Date: January 6th, 2006
Article by: Joe Anderson (Hardware Reviewer)
Edited by: Nathan Glentworth (Owner / Head Editor)
Product was submitted by: Thermalright
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PRODUCT INSTALLATION & TESTING
Our test victim for this review will be my eVGA 7800GT KO, which came from the factory with a mild overclock and enhanced cooling. The cooling is actually pretty good for an OEM solution, but quite loud. The first step is to remove the OEM cooling solution and clean the GPU and RAM chips with alcohol.
We're all set to go. The installation guides are clear and well illustrated and there are more detailed instructions with photos on the Thermalright website.
The ramsinks are a simple peel-and-stick operation, as is the plastic cushion for the X-shaped brace. The short ramsinks go on the two chips just above the GPU, allowing room for the four heatpipes to pass over them. The screws can then be added to the brace for the TypeI installation. We'll go over the TypeII install a bit later. The GPU then gets a thin coat of thermal material and we're ready to roll.
With the X-bracket and attached screws held in place on the “top” of the card, the cooler and base bracket can be positioned and the rubber washers and knurled nuts installed. After tightening the nuts in a “criss-cross” pattern, installation is complete. It takes a little finesse (not my strong suit) to keep everything in place until the first two nuts are installed. The red arrow indicates the short ramsink. I don't know if it's by design, but two of the heatpipes contact the ‘sinks when installed.
To achieve the TypeII installation, the screws are fastened to the base bracket and the nuts run on from the “top” of the card, using the X-bracket and rubber washers. This would seem to be the best option if one chose to add a fan to the cooler, as airflow would be directed downward over the ramsinks as well.
The TypeII configuration is by far the most bulky, especially when…
Thermalright has just released an accessory kit that vastly improves compatibility. The kit retails for $5 US and consists of a redesigned bracket for both sides of the card. Installation remains essentially the same as before. This is a great addition to a great product.
