Cooler Gigabyte GH-PCU21-VG (3D Cooler)
Now let's look at the fan.
This is in fact a turbine, the same as that on Cooler Master Aero 7. The differences are about the direction of air flow. The turbine of the 3D Cooler-Pro is positioned in the center of the radiator, and the air comes out into all the sides (to put it right, the direction of air flow is 360 degrees; probably that's why the cooler got the postfix "3D").
The air into the turbine is sucked from both above and below. The air circulation in the bottom part favors the cooling of the base.
The power supply of the turbine is arranged in a quite nonstandard way: instead of the regular 3-pin connector, a small 4-pin Molex connector is plugged to the turbine (the one like this is used for powering 3" floppy drives). Such a scheme is used mainly because of the high power consumed by the turbine and not all motherboards are able providing sufficient power.
In this regard, the cooler resembles Aero 7. Another similarity is in the rotational speed regulator (plugged in to the central connector). The rheostat allows smoothly varying the speed within 2000RPM to 4000RPM. This regulator is installed on a 3-inch cap which can be installed into a respective compartment of the PC housing.
Besides, there is a cap for the rear panel of the housing (i.e. instead of one of the expansion cards). Such an approach has practically become standard among the manufacturers of high-end coolers. Recall Cooler Master Aero 7 and Thermaltake Volcano 11+. But specialists at Gigabyte added one trifle: all over the handle circle base RPM values are applied. Therefore, the user can approximately determine the rotational speed without resorting to system monitoring utilities.
As the rotational speed varies, the noise level changes (from 19.2 dBA to 37.2 dBA). Frankly, there is something fishy in the minimum noise level declared by the manufacturer. The coolers Igloo Silent Breeze and Zalman 7000(A) that have been to our test lab demonstrated that with the declared 19-20dBa noise level the cooler can't be heard at all.
I fear the phrase "the cooler almost can't be heard" is poorly informative, and many users interpret it in various ways. We imply it to be as follows: to make a cooler that "can't be practically heard" audible, we should do away with the noise coming from other system components (CPU unit, video card, hard disk). And only in this case we can hear the cooler from a very close distance (~10 cm). As a rule, this is simply soft rustling of the air, but if the manufacturer reduces the cost of the design, then rotor noise may rise (for instance, Igloo Silent Breeze II cooler).
Unfortunately, the Gigabyte 3D at the minimum speed makes quite a noise; louder than the declared 19.2 dBa. As the rotational speed is increased to the maximum, the cooler noise starts interfering with the operation (but it's anyway quieter than CU5TB and Aero7 (max)). Therefore, it can hardly be recommended to the amateurs of absolute quietness.
On the other hand, the cooler can be recommended to the modding fanciers - its peculiar exterior deserves highest praise. Besides, the plastic grid on top hides four blue LEDs which impart a special stylishness to the product :)
Finally, the cooler itself is of interest in terms of modifications: replacement of aluminum plates with copper (plus use of thermal paste in the contact point), which should increase the efficiency of the cooler.
 |
Top Stories: |
 |
 |
|
MoBo:
| |
|
|
VGA Card:
|
|
|
|
CPU & Memory:
|
|
