What about the anything AFTER the 7950GT?

What about us X8XX users :(

I like the idea, but it has been done, so it is nothing new. However, this might be the first time it is available as just the cooler.

Personally I don't like the idea that it doesn't exhaust out the back of the case. If the cooler has to deal with the heat the TEC generates, I don't want it just dumping that heat into my case.

WarEagleAUWhat about us X8XX users :(

for the price, it would prolly be better to sell the x800 and put the money combined to a new card. that'd prolly get better perf. why they have it for the x1600/1300 idk either tho.
this is just speculation, but TEC are usually slightly expensive

Well that cooler is definately sexy looking. :)

no condensation problems like old tec solutions? lol, they came with neoprene gaskets so there were no condensation issues.....

It's an interesting issue: should a GPU cooler exit air out the back of the case... or leave the hot air inside the case. My views are:

1./ I like the idea of exiting hot air out of the case asap,

2./ But exit out of the case coolers are very inefficient at cooling... too much turbulance... and a long tunnel for the air to go down = a lot of air resistance

3./ GPU coolers like the zalman... with the effective fin pattern around the fan... is both a more efficient cooler and a quieter cooler

4./ Leaving hot air in the case means you MUST have an effective case fan exiting

Exit out of the case coolers are not very inefficient. A well designed one can be very efficient. There isn't turbulance, that is actually the exact opposite of what they do. The Zalman designes create more turbulance than the "wind tunnel" coolers. Putting a fan in the case that blows air 90 degrees off from the rest of the airflow in the case creates a lot of turbulance.

The Zalman VF900 isn't really that much quieter than a good wind tunnel cooler, the big difference is that the fan on a cooler like the zalman is completely enclosed in the case, so it baffles the sound, while the wind tunnel coolers are open to the outside of the case, so it is easier for them to be heard.

The issue I have with coolers like the Zalman, or any cooler that doesn't exhaust the air out the back of the case, is that the hot air coming off a GPU is going right back into the case, this can lead to an increase in the overall system tempurature. My system was a perfect example. With my 7900GTs stock cooler all the hot air was trapped in the case, and my temperatures were pretty good, but when I switched to Vantec Iceberq 6 coolers which exhaust out the back, not only did my video card tempuratures go down, but my CPU temperature under load went down 5C too. Yeah, a Zalman probably would have lowered my GPUs' temperature, but it wouldn't have helped my CPU's temperature.

Now with this cooler, that is even more important. The reason is that with TEC cooling, the TEC actually creates more heat than it extracts from the GPU. So while you might have a GPU putting out 80w of heat, the TEC is going to raise that to 100w(pulling numbers out of my butt just as an example so don't freak out on my about the numbers, they are made up). So, IMO, when you switch to TEC cooling on a video card it is even more important that the heat created be exhausted as quickly as possible, and preferably never even have the chance to get into the system case.

Lets use our brain. Its pretty damn obvious that this isnt going to increase the heat of any high end card.

You don't know much about TEC cooling do you? And you obviously don't understand what I was talking about, so why post?

Thats pretty good compatibility. Must ship with alot of brackets.

The TEC will increase heat output, hence the larger cooler. its going to lower card temps, but increase heat output into the case.

russianboyHow about this idea,

The TEC is hooked to its own water block and a closed cooling system pumps the heat from the TEC into a radiator and a built in fan sucks it outside? Can't see much of a problem (besides price) there.

I don't see any problem with that setup either, other than price that is.

newtekie1You don't know much about TEC cooling do you? And you obviously don't understand what I was talking about, so why post?

Like the man said above me, itll put out heat for sure. More heat than a reg old heatsink and fan. But it damn well wont increase to temp of the card.

newtekie1I like the idea, but it has been done, so it is nothing new. However, this might be the first time it is available as just the cooler.

Personally I don't like the idea that it doesn't exhaust out the back of the case. If the cooler has to deal with the heat the TEC generates, I don't want it just dumping that heat into my case.

Just buy more case fans or a better case. That way you can still evac the heat.

InfDamarvelLike the man said above me, itll put out heat for sure. More heat than a reg old heatsink and fan. But it damn well wont increase to temp of the card.

When did I say it would increase the tempurature of the card?

Again, the card will put out 80w of heat, the TEC will increase that to 100w. It isn't actually increase how much heat the card is producing, it is just adding to it due to the inherent inefficiencies of how TEC cooling works. So instead of just having 80w of heat being put out into the case, you now have 100w. The whole idea behind a TEC is to lower the tempurature of the card, and it does that very nicely, but if all that heat is just being put into the case, it will affect the temps of other component, no matter how good your cooling is, and how many fans you have in the case.