Verdict and Conclusion

Apart from the CPU, the next component within the system that produces the most heat is your graphics card. Having an effective cooling solution just for your CPU may not be enough in today's high-end gaming systems. You'll also need to consider the same for your graphics card. So what's the solution? Well,  Arctic Cooling's Accelero Xtreme Plus GPU cooler could be the answer you're looking for. The Accelero Xtreme Plus allows you to change or replace the exisiting stock cooler of your graphics card, with something that can offer unrivaled cooling performance.

During our tests, we used a pre-overclocked Geforce GTX 460 running at 715Mhz (default is 675Mhz), which we thought was perfect for candidate for testing the Accelero Xtreme Plus. We measured the temperature of the GPU for both idle and load situations, using first the stock cooler and then later, the Accelero Xtreme Plus. The temperature readings which we managed to get from using the stock cooler was as expected, with idle temperatures of around 35 degrees Celsius. But I was a little shocked to find my load temperatures were actiually at 79 degrees Celsius, something which is pretty worrying.

Next, we replaced the stock cooler with the Accelero Xtreme Plus and ran the same tests. Now this is better. Idle temperatures were pretty good at around 31 degrees Celsius, which is 4 degrees lower than the stock cooler. For our load tests, I was extemely happy to find that the Accelero Xtreme Plus produced a temperature reading of 68 degrees Celsius. Remember, in our tests we were using a pre-overclocked Geforce GTX 460, plus we've been running the graphics card at 100% full GPU load for several hours. With a difference of 11 degrees lower than the original stock cooler, I really can't ask for anything more.

Noise level was surprisingly low. I was expecting something quite loud, but the 3 x 92mm fans can spin at an extremely low rate of 900rpm to a maximum of speed of 2,000rpm. With all three fans spinning, air-flow is pretty good too, with an output of around 81 CFM, which is more than enough to effectively cool the whole heatsink. What I like about this cooler in particular, is the looks ... it does look monstrous. After installing it on my aging (only a year old) Geforce GTX 460, it's kind of give a new lease of life ;)

There's no question, the Accelero Xtreme Plus can produce the results and the cooling performance you're after. This all thanks to the solid Copper base, 5 Copper heatpipes and the large array of 84 Aluminium fans, all of which are cooled by 3 x 92mm fans. What I'm more concerned about is the compatibility issue. Not all graphic cards are supported, take for example the Geforce GTX 560 Ti and certainly not the newer models from Nvidia or AMD for that matter. You can see the full list of compatible graphic cards here. And finally, the other thing to look out for, is your chassis. The heatsink itself is fairly long and therefore might not fit all chassis. I would double check first.

According to the Arctic Cooling website, the price of the Accelero Xtreme Plus costs around USD $75.00 (GBP 55.00), which is about the same as a high-end CPU cooler. It's a little pricey for my liking, but it does offer very good cooling performance for your graphics card. If it was $15-20.00 cheaper, then I would definitely recommend it without any hesitation.

Final words. I think Arctic cooling has done a decent job with a GPU cooler that can effectively cool most of today's high performance graphic cards. The Accelero Xtreme Plus is a great alternative and replacement to your stock cooler. It offers great features and good cooling performance that's more than enough for most users. Be sure to check the compatibility first.

SCORE

8/10

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