Thermalright's Shaman VGA Cooler: The Quiet Giant?

[cleeve]

Thermalright's Shaman is the largest VGA cooler we've ever seen. Having recently reviewed three competing aftermarket graphics cooling solutions, we're eager to find out if size really matters when it comes to overclocking the ultra-hot GeForce GTX 480.

Thermalright's Shaman VGA Cooler: The Quiet Giant? : Read more

 

[Guest]

Great it you only have 1 GPU and no other expansion cards because the thing takes up like 4 slots

 

[dstln]

It looks like a good option for enthusiasts who want a quiet system. Besides that, I fail to see the point.

 

[tomskent]

It would of been nice to take a picture of the card looking down on it from the top so we could see/estimate how many slots it would take up.
how many slots does it exactly take up?

 

[tomskent]

A picture of the card in the case would of been nice

 

[nebun]

so how am i going to set this up in SLI?

 

[duk3]

It's not a case, it's a test bed.
You aren't going to set this up in SLI, especially with the VRM heatsink going one way and the 140mm fan going the other.

 

[Tamz_msc]

Wow!

 

[mx2138]

I'm a tad bit interested on the total weight card+cooler...

 

[fatkid35]

ultra mega E peen points. this in a case would look like the backside of your refrigerator.seriously, go look right now!

 

[zodiacfml]

thanks for the nice conclusion. on the same note, watercooling and large air heatsinks are same with this cooler right here, there isn't much to be gained in terms of adding more clock speed.
for the right reasons, i would still get WC or large sinks.

 

[Lutfij]

behemoth!!!

I'm switching to watercooling before i try to live next to this monster.

 

[dEAne]

It is just right for me - but the space is my problem.

 

[akula2]

Prolimatech and Thermalright are the best CPU coolers in most of the solutions. Personally I use them and very much satisfied with their performance on my Workstations. But, if one is looking for a cost effective solution then Cooler Master Hyper212 plus is still the best bet. Choice if yours

 

[dmcfc]

[citation][nom]akula2[/nom]Prolimatech and Thermalright are the best CPU coolers in most of the solutions. Personally I use them and very much satisfied with their performance on my Workstations. But, if one is looking for a cost effective solution then Cooler Master Hyper212 plus is still the best bet. Choice if yours[/citation]

the cm 212+ is a cpu cooler, this article is about a vga cooler, there is no way both of those can be compared...



Ok I just don't see the point of this other than trying to make the pc quieter, it takes a lot of space, my guess is that it's not possible to crossfire or sli any cards if both of the cards are using this cooler! If one of the cards is not using it the pc is going to be just as loud so there is no point of having it on not even in one of the cards! So this cooler is just for people that want a quieter pc with a single card with just one gpu (as they don't work with dual-gpu like the 5970..)

 

[-Fran-]

I need to see that thing inside a case; this review is incomplete without one, Mr. Don. Well, IMO that is.

Cheers!

 

[bullit7]

The whole point of this test was to see how well the Shaman compared to the other products and you invalidated the test when you added the additional VRM cooler. What you SHOULD have done was to get the better thermal tape and tested it with the cooling parts in the box, not go and add an additional part that screwed the whole test. Yes, it's only the VRM, but it still counts because Thermalright put their own parts in the box for a reason. I call for a retest.

 

[geofelt]

The results are impressive for a cooler on a test bed. But... most of us will have the card and cooler installed in a case. Where does the hot vga air go? Right back into the case where it heats up both the air used to cool the graphics card AND the air used to cool the cpu. That is why A direct exhaust type cooler will be more effective. Let's see a test of these coolers installed in a case.

 

[Guest]

Disappointed that TH did this review with an additional component rather than the out-of-box cooler only. It is completely misleading no matter how much it is disclosed, that the added vrm cooler is not part of the product being reviewed. If the card were to fail due to the vrm chips cooking, that needs to be part of the review. Instead you are effectively covering a manufacturer deficiency by adding another product.

 

[jaquith]

Real cooling -> Koolance!

 

[rolli59]

Just another product I will never buy since std GPU cooling has always been enough for me.

 

[bildo123]

[citation][nom]dstln[/nom]It looks like a good option for enthusiasts who want a quiet system. Besides that, I fail to see the point.[/citation]

I find this as the biggest attraction to after market cooling; that is silence. Most of the stock HSF setups are very loud in gaming mode, at least that's how both my 4870 and 8800GT cards have been.

 

[killerclick]

Heat is much less of a problem with overclocking than you might think. Every CPU/GPU I've had has become unstable long before it approached its thermal limit. Maybe I was just unlucky?

 

[redgarl]

Two of those in crossfire... or SLI... right... see my concern here...

 

[redgarl]

Who need silence in gaming mode?