Does anyone else miss third-party GPU coolers?

Ruru · Nov 7, 2022

I do. I remember clearly the days when Zalman and Arctic Cooling were the best aftermarket ones and they were pretty damn popular. I guess that AIBs have so good coolers these days that there's no need for aftermarket coolers anymore. Except waterblocks.

3x0 · Nov 7, 2022

Raijintek and Arctic still make GPU coolers to my knowledge

Space Lynx · Nov 7, 2022

3x0 said:
Raijintek and Arctic still make GPU coolers to my knowledge

They do indeed.

Ruru · Nov 7, 2022

3x0 said:
Raijintek and Arctic still make GPU coolers to my knowledge

I know, they just aren't as popular like they were back in the day.

freeagent · Nov 7, 2022

Not really to be honest :fear:

Ruru · Nov 7, 2022

freeagent said:
Not really to be honest

Damn. I loved the ATI/NV Silencer lineup from Arctic

freeagent · Nov 7, 2022

Lenne said:
Damn. I loved the ATI/NV Silencer lineup from Arctic

I always wanted to try one but could never justify it when a fan or two would do well enough..

sam_86314 · Nov 7, 2022

I definitely do. I have an Arctic Accelero Xtreme III on my old GTX 1070, and it's a great cooler.

I had wanted to get another one for my RX 5700 XT, only to find that it's out of stock everywhere.

I know that Raijintek still makes their coolers, and I hope that Arctic will start making new Accelero coolers again.

Ruru · Nov 7, 2022

freeagent said:
I always wanted to try one but could never justify it when a fan or two would do well enough..

I had those on GF4 Ti 4200, X800 Pro VIVO @ XTPE and 6800 GS. Did their job damn fine and they were hella quiet.

maxfly · Nov 7, 2022

Their impossible to find if they do still make them and yes I miss them. The arctic ax3 that sam is using is a badass GPU cooler that puts 90% of stock coolers to shame. Particularly underload. They're quiet, powerful, effective and cheap. Well, they used to be. Despite my affinity for water cooling I try to buy high quality 3 fan stock coolers. My GPUs tend to last forever so having a high quality heatsink is a must for their second life as aircooled cards but sadly, most are still so God awful loud underload (compared to what I'm used to) it's maddening while gaming on my back up rigs. The solution used to be replacing the stock cooler with the arctic but the last time I looked for an arctic ax3 they were nowhere to be found. The bonus with the ax3 was that if I decided I wanted to stick it back into a wced rig. I could go the easy route and simply use one of my universal blocks (4 screws and done) with the ax3 heatsinks and I was gtg. Now I have to save all of my full coverage blocks rather than sell them and keep my wcing storage area a lil bit less cluttered.

Ruru · Nov 7, 2022

maxfly said:
Their impossible to find if they do still make them and yes I miss them. The arctic ax3 that sam is using is a badass GPU cooler that puts 90% of stock coolers to shame. Particularly underload. They're quiet, powerful, effective and cheap. Well, they used to be. Despite my affinity for water cooling I try to buy high quality 3 fan stock coolers. My GPUs tend to last forever so having a high quality heatsink is a must for their second life as aircooled cards but sadly, most are still so God awful loud underload (compared to what I'm used to) it's maddening while gaming on my back up rigs. The solution used to be replacing the stock cooler with the arctic but the last time I looked for an arctic ax3 they were nowhere to be found. The bonus with the ax3 was that if I decided I wanted to stick it back into a wced rig. I could go the easy route and simply use one of my universal blocks (4 screws and done) with the ax3 heatsinks and I was gtg. Now I have to save all of my full coverage blocks rather than sell them and keep my wcing storage area a lil bit less cluttered.

I had a Twin Turbo II on my GTX 470 SOC and it was way better than the stock Windforce X3. Also the card overclocked better and it was practically silent.

