# Scythe Musashi VGA Cooler Spotted in Japanese Stores



## btarunr (Aug 30, 2008)

Japanese PC cooling specialist, Scythe released the "Musashi" SCVMS-1000 VGA cooler spotted at a Japanese store. This double-fan aluminum cooler suits all popular card designs although the GeForce GTX 200 series isn't advertised. 

The cooler consists of an aluminum fin arrays of unequal sizes through which pass four nickel-plated copper heatpipes, two in opposite direction of the other two. The GPU contact block from which those pipes project out itself isn't in the center. On one the other side of the fin arrays are two 100 mm, 12 mm thick PWN controlled fans which have individual speed controls provided by two knobs on an expansion bracket. These regulate the speeds of the fans between 800 and 2500 rpm (combined noise level 12.5 dB to 29.22 dB depending on the fans' rpm). 



 

 

 

 

 



*View at TechPowerUp Main Site*


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## PP Mguire (Aug 30, 2008)

The GTX200 series isnt advertised either.


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## btarunr (Aug 30, 2008)

PP Mguire said:


> The GTX200 series isnt advertised either.



True that, for a moment I forgot that even existed.


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## Alv (Aug 30, 2008)

The Radeon HD 4850 and 4870 are advertised in the box (first picture)


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## pagalms (Aug 30, 2008)

I want this thing!!!


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## anticlutch (Aug 30, 2008)

pagalms said:


> I want this thing!!!



Anyone with a 4870 NEEDS this thing, or any other type of aftermarket cooler for that matter... high 70C-low 80C idle is ridiculous :shadedshu

I hope this thing isn't too pricey... I'll be getting one as soon as I can find a place that sells it


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## Selene (Aug 30, 2008)

oh nice, my old BFG FX5950UTs fans are starting to make noise, this would be a good replacement i think.


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## OnBoard (Aug 30, 2008)

Holy mother of a heatsink! I want it too, although it would be a total overkill to cool my little 8800GT  Price might be a lot, but that should have the compatibility and power for every single card in few years  (wohoo 1000th post!)

edit: any idea on weight? Probably too much for my liking.

edit2: seems to have a whole lot of heatsinks with it:
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x4ldqq_scythe-musashi_tech


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## trt740 (Aug 30, 2008)

i like it but it is fugly


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## PP Mguire (Aug 30, 2008)

No point in this really when you have that heatsink from Thermalright.


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## OnBoard (Aug 30, 2008)

"In sale scythe musashi will appear during April. The recommended price is not more than 30 Euro."

Well not quite april now, so the price might be off as much, but if it is 30€ I'll buy it even if I don't need it


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## trt740 (Aug 30, 2008)

PP Mguire said:


> No point in this really when you have that heatsink from Thermalright.



I would say for anything but a 280gtx or a 260gtx it would be fine but the Thermaltake dual orb looks a hell of alot better and does a great job on the 45nm ati cards. So I would get it over this cooler. I'm not sure this will be a big hit.


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## pagalms (Aug 30, 2008)

PP Mguire said:


> No point in this really when you have that heatsink from Thermalright.



Yeah, HR-03 pwnz all as well as it's price and availablity in some countries 
Since S1 doesn't fit to my card, this one, or AC extreme are my only affordable choices. Too bad AC Extreme isn't available here 
I'll wait for this to come in


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## ShadowFold (Aug 30, 2008)

I wonder if stuff in Japan is cheaper than the US or about the same.. Or do they get ripped off like Europe and Australia..


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## btarunr (Aug 30, 2008)

PP Mguire said:


> No point in this really when you have that heatsink from Thermalright.



Applying your logic, why buy a HD 4850 when GTX 280 is around? Think price-bands.

Scythe coolers cool your wallet as well.


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## PP Mguire (Aug 30, 2008)

A DuOrb can be had for 40 bucks here in the US and cools probably better than this. Annnnd dosent look so fugly.


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## OnBoard (Aug 30, 2008)

DuOrb is no where near same performance, it lacs fin area for serious cooling. Accelero TWIN TURBO is more direct competitor for this.


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## PP Mguire (Aug 30, 2008)

I just took a few looks at reviews against the HR-03. Dosent look so good lol. I retract my statement.


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## WarEagleAU (Aug 30, 2008)

I like it, them pipes are fat.


