What are the pros and cons of axial vs. blower cooling for a video card?
Radial
+Excels in narrow/limited space, and stacking multiple gpus.
+The waste heat is pushed out the rear of the gpu, and not inside the PC.
-The design isn't very efficient.
For the best effect this type requires high(er) or maximum fan curves, but the noise may stop some users. The single fan needs to be able to push - maybe ram is a better word - cool air down the entire length of the gpu and out the back. The air pressure kind of drags across if the fan's rpm is low enough.
Axial
+Cooler design is more efficient than radial; can achieve better cooling at lower noise levels than radial.
-Doesn't do as well in narrow/limited space, nor stacking multiple gpus. These fans need a little more 'face space' than radial.
-Dumps its waste heat inside the PC, some of which the cpu cooler has to cope with too... with the exception of front mounted AIO/custom loop rad. For top mounted AIO or air cooler, the alternative is the user over-provisioning on cooler size, if possible.