Akasa VORTEXX Neo

[jdrom17]

Ordered the Akasa VORTEXX Neo yesterday from Sidewinder. Going to put it on my reference Diamond HD4850. IMO this looks very similar to the ICEQ4 solution used on my HIS HD4850.

Hopefully it performs similarly, but I'm mainly getting it since it's a dual-slot cooler so it'll exhaust out of my case. I'm hoping it'll help with my rather high case temperatures as well.

Expect some pictures and a review of sorts around next week probably.

[jdrom17]

http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k71/jdrom17/my%20computer/vortexx/DSC038771024x768.jpg
http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k71/jdrom17/my%20computer/vortexx/DSC038761024x768.jpg

Overall very lightweight cooler with a mix of copper and aluminum. It has blue LEDs as well if your into that (I am). The base though is rather rough so lapping it could possibly help with temperatures however since it's a stepped base I think that would be kind of hard to do without ruining proper contact.

The installation was rather simple though the semi-thumbscrews used to hold the heatsink on cannot be put tight it seems otherwise the card bends a lot. Had to basically leave them hand-tight (even though it has a cut out for a flat-head screwdriver).

One issue I have though is the MOSFETs are totally naked and the fan doesn't cover them, so this could be problematic. I haven't yet checked the temperatures on them with an IR gun though, but I might need to get some ramsinks.

So before and after shot:
http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k71/jdrom17/my%20computer/vortexx/DSC038781024x768.jpg
http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k71/jdrom17/my%20computer/vortexx/DSC038791024x768.jpg

Unfortunately the fan uses a 3pin connector rather than plugging into the GPU itself so it's not exactly easy to control unless you have a fan controller of sorts. However it doesn't seem to be audible over my S-FLEX F fans so it's fine with me.

As it stands, I'm idling at 40C which is totally amazing IMO. That's lower than my HIS ICEQ4 card as well which idles at 55C.

1 loop of 3DMark06 with the card running at 690/1100 yielded the following temperatures:
56C on the Core/DISPIO
64C on the MEMIO
55C on the SHADERCORE

[Zefram]

That cooler look like the stock 4870 heatsink. Two heatpipes, etc :p

The memory temperature are kinda high. Does they provide thermal tapes for the memory modules?

[jdrom17]

That cooler look like the stock 4870 heatsink. Two heatpipes, etc :p

The memory temperature are kinda high. Does they provide thermal tapes for the memory modules?
Yeah but they make contact with that aluminum plate and I don't know if its connected to the heatpipe/heatsink setup.

[Zefram]

Yeah but they make contact with that aluminum plate and I don't know if its connected to the heatpipe/heatsink setup.

And did the heatsink cover the GPU VRM as well?

I see that the heatsink doesn't goes all the way to the back of the card.

You ought to check that too, because in 48xx series, the VRM is darn hot, and without proper cooling you could have a brick in a couple of months

[jdrom17]

And did the heatsink cover the GPU VRM as well?

I see that the heatsink doesn't goes all the way to the back of the card.

You ought to check that too, because in 48xx series, the VRM is darn hot, and without proper cooling you could have a brick in a couple of months
Well the fan sits on top of them and the fan has holes in the bottom to cool the MOSFETS/VRM. I might get some ramsinks for them though.

[Comixion]

http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k71/jdrom17/my%20computer/vortexx/DSC038791024x768.jpg



You should hide your little baggies of crack before taking a pic. ;)

Anyways, I like the looks of that cooler.

[jdrom17]

You should hide your little baggies of crack before taking a pic. ;)
My bad, and don't forget my bottle of poison either :p

[Zefram]

Well the fan sits on top of them and the fan has holes in the bottom to cool the MOSFETS/VRM. I might get some ramsinks for them though.

If you had thermal probe, see how high the MOSFETS/VRM temperature goes before spending on ramsinks. The fan may be sufficient to cool the VRM since it's blowing directly at it.

You should hide your little baggies of crack before taking a pic.

You have good eyesight. And you look at thing differently.
I salute you :teeth:

[Grimreaper]

You have good eyesight. And you look at thing differently. I salute you :teeth:

He is quite the unusual character. :p

[jdrom17]

If you had thermal probe, see how high the MOSFETS/VRM temperature goes before spending on ramsinks. The fan may be sufficient to cool the VRM since it's blowing directly at it.

I got an IR thermometer but the problem is the fan sits on top of them so it'll be hard to get a shot at them. Plus I'd have to move it up to the top slot to be able to attempt anything at all. Maybe tomorrow when I'm bored I'll try :p

[jdrom17]

Well after 900s of FurMark (renamed so CCC doesn't slow it down), the MOSFETs and in general the back area of the card was only 50-60C depending on where I measured. So I think they'll be fine without heatsinks and we all know FurMark goes beyond what games do...

One note though, the backside of the PCB where the core is, that got up to 94C however that's not really this coolers fault. The core itself was at 70C.

[Lavaandy]

wtf is in that bottle? Should we be worried??

[jdrom17]

wtf is in that bottle? Should we be worried??
lol it's 99% isopropyl alcohol (aka rubbing alcohol) from quite a long time ago when you could actually buy 99%. Now they only sell 70%.