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## trt740 (Aug 30, 2008)

OnBoard said:


> DuOrb is no where near same performance, it lacs fin area for serious cooling. Accelero TWIN TURBO is more direct competitor for this.



your missing the point the dual orb doesn't need to be as good as the thermalright or the AC because not much is needed to cool the new AMD video cards , heck a old vf900 works. A thermalright will kill it but a Dual orb is alot better than a stock cooler on a 4870 or 4850 and will let you overclock the hell out of them. Why buy this cooler when a Dual orb is more than enough and looks better at 34.00. if I had the extra money thermalright would be my choice but for the money the Dual Orb is better on ATI cards when all things are considered..


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## PP Mguire (Aug 30, 2008)

Eh not to be an arse or anything but its DuOrb.


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## trt740 (Aug 30, 2008)

PP Mguire said:


> Eh not to be an arse or anything but its DuOrb.



um yes short for Dual Orb, as in two fans or orbs, and PP does your Dad only let you drive on the drive on Wednesdays

Raymond: I'm an excellent driver. 
Charlie: When did you drive? 
Raymond: I drove slow on the driveway when my dad came to Walbrook. 
Charlie: Was Dad in the car? 
Raymond: Yeah. 
Charlie: I'll have to let you drive sometime. 
[Raymond grabs the wheel and nearly steers them into an oncoming car] 
Charlie: Raymond, you NEVER! NEVER touch the steering wheel when I'm driving. Do you hear me? Do you hear me?


Raymond: Of course I don't have my underwear. I'm definitely not wearing my underwear. 
Charlie: I gave you a fresh pair of mine to wear. Where are they? 
Raymond: They're in the pocket of my jacket. Here. 
Charlie: I don't want them back. 
Raymond: These are not boxer shorts. Mine are boxer shorts. These are Hanes 32. 
Charlie: Underwear is underwear, Ray. 
Raymond: My boxer shorts have my name and it says Raymond. 
Charlie: All right, when we pass the store, we'll pick you up a pair of boxer shorts. 
Raymond: I get my boxer shorts at K-Mart in Cincinnati. 
Charlie: We're not going back to Cincinnati, Ray, so don't even start with that.


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## OnBoard (Aug 30, 2008)

trt740 said:


> your missing the point the dual orb doesn't need to be as good as the thermalright or the AC because not much is needed to cool the new AMD video cards , heck a old vf900 works. A thermalright will kill it but a Dual orb is alot better than a stock cooler on a 4870 or 4850 and will let you overclock the hell out of them. Why buy this cooler when a Dual orb is more than enough and looks better at 34.00. if I had the extra money thermalright would be my choice but for the money the Dual Orb is better on ATI cards when all things are considered..



Well you have newegg.. Here DuOrb is 39€/$57, Accelero Twin Turbo 28€/$41 and HR-03 PLUS 49€/$72. Now if Scythe Musashi is going to be about the same as Arctic Cooling cooler, then it's hard to compete with just looks. I have a Thermalright CPU cooler, but no way I'd buy that heavy hunk of over priced metal they can a GPU cooler 

There are also revised stock cooling solutions that cost nothing, no need to buy even a DuOrb  Or save some and go for the new aluminum fin version DuOrb AX http://www.thermaltake.com/product/Cooler/VGAnCHIPnMEM/CL-G0116/cl-g0116.asp


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## trt740 (Aug 30, 2008)

OnBoard said:


> Well you have newegg.. Here DuOrb is 39€/$57, Accelero Twin Turbo 28€/$41 and HR-03 PLUS 49€/$72. Now is Scythe Musashi is going to be about the same as Arctic Cooling cooler, then it's hard to compeate with just looks.
> 
> There are also revised stock cooling solutions that cost nothing, no need to buy even a DuOrb  I have a Thermalright CPU cooler, but no way I'd buy that heavy hunk of over priced metal they can a GPU cooler



then you have never owned one, because the gts are unreal. The accelero is a great cooler but looks like crap and bends to hell and back. The Dual orb has a style about it comes with two fans and a led and is plenty good for any newer AMD card.


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## Mboorman (Aug 30, 2008)

I own 2 4870s and the HR-03 with 92mm fan is the best air cooler for these cards, however it absorbs 4 mobo slots. The Zalman VF-1000 is also a good cooler for overclocking and gaming. The Thermaltake Duorb at idle works fine but after playing COD4 for an hour the card surpassed the stock coolers temps and was without overclocking. The Duorb looks nice (thats why i bought it) but its temps are not that good.


