1900XT from the stock cooling temp of around 52C down to 43C and load temps of 67C stock to 55C with the Accelero. My X1800XT had nearly the same stock temps. (same room) of around 52C idle. The VF1 Plus has taken it to 37C and I've never yet seen the load temps top 44C. It is as quiet as the Accelero and honestly, is the best Video cooling solution I've ever owned. It also comes with all the adapters to fit all cards except matrox cards and new adapters for upcoming cards will be available from Sytrin for the cost of shipping for the next 2 years.

Bottom line, don't knock something bew before you've seen it or tried it.
 
I was tired of waiting for a real cooler to come out...so I cut up an old Athlon 64 heatsink, attached it to the GPU with thermal paste, and propped an 80mm fan over it. Works fine for me :)
 
Guys Please expect my review on the cooler using my new X1800XT tomarrow. I will start a new thread as I will be testing my 6800NU, and my new X1800XT 256MB Card :D
 
Yes you can. I have one installed in my Ultra-D. Both PCI slots are open. Wireless card in the top one, X-FI in my bottom one. It takes up no more room than a dual slot cooler would.
 
Vengance_01 said:
Guys Please expect my review on the cooler using my new X1800XT tomarrow. I will start a new thread as I will be testing my 6800NU, and my new X1800XT 256MB Card :D
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Obviously you did not post your review. Any reason? (other than mispelling tomorrow)
 
Vengance_01 said:
Yes you can. I have one installed in my Ultra-D. Both PCI slots are open. Wireless card in the top one, X-FI in my bottom one. It takes up no more room than a dual slot cooler would.
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Excellent! I have on on the way for my 7900GT.
 
BBA said:
Obviously you did not post your review. Any reason? (other than mispelling tomorrow)
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LOL Been busy as hell, I am kinda stillwriting it. I am also trying to get a an X1900XT and a 7900GT to test with as well. May also get a new VF-900.
 
Vengance_01 said:
LOL Been busy as hell, I am kinda stillwriting it. I am also trying to get a an X1900XT and a 7900GT to test with as well. May also get a new VF-900.
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Very interested in seeing how the VF900 fares...
 
One of the spring-loaded screws that comes with the VF1 is missing its screw so I can't install my cooler. Hopefully they have responsive customer support :(
 
Don't waste your money if you have a 1900 series it does not seat properly for me. You can make it fit but it will wobble from side to side. You only get 2 metal hold down pieces when you should get 4. This leaves you with only 2 holes to use it with as you attempt to attach it onto the card. This takes some "creative" thinking when you install this HS as the manual only gives you the basics. Installation is more of a generic all 4 one IMO and you have to read and understand which brackets are used with each VC. The fan is not as strong as I hoped for... If I didn't know better I say I have a defective product all together. This is nothing like the reviews I linked at the start of this thread...nothing at ALL.
:mad:
 
You only need 2. And it is the best cooler for the X1900/X1800 cards out ATM. Mine mounted just fine, a bit difficult, but works great atm, way better than stock :D
 
OK, I got the replacement screw and I now have the Kuformula installed and my 7900GT voltmodded. I'm running 1.5V through the core and overclocking to 720MHz and I'm hovering at 50 - 51 degrees after running rthdribl for a while. I'm extremely impressed with this cooler. With the stock cooler, I was hitting 67 degrees with only 1.2V and 553 Mhz core. Absolutely stunning performance for $43 shipped.
 
so what do you guys think?

I'm on the fence between the VF1 or the Zalman VF900??
Thoughts?

I knwo the VF1 delivers great performance..but is it that hard to install? If so - i'd rather spend the extra $10 on teh zalman.
 
Wow, this thing is looking really nice. I was gonna be looking for the best aircooler out there for my upcoming X850XT-PE...and it was looking like it was gonna come down to either the VF-900 or the Thermalright, but now I'm not too sure.

Hmm...

We'll see, I might still end up going with the VF-900 for looks, the Styrin looks ridiculous IMO...and if I drop a CNPS-9500 on my CPU it'd be nice to have matching coolers...I it doesn't look like I'd be sacrificing TOO much performance going with the Zalman.
 
waterboy787 said:
I knwo the VF1 delivers great performance..but is it that hard to install?
Click to expand...

