Finished Looks

The Grandis XE1236 is a large heavy-weight dual-tower cooler, and with both fans installed, it certainly takes up some space. Now imagine a third fan and, well, you end up with one big, burly cooler that looks surprisingly good, especially for the price.


The black PWM fans contrast nicely with the bare aluminum fins, while the black top fins out of aluminum give SilentiumPC's top-tier cooler a well-rounded, stylish appearance.


Though by no means terrible as there is still enough room for access to the EPS 8-pin plug, fan headers, etc., it's a bit cramped around the socket. The Grandis XE1236 cannot compare to all-in-one liquid coolers in terms of space, but clearance is acceptable for such a large cooler, and users should have very few issues getting everything hooked up.


As with all large coolers, memory clearance is lacking, to a degree, since the Grandis XE1236 covers three out of four DIMM slots. Considering the cooler's relatively low height of just 158 mm and its extremely affordable price, its lacking memory clearance can be forgiven, especially since the cooler does not block off the motherboard's first expansion slot. The latter makes the Grandis XE1236 a more case-compatible option than many other dual-tower coolers, which could definitely make it a favorite to those utilizing entry level cases.