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## trt740 (Aug 30, 2008)

Mboorman said:


> I own 2 4870s and the HR-03 with 92mm fan is the best air cooler for these cards, however it absorbs 4 mobo slots. The Zalman VF-1000 is also a good cooler for overclocking and gaming. The Thermaltake Duorb at idle works fine but after playing COD4 for an hour the card surpassed the stock coolers temps and was without overclocking. The Duorb looks nice (thats why i bought it) but its temps are not that good.



Okay well I have owned them all and I don't agree but we will see , I do agree the thermalright is better alot better. The orb is on par with the vf1000, so if you like it you should like the orb. I will do a mini review on the Orb and the 4850 very soon here and if it stinks then back it will go. I would have to think it will beat the stock cooler on a 4850 but who know, it did very well on my 3870s


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## tkpenalty (Aug 31, 2008)

When will scythe realise that their coolers are severely hindered by that excessively thick baseplate which they usually use? Don't their engineers take notice???


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## happita (Aug 31, 2008)

tkpenalty said:


> When will scythe realise that their coolers are severely hindered by that excessively thick baseplate which they usually use? Don't their engineers take notice???



Hmmm. They have good competition with all the other major brand coolers, cpu and gpu wise. Maybe they think thicker plates equal better dissipation who knows. On a side note, scythe fans are really great  Can't wait to see a review for this thing against other vga coolers.


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## PP Mguire (Aug 31, 2008)

> um yes short for Dual Orb, as in two fans or orbs, and PP does your Dad only let you drive on the drive on Wednesdays
> 
> Raymond: I'm an excellent driver.
> Charlie: When did you drive?
> ...


So yea, am i supposed to get this orr what?


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## REVHEAD (Aug 31, 2008)

anticlutch said:


> Anyone with a 4870 NEEDS this thing, or any other type of aftermarket cooler for that matter... high 70C-low 80C idle is ridiculous :shadedshu
> 
> I hope this thing isn't too pricey... I'll be getting one as soon as I can find a place that sells it



Umm the cards are desighned to run at those temps, nothing wrong with them there, just something that you have a problem getting your head around. If you want a better cooling setup, just flash your card to the Asus Top bios and not go over 55 deg, or create a new fan profile..


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## tkpenalty (Aug 31, 2008)

happita said:


> Hmmm. They have good competition with all the other major brand coolers, cpu and gpu wise. Maybe they think thicker plates equal better dissipation who knows. On a side note, scythe fans are really great  Can't wait to see a review for this thing against other vga coolers.



Thicker plates do not equal better dissipation, the absence of the plate would result in better performance, due to the heat not needing to travel through a slow-conducting plate of copper where heat wells up, before reaching the superconductor pipes; resuting in a higher temperature on the core overall. 

Their dissipation units; i.e. the fin arrays are impressive and SHOULD result in superior performance compared to their smaller competitors, but is that what we see? No. We see the smaller coolers, like the Xigmatek HDT S1283, Thermalright Ultra 120, and even the Ultra 90 outperform it!


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## steelkane (Aug 31, 2008)

This is a nice cooler,, I"m also looking at a few other coolers. hard to choose.
http://www.frozencpu.com/products/8...al_VGA_Cooler_w_Fan_Speed_Control.html?tl=g40

http://www.ncixus.com/products/32768/ACCELERO-TWINTURBO/Arctic Cooling/

http://www.ncixus.com/products/28504/KL-02/Coolink/


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## PP Mguire (Aug 31, 2008)

LOL 50 bucks? Man, give me the Thermalright.


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## steelkane (Aug 31, 2008)

I agree,, about the thermalright, but I need two low profile coolers for 8800GT/SLI.


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## trt740 (Aug 31, 2008)

PP Mguire said:


> So yea, am i supposed to get this orr what?



it's from rain man , you were being anal


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## kid41212003 (Aug 31, 2008)

AMD needs to put these vga coolers as prefered coolers for their cards.


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## trt740 (Aug 31, 2008)

kid41212003 said:


> AMD needs to put these vga coolers as prefered coolers for their cards.



one thing amd has never done is make a quiet gpu cooler that gives good results.


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## PP Mguire (Aug 31, 2008)

My 9800XT cooler wasnt that bad. It resembles the cooler that came stock on my 8800GS cept wasnt as loud. But i eventualy put a VF700 on it to OC it.


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## happita (Aug 31, 2008)

trt740 said:


> one thing amd has never done is make a quiet gpu cooler that gives good results.