Mussels · Nov 7, 2022

Hugely. Feels like the high end cards get custom waterblocks made for each style just the once (EK runs out of stock? Hah! Never again!) and then the GPU's are doomed if the cooler fails.

I've got a GTX 970 with a weird PCB and a *tiny* stock heatsink, that really needs an upgrade since its a noisy blower style and i cant find anything worth the cost

AusWolf · Nov 7, 2022

I sort of miss the sentiment of it, but I don't miss any particular cooler per se. Let's be honest, they (at least most of them) were ugly as hell, not to mention the lost warranty.

Ruru · Nov 7, 2022

AusWolf said:
I sort of miss the sentiment of it, but I don't miss any particular cooler per se. Let's be honest, they (at least most of them) were ugly as hell, not to mention the lost warranty.

Ugly? Damn, that's a hard opinion. Personally I liked almost all of those. Does my 6800 Ultra look cool (literally) with a Zalman VF700-Cu?

AusWolf · Nov 7, 2022

Lenne said:
Ugly? Damn, that's a hard opinion. Personally I liked almost all of those. Does my 6800 Ultra look cool (literally) with a Zalman VF700-Cu?

All I'm saying is it looks a bit home-made compared to this:

It's like a 1999 Honda Civic with an aftermarket rear wing compared to a 2015 Shelby Cobra GT. I appreciate the effort, but...

dirtyferret · Nov 7, 2022

Lenne said:
I know, they just aren't as popular like they were back in the day.

I think they were more known among the DIY PC builders rather than popular among them. With more AIB partners offering custom (and better) coolers the need for them further decreased.

I personally never cared for them, the added cost could be spent on a better video card, CPU, etc.,

P4-630 · Nov 7, 2022

I used this Thermalright cooler for my HD4870

GreiverBlade · Nov 7, 2022

did someone said aftermarket cooler?

(yeah ... i would never miss an occasion to repost my Asus 8800 Ultra with her Prolimatech MK-26 )

edit, and yeah i miss them ... but the Red Devil cooler look so awesome, silent cool and freaking backplate!
the 8800 Ultra needed the MK-26 since the Asus ROG leaf blower was atrocious (why make a ROG model while keeping the reference cooler :laugh:

)

freeagent · Nov 7, 2022

P4-630 said:
I used this Thermalright cooler for my HD4870

View attachment 268862

I have that cooler, was supposed to be for a GTX 285 but I killed the card by shorting it

Never been used lol..

P4-630 · Nov 7, 2022

freeagent said:
Never been used lol..

I still have it with a dead HIS HD4870.

rockit00 · Nov 7, 2022

I loved the Arctic Cooling ATI 4 Silencer. This cooler would allow you to take an X800 Pro and X850 Pro and turn them into an X800 XTPE and X850 XTPE. I think I modded three or four X800 series cards back in the day. Flashing, Unlocking the 4 extra pipes, ATITool, Those were the Good O'l Days :toast:

A Computer Guy · Nov 7, 2022

P4-630 said:
I used this Thermalright cooler for my HD4870

View attachment 268862

That looks like it might be a good x570 heatsink.

P4-630 · Nov 7, 2022

Also had the Power Color x1950 Pro, it came with an Arctic cooler, it ran amazingly quiet and cool :cool:

I damaged the GPU and a chip broke off, I had the PCIe 256MB version, I was able to RMA it and got a new x1950 Pro 512MB returned!

mclaren85 · Nov 7, 2022

Lenne said:
I do. I remember clearly the days when Zalman and Arctic Cooling were the best aftermarket ones and they were pretty damn popular. I guess that AIBs have so good coolers these days that there's no need for aftermarket coolers anymore. Except waterblocks.

Never heard that before. Am I too young?

Ruru · Nov 7, 2022

mclaren85 said:
Never heard that before. Am I too young?

Probably not as I'm 32 and I remember clearly the days of aftermarket VGA coolers.

