ASUS Unveils New Cooling System for Graphics Cards

[zippyjuan]

ASUS Bids on Passive Coolers for Graphics Cards.
ASUS Unveils New Cooling System for Graphics Cards

Category: Video

by Anton Shilov

[ 07/25/2005 | 06:35 AM ]


ASUSTeK Computer Monday unveiled its new SilentCool passive cooling system for graphics cards, which is proclaimed to be significantly more efficient than similar products from other companies, yet, still noiseless, as it does not feature or require any fans.

“In the past, enhanced video capability also comes with louder noise. With ASUS SilentCool Technology, users can now enjoy high-performance graphics card applications without hearing the noisy cooling fan rotation,” said Kent Chien, Director of ASUS Graphics Business.

SilentCool cooling solution consists of a number of heatsinks: one main and two additional, connected to the main one using heat-pipes. The main cooling module is large aluminum radiator with copper base, two additional modules are made of copper and their exact placement may be adjusted in order to best fit into different computer cases. Supplementary cooling modules are needed to allow better heat absorption from higher-end graphics processing unit (GPU), which consume 80W or even more.

http://www.xbitlabs.com/images/news/2005-07/asus_sc_card_bg.jpg
ASUS SilentCool scheme

At press time it was unclear how much thermal power the SilentCool in its current implementation can absorb and whether it can be used for powerful graphics cards, such as the GeForce 6800- and RADEON X8-series. From design standpoint, SilentCool may fit onto different graphics cards, as its heatpipes are located in such a way that length of the board is not important, however, on high-end GeForce 6800 GT/Ultra and GeForce 7800-series graphics cards memory chips are located under 45º angle to the GPU, which require a special design of a cooler.


Currently, SilentCool is available on ASUS Extreme N6600GT Silencer graphics card. More ASUS graphics solutions will implement this exclusive technology in future, the company indicated.

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This thing looks huge! How about SLI cards?

[shocky123]

well at least its partially 'new' heh

any ideas/word on pricing on this??

*curious*
~Kyle

[LegendKiller]

Personally I don't understand this trend. Most gamers could care less what their card sounded like. A lot of people complained about the 6800 leaf blowers, but when it came down to it, when you are fragging with or without headphones you don't care.

Better money/time can be spent on active cooling ideas and/or better software bundles rather than craptastical 3 year old software.

[shocky123]

I agree with Legend entirely on that/this.


I must've missed the part where they described this as an alternative to noisy fans..
but w/e fans work, if your case is too loud, turn down your ears.

~Kyle

[TruckStuff]

Personally I don't understand this trend.Its just like any other trend in PCs. Do we all need 3Ghz processors w/ 2Gb of RAM and 1Tb of HDD space? Hell no! But we have it because we *can* have it.

Its all about bragging rights. I don't know about you, but if I can get the same/better temps and performance out of a rig w/ less than half the sound, that's a big plus for me. Is it rational? Maybe not. But I'll tell you my experience: you don't realize just how loud your computer really is until you hear how quiet it can be, and then you won't have anything else. ;)

[Pemolis]

Honestly I hate noise in my pc especially when I leave it on at night.

[LegendKiller]

Its just like any other trend in PCs. Do we all need 3Ghz processors w/ 2Gb of RAM and 1Tb of HDD space? Hell no! But we have it because we *can* have it.

Its all about bragging rights. I don't know about you, but if I can get the same/better temps and performance out of a rig w/ less than half the sound, that's a big plus for me. Is it rational? Maybe not. But I'll tell you my experience: you don't realize just how loud your computer really is until you hear how quiet it can be, and then you won't have anything else. ;)


The noise created by more generic cooling methods aren't that loud to begin with. Aggressive cooling measures on high-end cards is what makes noise, not your typical X800XL for mid-level people. Thus, your point of non-bleeding edge + no noise isn't spot on.

[TruckStuff]

The noise created by more generic cooling methods aren't that loud to begin with. Aggressive cooling measures on high-end cards is what makes noise, not your typical X800XL for mid-level people.The stock coolers on almost any video card on the market today is louder than what is available for that card. Therfore for those folks who love having quiet PCs, passive cooling like this is definitely worth while. Remember, its all about bragging rights.

Like I said, I don't expect you to believe me until you hear the difference yourself. :)

[LegendKiller]

The stock coolers on almost any video card on the market today is louder than what is available for that card. Therfore for those folks who love having quiet PCs, passive cooling like this is definitely worth while. Remember, its all about bragging rights.

Like I said, I don't expect you to believe me until you hear the difference yourself. :)

I have reviewed "silent" cards like these, several from Sapphire and a couple from Asus. I know the difference between them and I still maintain that they are a waste of time and money, the biggest benefit is that they can be aided by active cooling to get a multiplicative affect.

[ribitch]

silence is golden in my eyes. I am glad to see manufacturers creating things like this, because they can and will make their way into machines that do need the GPU power, and are not used by gamers. A powermac g5 can be silent. If you are doing realtime effects in Motion, you need as much GPU as possible. If something like this makes the video card quiet, then Motion editors will find a way to make it work with their machines.

Theres more to a good GPU then gaming.

[nate el bueno]

Personally I don't understand this trend. Most gamers could care less what their card sounded like. A lot of people complained about the 6800 leaf blowers, but when it came down to it, when you are fragging with or without headphones you don't care.

Better money/time can be spent on active cooling ideas and/or better software bundles rather than craptastical 3 year old software.

what about the 5800's :lmfao: i watched a movie where people used them as hair dryers, yes, leafblowers, ect
i'd like this tech with a fan, even better!

[LegendKiller]

silence is golden in my eyes. I am glad to see manufacturers creating things like this, because they can and will make their way into machines that do need the GPU power, and are not used by gamers. A powermac g5 can be silent. If you are doing realtime effects in Motion, you need as much GPU as possible. If something like this makes the video card quiet, then Motion editors will find a way to make it work with their machines.

Theres more to a good GPU then gaming.


Most of the time a decent cooler for a higher-end card is pretty quiet. Sure, leafblowers suck, but you never see these silent coolers until much later in the life of a product. You probably won't see this on a 6xxx or 7xxx product from Nvidia, nor the new ATI high-ends.

Once the process gets better then they can use less aggresive cooling.

[Merlin]

If you really NEED power AND quiet then just liquid cool the sucker. Lots of trade offs - just pick the combo that works for your needs. :shrug:

[TruckStuff]

You probably won't see this on a 6xxx or 7xxx product from Nvidia, nor the new ATI high-ends. Actually, passive coolers for those cards have been available for some time. See the bottom of this page: http://www.zalmanusa.com/usa/product/code_list.asp?code=013