That is very true. They need to get more creative with their cooling solutions so temps can be decent on stock =\


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## Wile E (Aug 31, 2008)

trt740 said:


> your missing the point the dual orb doesn't need to be as good as the thermalright or the AC because not much is needed to cool the new AMD video cards , heck a old vf900 works. A thermalright will kill it but a Dual orb is alot better than a stock cooler on a 4870 or 4850 and will let you overclock the hell out of them.* Why buy this cooler when a Dual orb is more than enough* and looks better at 34.00. if I had the extra money thermalright would be my choice but for the money the Dual Orb is better on ATI cards when all things are considered..


Because the condition you refer to as "more than enough" does not exist. lol.


trt740 said:


> um yes short for Dual Orb, as in two fans or orbs, and PP does your Dad only let you drive on the drive on Wednesdays
> 
> Raymond: I'm an excellent driver.
> Charlie: When did you drive?
> ...



lol @ Rainman


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## Hayder_Master (Aug 31, 2008)

nice fan with optimizer


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## Mboorman (Aug 31, 2008)

The DuOrb works great on the 4850, the wife has one on hers. However the 4870 pushes more heat and it cant cool it during gameplay.


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## R_1 (Aug 31, 2008)

It looks to me like Arctic Cooling Accelero Xtreme 9800  or S1 . Nice cooler.


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## kyle2020 (Aug 31, 2008)

that'll take forever to reach europe - in the mean time, im ordering an accelero twin turbo once they are in stock http://www.aria.co.uk/Products/Comp...celero+Twin+Turbo+VGA+Cooler+?productId=32854

Cheap too


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## Bjorn_Of_Iceland (Aug 31, 2008)

I think they should ditch the expansion slot fan speed controller. Quite awkward and cumbersom to be placed in such a place..


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## King Wookie (Aug 31, 2008)

Well, this looks a better option to me:

http://www.thermalright.com/new_a_page/product_page/vga/t-rad2/product_vga_cooler_trad2.html

I just wish they would hurry up and release it.


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## tkpenalty (Aug 31, 2008)

King Wookie said:


> Well, this looks a better option to me:
> 
> http://www.thermalright.com/new_a_page/product_page/vga/t-rad2/product_vga_cooler_trad2.html
> 
> I just wish they would hurry up and release it.



YES! Exactly, a THINNER base, and more packed fins. I mean honestly look, those fans that scythe use are going to waste; high pressure fan on loose fins = wasted.


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## PP Mguire (Aug 31, 2008)

Dude that Thermalright trad looks BEAST!! Me want


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## kyle2020 (Aug 31, 2008)

King Wookie said:


> Well, this looks a better option to me:
> 
> http://www.thermalright.com/new_a_page/product_page/vga/t-rad2/product_vga_cooler_trad2.html
> 
> I just wish they would hurry up and release it.


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## AddSub (Aug 31, 2008)

Looks decent I guess. Although, it is still dumping all that heat into the case.

I'm still waiting for Thermaltake or somebody to come up with something for the GTX 200 lineup. I hope it's not based on the DuOrb. I don't want 200+ watts of thermal dissipation being dumped into my case. Something based on the stock cooler with exhaust would be nice. Heck, it can take up to three or four slots for all I care. 

They could even take the stock cooler and just make it all-copper and put in a higher CFM fan and it would probably be better than stock by 10C or so.


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## King Wookie (Aug 31, 2008)

AddSub said:


> Looks decent I guess. Although, it is still dumping all that heat into the case.
> 
> I'm still waiting for Thermaltake or somebody to come up with something for the GTX 200 lineup. I hope it's not based on the DuOrb. I don't want 200+ watts of thermal dissipation being dumped into my case. Something based on the stock cooler with exhaust would be nice. Heck, it can take up to three or four slots for all I care.
> 
> They could even take the stock cooler and just make it all-copper and put in a higher CFM fan and it would probably be better than stock by 10C or so.



I've been hearing good things about the Akasa Vortex Neo. Basically a stock type cooler done right. Fairly cheap too. I'm debating whether to bring one in, just to see.


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## kyle2020 (Aug 31, 2008)

King Wookie said:


> I've been hearing good things about the Akasa Vortex Neo. Basically a stock type cooler done right. Fairly cheap too. I'm debating whether to bring one in, just to see.



if you wait until i but my twin turbo ill sell you mine on the cheap 

*edit*

Just realised your in africa haha.