System Name	4K-gaming / console
Processor	AMD Ryzen 7 5800X / Intel Core i7-6700K
Motherboard	Asus ROG Crosshair VII Hero / Asus Z170-K
Cooling	Alphacool Eisbaer 360 / Alphacool Eisbaer 240
Memory	32GB DDR4-3466 / 16GB DDR4-3000
Video Card(s)	Asus RTX 3080 TUF OC / Powercolor RX 6700 XT
Storage	3.3TB of SSDs / several small SSDs
Display(s)	Acer 27" 4K120 IPS + Lenovo 32" 4K60 IPS
Case	Corsair 4000D AF White / DeepCool CC560 WH
Audio Device(s)	Sony WH-CN720N
Power Supply	EVGA G2 750W / Fractal ION Gold 550W
Mouse	Logitech MX518 / Logitech G400s
Keyboard	Roccat Vulcan 121 AIMO / NOS C450 Mini Pro
VR HMD	Oculus Rift CV1
Software	Windows 11 Pro / Windows 11 Pro
Benchmark Scores	They run Crysis

Processor	AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D
Motherboard	MSI MPG B550I Gaming Edge Wi-Fi ITX
Cooling	Scythe Fuma 2 rev. B Noctua NF-A12x25 Edition
Memory	2x16GiB G.Skill TridentZ DDR4 3200Mb/s CL14 F4-3200C14D-32GTZKW
Video Card(s)	PowerColor Radeon RX7800 XT Hellhound 16GiB
Storage	Western Digital Black SN850 WDS100T1X0E-00AFY0 1TiB, Western Digital Blue 3D WDS200T2B0A 2TiB
Display(s)	Dell G2724D 27" IPS 1440P 165Hz, ASUS VG259QM 25” IPS 1080P 240Hz
Case	Cooler Master NR200P ITX
Audio Device(s)	Altec Lansing 220, HyperX Cloud II
Power Supply	Corsair SF750 Platinum 750W SFX
Mouse	Lamzu Atlantis Mini Wireless
Keyboard	HyperX Alloy Origins Aqua

Processor	7800X3D -25 all core
Motherboard	B650 Steel Legend
Cooling	Frost Commander 140
Video Card(s)	Merc 310 7900 XT @3100 core -.75v
Display(s)	Agon 27" QD-OLED Glossy 240hz 1440p
Case	NZXT H710 (Red/Black)
Audio Device(s)	Asgard 2, Modi 3, HD58X
Power Supply	Corsair RM850x Gold

System Name	4K-gaming / console
Processor	AMD Ryzen 7 5800X / Intel Core i7-6700K
Motherboard	Asus ROG Crosshair VII Hero / Asus Z170-K
Cooling	Alphacool Eisbaer 360 / Alphacool Eisbaer 240
Memory	32GB DDR4-3466 / 16GB DDR4-3000
Video Card(s)	Asus RTX 3080 TUF OC / Powercolor RX 6700 XT
Storage	3.3TB of SSDs / several small SSDs
Display(s)	Acer 27" 4K120 IPS + Lenovo 32" 4K60 IPS
Case	Corsair 4000D AF White / DeepCool CC560 WH
Audio Device(s)	Sony WH-CN720N
Power Supply	EVGA G2 750W / Fractal ION Gold 550W
Mouse	Logitech MX518 / Logitech G400s
Keyboard	Roccat Vulcan 121 AIMO / NOS C450 Mini Pro
VR HMD	Oculus Rift CV1
Software	Windows 11 Pro / Windows 11 Pro
Benchmark Scores	They run Crysis

Processor	AMD R7 5800X3D
Motherboard	Asus Crosshair VIII Dark Hero
Cooling	Thermalright Frozen Edge 360, 3x TL-B12 V2, 2x TL-B12 V1
Memory	2x8 G.Skill Trident Z Royal 3200C14, 2x8GB G.Skill Trident Z Black and White 3200 C14
Video Card(s)	Zotac 4070 Ti Trinity OC
Storage	WD SN850 1TB, SN850X 2TB, SN770 1TB
Display(s)	LG 50UP7100
Case	Fractal Torrent Compact
Audio Device(s)	JBL Bar 700
Power Supply	Seasonic Vertex GX-1000, Monster HDP1800
Mouse	Logitech G502 Hero
Keyboard	Logitech G213
VR HMD	Oculus 3
Software	Yes
Benchmark Scores	Yes

Does anyone else miss third-party GPU coolers?