No, as long as you have all of the screws :D My case is a POS and my motherboard has a cramped layout and I still managed to find the room to install it.

The VF900 is the more eloquent solution for sure but I think the VF1 will be able to handle more heat.


cornelious0_0 said:
Wow, this thing is looking really nice. I was gonna be looking for the best aircooler out there for my upcoming X850XT-PE...and it was looking like it was gonna come down to either the VF-900 or the Thermalright, but now I'm not too sure.
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Wouldn't those coolers be overkill for an X850? I don't think you'll get a good return on your $40 - $50+ investment.
 
aldamon said:
OK, I got the replacement screw and I now have the Kuformula installed and my 7900GT voltmodded. I'm running 1.5V through the core and overclocking to 720MHz and I'm hovering at 50 - 51 degrees after running rthdribl for a while. I'm extremely impressed with this cooler. With the stock cooler, I was hitting 67 degrees with only 1.2V and 553 Mhz core. Absolutely stunning performance for $43 shipped.
Click to expand...
Nice job. Its keeping my X1800XT in check nicely
:D
 
aldamon said:
Wouldn't those coolers be overkill for an X850? I don't think you'll get a good return on your $40 - $50+ investment.
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Not necessarily...if you look into it, the temperature difference between an X1800/1900 is not all that different from an X850XT-PE. Aside from the fact that it'd cool better than the X850's stock cooler, either aftermarket option would be MUCH quieter, as the X850XT-PE's factory cooling is far from silent. Ontop of that, the VF900 is more or less a single-slot cooler, and any reviews I've seen comparing the VF900 to the Sytrin (on more midrange cards) show the Sytrin only beating the VF900 by a couple degrees tops. I'd personally go with the VF900 based on the fact that I think the Sytrin VF1 is but ugly, and the Zalman is much smaller, and will/would match the CNPS9500 very well that I plan on picking up.
 
Thats a little too much IMO. For one, I dont see that being used in SLI/crossfire setups anytime becuase of the massive fan. Two, it doesnt destroy the thermalright counterpart at all. Just a little by it. Im just really amazed at the placement of the fan. Im sure they can change it around a bit. But if not :eek: at its design
 
DangerIsGo said:
Thats a little too much IMO. For one, I dont see that being used in SLI/crossfire setups anytime becuase of the massive fan. Two, it doesnt destroy the thermalright counterpart at all. Just a little by it. Im just really amazed at the placement of the fan. Im sure they can change it around a bit. But if not :eek: at its design
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Yeah, it's definitely out of the question for most SLI/CF setups...and I agree that it doesn't really destroy anything right now. The Sytrin might be hitting temps a few degrees lower then most other coolers, but it's not a large enough margin to warrant saying it "destroys" anything. Personally, I'd still never touch the thing due to it's looks...VF900 all the way.
 
cornelious0_0 said:
Yeah, it's definitely out of the question for most SLI/CF setups...and I agree that it doesn't really destroy anything right now. The Sytrin might be hitting temps a few degrees lower then most other coolers, but it's not a large enough margin to warrant saying it "destroys" anything. Personally, I'd still never touch the thing due to it's looks...VF900 all the way.
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This can be used in CF setups/SLI. It takes up no more room than the stock cooler. Also beleving hear say. Many real life reviews for the zalman on the forums have been putting it worse or just a bit better than the VF-700
:rolleyes:
 
Vengance_01 said:
This can be used in CF setups/SLI. It takes up no more room than the stock cooler. Also beleving hear say. Many real life reviews for the zalman on the forums have been putting it worse or just a bit better than the VF-700
:rolleyes:
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Either way...any of the few coolers mentioned here so far are a welcome improvement over the X850XT-PE's stock solution...and I'm not really in favor of looking straight at an eye-swore through my case window. It's personal preference I suppose, typically I'd be all for the highest performing cooler no matter what...but there is still a line between performance/looks that I'm not really willing to cross at this point.

