All four high-end canditates were presented. Now I would like to briefly introduce the cooler, which is sold already mounted onto a graphic card by manufacturer. This is just to review advantages and disadvantages of the stock cooler, for better understanding why its upgrade is so neccessary for certain users.

I have already mentioned the type of graphic card, which I used in this roundup. It is the special edition of ATI Sapphire X1800GTO2, based on the basic model X1800XT. Basically it is identical graphic card, with slightly lower parameters regarding final frequences (GPU/RAM), supply voltage and more agressive memories timing. However this values can be adjusted by user, and graphic card can reach the version XT.
But we are mainly interested in cooler placed on this graphic card, which is identical for both verions. It is a double slot cooler, designed on the bases of its forerunner, used for X800GTO FireBlade graphic card, which was also the special edition of a basic model.

This cooler is rather massive, covering the whole slot. Like that, graphic card is becoming double-sloted, together with modificated rear panel for two PCI blind flanges. Comparing to other previous cooling models, in which the airflow was carried off from a backside of a cooler and heat dissipation was concentrated in the front part, in this model, airflow is headed from a heatsink base out, through perforated PCI blind flage placed bellow. I do not have to mention advantages of this type of construction, nobody was happy to have overheated heatsink due to circulation of hot air coming out from a graphic card.

The cooler’s weight is half a kilo, what is quite a lot. This cooler, composed of two pieces, is able to cool not only graphic card, but also RAM heatsinks. Its upper part serves as a cooler’s shelter, regulating airflow in desired direction and in one time it functions as a point for fan connection. Inferior part is composed of two pieces: copper base and aluminium plate, interlocked with four screws.

The copper part of a cooler has a square-shaped base, two 8 mm – mildly pressed – heatpipes with plating. Length of heatpipes, as well as the size of a whole copper modul, is not any big deal, big contribution is using of a heatpipe. System of 60 fins is designed very effectively. It does not surprise with its overall size, but it is precisely elaborated. And with this number of fins, thermal interface material is sufficient. Another pro is that air fluctuation is headed exclusively to fins area.

Alumium plate creates supporting basic part of a cooler, and insures the drain off the heat from memory heatsinks. Heat dissipation between aluminium plate and memory chip is secured with heat-conductive soft gum. Latitude of a gum is rather big, and this affects the quality of cooling.

There is radially shaped, 29 wings fan, with 64 mm in diameter and impressive speed rotation – 5000 rpm, which cares for effective heat dissipation. But this is a roadblock of whole cooling system. Cooling is effective, but just too much noisy. Cooling of a graphic card would be sufficient, but only while using speed rotation that already “destroys your ears”. Even with minimal speed rotation, cooler is still hearable. That would be reason to change this cooler for more effective and less noisy one.

Fan, supported directly from the graphic card through 3-PIN connector, is mounted already during the manufacture. Graphic card is able to regulate its speed rotation according to its load and temperature, respectively. It is possible to regulate speed rotation also manually, with suitable software applicaton, e.g. ATI Tool, Riva Tuner.

From the frontal view, you can see that cooler is adapted for extra cooling of supply regulators, which are hidden underneath the brightly red heatsink. The fan drains away the heat from this area.

The cooler is connected onto a graphic card with four screws, passing through the card and through holes in edges of aluminium plate. The pressure of heatsink on a graphic card is secured with four additional smaller screws, passing through a cross-shaped metallic backplate, placed in central part of a cooler.

This was to present this stock cooler, which despite its clever construaction, looses with its excessive noisiness. That is a reason for upgrade solution.
We presented all competitors in today’s roundup and here is specification of test setup.