Ruru

S.T.A.R.S.

3x0

Space Lynx

Astronaut

Ruru

S.T.A.R.S.

freeagent

Moderator

Ruru

S.T.A.R.S.

freeagent

Moderator

sam_86314

Ruru

S.T.A.R.S.

maxfly

Ruru

S.T.A.R.S.

Mussels

Freshwater Moderator

AusWolf

Ruru

S.T.A.R.S.

AusWolf

dirtyferret

P4-630

GreiverBlade

freeagent

Moderator

P4-630

rockit00

A Computer Guy

P4-630

mclaren85

Ruru

S.T.A.R.S.

System Name	Space Heater MKIV
Processor	AMD Ryzen 7 5800X
Motherboard	ASRock B550 Taichi
Cooling	Noctua NH-U14S, 3x Noctua NF-A14s
Memory	2x32GB Teamgroup T-Force Vulcan Z DDR4-3600 C18 1.35V
Video Card(s)	PowerColor RX 6800 XT Red Devil (2150MHz, 240W PL)
Storage	2TB WD SN850X, 4x1TB Crucial MX500 (striped array), LG WH16NS40 BD-RE
Display(s)	Dell S3422DWG (34" 3440x1440 144Hz)
Case	Phanteks Enthoo Pro M
Audio Device(s)	Edifier R1700BT, Samson SR850
Power Supply	Corsair RM850x, CyberPower CST135XLU
Mouse	Logitech MX Master 3
Keyboard	Glorious GMMK 2 96%
Software	Windows 10 LTSC 2021, Linux Mint

System Name	GrandadsBadAss
Processor	I7 13700k w/ HEATKILLER IV PRO Copper Nickel
Motherboard	MSI Z790 Tomahawk Wifi
Cooling	BarrowCH Boxfish 200mm-HWLabs SR2 420/GTS 360-BP Dual D5 MOD TOP- 2x Koolance PMP 450S
Memory	2x16gb G.SKILL Trident Z5 Neo RGB 6400
Video Card(s)	Asrock 6800xt PG D w/ Byski A-AR6900XT-X
Storage	WD SN850x 1TB NVME M.2/Samsung 980 Pro 1TB NVMe M.2
Display(s)	Acer XG270HU
Case	Phanteks Enthoo Pro 2 Server Edition w/3 Noctua NF-A14 2000 IP67/4 be quiet! LIGHT WINGS LX 120mm
Audio Device(s)	Logitech z623 <---THE SUCK
Power Supply	FSP Hydro Ti PRO 1000w
Mouse	Logitech G502
Keyboard	Roccat Vulcan Aimo
Software	Win 10/11pro

System Name	Rainbow Sparkles (Power efficient, <350W gaming load)
Processor	Ryzen R7 5800x3D (Undervolted, 4.45GHz all core)
Motherboard	Asus x570-F (BIOS Modded)
Cooling	Alphacool Apex UV - Alphacool Eisblock XPX Aurora + EK Quantum ARGB 3090 w/ active backplate
Memory	2x32GB DDR4 3600 Corsair Vengeance RGB @3866 C18-22-22-22-42 TRFC704 (1.4V Hynix MJR - SoC 1.15V)
Video Card(s)	Galax RTX 3090 SG 24GB: Underclocked to 1700Mhz 0.750v (375W down to 250W))
Storage	2TB WD SN850 NVME + 1TB Sasmsung 970 Pro NVME + 1TB Intel 6000P NVME USB 3.2
Display(s)	Phillips 32 32M1N5800A (4k144), LG 32" (4K60) \| Gigabyte G32QC (2k165) \| Phillips 328m6fjrmb (2K144)
Case	Fractal Design R6
Audio Device(s)	Logitech G560 \| Corsair Void pro RGB \|Blue Yeti mic
Power Supply	Fractal Ion+ 2 860W (Platinum) (This thing is God-tier. Silent and TINY)
Mouse	Logitech G Pro wireless + Steelseries Prisma XL
Keyboard	Razer Huntsman TE ( Sexy white keycaps)
VR HMD	Oculus Rift S + Quest 2
Software	Windows 11 pro x64 (Yes, it's genuinely a good OS) OpenRGB - ditch the branded bloatware!
Benchmark Scores	Nyooom.