Ah well, time will tell how this thing pans out, I'm not making any judgements aside from what I see in pics...but I'll give it a chance I suppose.
 
cornelious0_0 said:
Not necessarily...if you look into it, the temperature difference between an X1800/1900 is not all that different from an X850XT-PE.
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If the X850XT is as hot as the X1900, then stay far away from the VF900:

http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=452425&highlight=vf900

I have not seen a VF900 vs Sytrin vs Thermalright review on ATI hardware yet. From what I've read recently, I don't think VF900 is up to the task on ATI hardware and it's expensive ($50+).

cornelious0_0 said:
and any reviews I've seen comparing the VF900 to the Sytrin (on more midrange cards) show the Sytrin only beating the VF900 by a couple degrees tops.
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Mid-range cards don't heat up like high-end cards. I ignore these kinds of reviews. The Sytrin review on a 6600GT at Ocia is particularly amusing. I went by Phoronix's review which was on a 7800GTX.
 
aldamon said:
If the X850XT is as hot as the X1900, then stay far away from the VF900:

http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=452425&highlight=vf900

I have not seen a VF900 vs Sytrin vs Thermalright review on ATI hardware yet. From what I've read recently, I don't think VF900 is up to the task on ATI hardware and it's expensive ($50+).



Mid-range cards don't heat up like high-end cards. I ignore these kinds of reviews. The Sytrin review on a 6600GT at Ocia is particularly amusing. I went by Phoronix's review which was on a 7800GTX.
Click to expand...

While I realise that midrange cards don't heat up nearly as much as highend cards, and that the X850XT does get quite hot...the majority of reviews I've seen on the VF700/900 coolers installed on cards that're pretty close to the temp levels of an X850XT/X1900XT don't show the Zalman coolers completely caving in.

Hmm, I suppose there's always the option of modding an Arctic Cooling Silencer to allow for some OCZ copper ramsinks, leaving the Silencer to cool the GPU alone. I did the same mod to my NV5 on my 6800GT and hit some ridiculously low temps, and took my 6800GT's core up to 460MHz @ 1.4v.
 
aldamon said:
I have not seen a VF900 vs Sytrin vs Thermalright review on ATI hardware yet. From what I've read recently, I don't think VF900 is up to the task on ATI hardware and it's expensive ($50+)..
Click to expand...
I have compiled a list of user reports of the VF900/Accelero X2 over here which suggests that the VF900 isn't very capable of handling the X1900XTX. It can't beat the stock cooler set to 100%, and there are some unfortunate reports of it causing artifacts/lockups. Between the stock cooler, Accelero, and VF900, the Accelero at 100% seems to perform the best. Most reviews just leave the fan controls on default which limits them to less than 50%, which explains why they do so poorly against the Zalman. But users who have manually cranked the fan to 100% are reporting great results. I am not sure how the V-1 Ultra and Sytrin VF-1 stack up against these three as there aren't many user reports of them yet.
 
NoDamage said:
I have compiled a list of user reports of the VF900/Accelero X2 over here which suggests that the VF900 isn't very capable of handling the X1900XTX. It can't beat the stock cooler set to 100%, and there are some unfortunate reports of it causing artifacts/lockups. Between the stock cooler, Accelero, and VF900, the Accelero at 100% seems to perform the best. Most reviews just leave the fan controls on default which limits them to less than 50%, which explains why they do so poorly against the Zalman. But users who have manually cranked the fan to 100% are reporting great results. I am not sure how the V-1 Ultra and Sytrin VF-1 stack up against these three as there aren't many user reports of them yet.
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I guess I'll start looking at the V1 Ultra or a modded AC Silencer more realistically then...ah well...shouldn't be too long after I get my new system /w the X850XT-PE that I'll be able to put h2O on the card.
 
i want to see it tested against the Thermalright V1 Ultra........this would be the first GPU HSF that looks like it can compete with it, mine keeps my 7800GT with a 1.5v mod running 530Mhz core under 45*c fully loaded

only bad thing is if you have a DFI board with the memory slots above the cpu socket, it limits the size your CPU HSF can be

PS...Michael Larabel should consider breaking his thoughts up and break that conclusion into paragraphs instead of one large square chunk o' text ;)
 
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