The Grandis XE1236 from SilentiumPC is the budget king of air coolers. Its performance rivals the likes of the Phanteks PH-TC14PE, be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 3, and Deepcool Maelstrom 240. At a fantastic price point of just $39.99, it manages to place well above its price bracket, taking on heavy-weight competitors that costs two to three times as much. Not only does it simply accomplish such a feat as it does so while being quiet, hitting just 44 dBA with its fans at their maximum RPM. SilentiumPC even offers extra fan clips for users looking for the absolute best performance possible with three fans. So this cooler, to summarize, performs well and is quiet and attractively priced. That, ladies and gentlemen, is a real accomplishment. Instead of offering users a bunch of things they don't need, SilentiumPC has with the Grandis XE1236 offered exactly what most users need without all the fluff and filler.

To be blunt, I can only think of a few areas to improve upon. First is memory clearance, though hard to fix as it is an issue inherently linked to heavy-weight CPU coolers. Still, the Grandis XE1236 does cover three out of four DIMM slots on the test system's motherboard. As such, users will have to use standard-height memory. The other big issue is the lack of availability. You might, simply put, have a hard time in acquiring this cooler outside of Poland. SilentiumPC can hopefully expand into new markets sooner rather than later. The only remaining issue, and I am really reaching for straws here, is the quality of the copper base. While It is not bad by any means, it could use a little bit of love. The machining marks can be felt clearly.

The only other thing I feel needs mention is that this is one of few dual-tower cooler that does not block off the motherboard's first expansion slot. Its not often I install such large coolers to be left with my motherboard's first expansion slot, which is noteworthy as it makes the Grandis XE1236 mini-ITX motherboard friendly.

SilentiumPC's Grandis XE1236 is ultimately a no-frills heavy-weight heatsink that redefines what users should expect to get for their money. Exceptional performance, low noise levels, solid build quality—it really is an amazing product priced at a budget-friendly MSRP of $39.99.