System Name	Nebulon B
Processor	AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D
Motherboard	MSi PRO B650M-A WiFi
Cooling	be quiet! Dark Rock 4
Memory	2x 24 GB Corsair Vengeance DDR5-4800
Video Card(s)	AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT 12 GB
Storage	2 TB Corsair MP600 GS, 2 TB Corsair MP600 R2
Display(s)	Dell S3422DWG, 7" Waveshare touchscreen
Case	Kolink Citadel Mesh black
Audio Device(s)	Logitech Z333 2.1 speakers, AKG Y50 headphones
Power Supply	Seasonic Prime GX-750
Mouse	Logitech MX Master 2S
Keyboard	Logitech G413 SE
Software	Bazzite (Fedora Linux) KDE

Processor	faster at instructions than yours
Motherboard	more nurturing than yours
Cooling	frostier than yours
Memory	superior scheduling & haphazardly entry than yours
Video Card(s)	better rasterization than yours
Storage	more ample than yours
Display(s)	increased pixels than yours
Case	fancier than yours
Audio Device(s)	further audible than yours
Power Supply	additional amps x volts than yours
Mouse	without as much gnawing as yours
Keyboard	less clicky than yours
VR HMD	not as odd looking as yours
Software	extra mushier than yours
Benchmark Scores	up yours

System Name	AlderLake
Processor	Intel i7 12700K P-Cores @ 5Ghz
Motherboard	Gigabyte Z690 Aorus Master
Cooling	Noctua NH-U12A 2 fans + Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut Extreme + 5 case fans
Memory	32GB DDR5 Corsair Dominator Platinum RGB 6000MT/s CL36
Video Card(s)	MSI RTX 2070 Super Gaming X Trio
Storage	Samsung 980 Pro 1TB + 970 Evo 500GB + 850 Pro 512GB + 860 Evo 1TB x2
Display(s)	23.8" Dell S2417DG 165Hz G-Sync 1440p
Case	Be quiet! Silent Base 600 - Window
Audio Device(s)	Panasonic SA-PMX94 / Realtek onboard + B&O speaker system / Harman Kardon Go + Play / Logitech G533
Power Supply	Seasonic Focus Plus Gold 750W
Mouse	Logitech MX Anywhere 2 Laser wireless
Keyboard	RAPOO E9270P Black 5GHz wireless
Software	Windows 11
Benchmark Scores	Cinebench R23 (Single Core) 1936 @ stock Cinebench R23 (Multi Core) 23006 @ stock