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## Wile E (Sep 1, 2008)

AddSub said:


> Looks decent I guess. Although, it is still dumping all that heat into the case.
> 
> I'm still waiting for Thermaltake or somebody to come up with something for the GTX 200 lineup. I hope it's not based on the DuOrb. I don't want 200+ watts of thermal dissipation being dumped into my case. Something based on the stock cooler with exhaust would be nice. Heck, it can take up to three or four slots for all I care.
> 
> They could even take the stock cooler and just make it all-copper and put in a higher CFM fan and it would probably be better than stock by 10C or so.



The effect of the extra heat in the case is greatly over exaggerated anyway. If the heat dump is enough to cause problems in your setup, you needed better airflow anyway.


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## trt740 (Sep 1, 2008)

Wile E said:


> The effect of the extra heat in the case is greatly over exaggerated anyway. If the heat dump is enough to cause problems in your setup, you needed better airflow anyway.



True Dat!!!!


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## King Wookie (Sep 1, 2008)

kyle2020 said:


> if you wait until i but my twin turbo ill sell you mine on the cheap
> 
> *edit*
> 
> Just realised your in africa haha.



Thx for the thought.

I can get 1 for $30 plus shipping from the States, and shipping is not too expensive.($25 on my last order)
Also, our exchange rate against the dollar is much kinder to my wallet!


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## kg_wolf (Sep 6, 2008)

Yes, the HR-03-GT Thermalright is a great cooler.  Mounted one on my blazing hot 4870.  But I've come to the conclusion that great GPU cooling numbers aren't that difficult to come by.  It is the VRM's, especially the Slaves #1, #2 and #3 that are hell to cool.  So I rigged two 120mm T-take fans mounted to the HR, plus sinking everything that looked like it might get warm.  So far it's working quite well!  Getting air on those VRM's is critical and not just case air movement either.  They need direct air.  I still have room for the 2nd 4870 adding the same vga cooling rig as well.  This Mushashi would certainly provide more room in between.

By the way, after many tests of COD4, the GPU temp never gets above 55-60C and the hottest the Slave 1,2 and 3 get is 65-75C.  Slightly o/c at 780/1090.  This is a major improvement over the stock ASUS 4870 fan. And it's whisper quiet.

Frozen CPU lists the Musashi at $50 U.S., but out of stock.

KGW


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## OnBoard (Sep 16, 2008)

*Review* with lots of great pictures (google translated):
http://translate.google.com/transla...gehaeuse_kuehlung/&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&sl=de&tl=en

Seems like the cooler base should be more center. Now it hangs much more to right than it would need to, causes problems for shorter cases and for those cards with power plugs in the end.

GTX 260/280 isn't mentioned on the supported cards list, because there is no heatsink for the NVIO2 chip. Hardly a problem for most in hear with 4 mounting holes around it. Just some old aluminium sink, drill holes and bolt through.

Performance seems great even with low fan speed and 35€ would be a good price, not bad at all. Last time I wrote in this thread had 8800GT and not really a need for this. Now with 9800GTX+ I'm looking for an aftermarket cooler and this has even all the needed heatsinks (the long narrow is for this).

Only problem is the release date or if it even comes here and what would the price be. There isn't even any MX-2 in the whole Finland!  Think I might have to go with Arctic Cooling Accelero Twin Turbo if I get bored of waiting, at least it has some MX-2 in the bottom


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## kg_wolf (Sep 16, 2008)

For you Nvidia 260/280 hounds, take a gander at this puppy.  The new HR-03-GTX  Too bad they don't have an ATI version out yet.  

http://www.thermalright.com/new_a_page/product_page/vga/hr-03_gtx/product_vga_cooler_hr03gtx.html

As for waiting for the Arctic Cooling Twin Turbo or the Scythe Musashi, just take an Arctic Cooling Accelero S1 V2 and strap a couple of these ultra-thin 12mm babies on it.  The only problem with these fans is that I do not think they are controllable.  At least not for us mere mortals using a normal fan controller.  

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835185071

With the exception of the Twin Turbo fin assembly being a bit smaller, it's basically the same thing as the S1-v2.  Adding the 100mm fans would remove the potential of the historically noisy 80mm fans.

With all that said, this is the one that I think has the most potential for XFire or SLI.  Supposed to be out this month, (September), but I've heard nothing yet.

http://www.thermalright.com/new_a_page/product_page/vga/t-rad2/product_vga_cooler_trad2.html

I really like the looks of the T-Rad, but I do hope that T-Right will release their VRM cooling design to be used on ATI cards, (like the GTX model).

kgw


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