System Name	main/SFFHTPCARGH!(tm)/Xiaomi Mi TV Stick/Samsung Galaxy S23/Ally
Processor	Ryzen 7 5800X3D/i7-3770/S905X/Snapdragon 8 Gen 2/Ryzen Z1 Extreme
Motherboard	MSI MAG B550 Tomahawk/HP SFF Q77 Express/uh?/uh?/Asus
Cooling	Enermax ETS-T50 Axe aRGB /basic HP HSF /errr.../oh! liqui..wait, no:sizable vapor chamber/a nice one
Memory	64gb DDR4 3600/8gb DDR3 1600/2gbLPDDR3/8gbLPDDR5x/16gb(10 sys)LPDDR5 6400
Video Card(s)	Hellhound Spectral White RX 7900 XTX 24gb/GT 730/Mali 450MP5/Adreno 740/Radeon 780M 6gb LPDDR5
Storage	250gb870EVO/500gb860EVO/2tbSandisk/NVMe2tb+1tb/4tbextreme V2/1TB Arion/500gb/8gb/256gb/4tb SN850X
Display(s)	X58222 32" 2880x1620/32"FHDTV/273E3LHSB 27" 1920x1080/6.67"/AMOLED 2X panel FHD+120hz/7" FHD 120hz
Case	Cougar Panzer Max/Elite 8300 SFF/None/Gorilla Glass Victus 2/front-stock back-JSAUX RGB transparent
Audio Device(s)	Logi Z333/SB Audigy RX/HDMI/HDMI/Dolby Atmos/KZ x HBB PR2/Moondrop Chu II + TRN BT20S
Power Supply	Chieftec Proton BDF-1000C /HP 240w/12v 1.5A/USAMS GAN PD 33w/USAMS GAN 100w
Mouse	Speedlink Sovos Vertical-Asus ROG Spatha-Logi Ergo M575/Xiaomi XMRM-006/touch/touch
Keyboard	Endorfy Thock 75%/Lofree Edge/none/touch/virtual
VR HMD	Medion Erazer
Software	Win10 64/Win8.1 64/Android TV 8.1/Android 14/Win11 64
Benchmark Scores	bench...mark? i do leave mark on bench sometime, to remember which one is the most comfortable. :o

System Name	Still not a thread ripper but pretty good.
Processor	Ryzen 9 7950x, Thermal Grizzly AM5 Offset Mounting Kit, Thermal Grizzly Extreme Paste
Motherboard	ASRock B650 LiveMixer (BIOS/UEFI version P3.08, AGESA 1.2.0.2)
Cooling	EK-Quantum Velocity, EK-Quantum Reflection PC-O11, D5 PWM, EK-CoolStream PE 360, XSPC TX360
Memory	Micron DDR5-5600 ECC Unbuffered Memory (2 sticks, 64GB, MTC20C2085S1EC56BD1) + JONSBO NF-1
Video Card(s)	XFX Radeon RX 5700 & EK-Quantum Vector Radeon RX 5700 +XT & Backplate
Storage	Samsung 4TB 980 PRO, 2 x Optane 905p 1.5TB (striped), AMD Radeon RAMDisk
Display(s)	2 x 4K LG 27UL600-W (and HUANUO Dual Monitor Mount)
Case	Lian Li PC-O11 Dynamic Black (original model)
Audio Device(s)	Corsair Commander Pro for Fans, RGB, & Temp Sensors (x4)
Power Supply	Corsair RM750x
Mouse	Logitech M575
Keyboard	Corsair Strafe RGB MK.2
Software	Windows 10 Professional (64bit)
Benchmark Scores	RIP Ryzen 9 5950x, ASRock X570 Taichi (v1.06), 128GB Micron DDR4-3200 ECC UDIMM (18ASF4G72AZ-3G2F1)

System Name	MSI-MEG
Processor	AMD Ryzen 9 3900X
Motherboard	MSI MEG X570S ACE MAX
Cooling	AMD Wraith Prism + Thermal Grizzly
Memory	32 GB
Video Card(s)	MSI Suprim X RTX 3080
Storage	500 GB MSI Spatium nvme + 500 GB WD nvme + 2 TB Seagate HDD + 2 TB Seagate HDD
Display(s)	27" LG 144HZ 2K ULTRAGEAR
Case	MSI MPG Velox Airflow 100P
Audio Device(s)	Altec Lansing
Power Supply	Seasonic 750W 80+ Gold
Mouse	HP OMEN REACTOR
Keyboard	Corsair K68
Software	Windows10 LTSC 64 bit