Prolimatech MK-13 VGA Cooler Review
Up Close
Published: 29th August 2010 | Source: Prolimatech | Price: 49.90 EUR |
The MK-13 Up Close
Inspiration for the MK-13 is clear right from the off. We have six monster heat-pipes and a wealth of fins.
Speaking of the fins they're actually fairly tightly packed together.
There is a real quality to the build of the MK-13. No sharp edges or bent corners, everything is of an extremely close tolerance and the heat-pipes themselves are especially attractive.
Here we have the mounting kit, which we'll cover in the next couple of pages as we go through the installation procedure. One of the best factors is that Prolimatech provide you with spares of almost everything you're likely to need. So often you get exactly the right amount of screws, it's nice to get one or two extra.
The sticker covering the heat-plate gave us quite a chuckle. Although entirely unintentional "Warning Made In China" definitely raised a few smiles.
Most Recent Comments
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Originally Posted by AlienALX
Which just so happens to be the same issue attatched to nigh on every third party GPU cooler on the market today. And that causes fast death of a GPU. For what they charge for these things you would think that they would get that sorted out. I mean, surely some one some where in testing said "Oi, my ram sinks bloody fell off !". Thanks again for a wonderfully honest review Mr VB. I shall avoid like the plague. |
I have used the same Zalman stick on sinks on a variety of chips (sata controllers. etc etc etc) and have actually never had a single one fall off. I have probably used a few dozen of them over the course of the last year or so (building various systems and outfitting various cards/chips)
As long as you clean the surface you are sticking them to, they seem to work great.
I have certainly heard that others have bad luck with them though. Maybe it's the lack of prep. when putting them on? Or maybe I have just gotten lucky.
As for this VGA cooler in review....why would someone build a product that takes up 4 card slots? Was an intern somehow in charge of product design on this item? I just don't get it. They should have just designed the heatsink itself with an indentation in the middle...and then some clips to mount a fan.....same way as everyone else builds their coolers. Really an odd departure from a company that builds such well though out products.....
Seems like by the time you buy the product and then add 2 fans, you are far beyond the value of some of the cards this item is meant to cool, I mean could you imagine such a cooler on a card like a GTS250? You would have a $200 (US) plus GTS250.
For $20 more you could get a 460 or for about $60 more a pair of 5770's. Neither of which needs aftermarket cooling. *scratches head*Quote
when you install a third party VGA cooler you void your warranty and the company that makes the cooler doesn't give you a warranty so if anything goes wrong you have nowhere to turn too, doesn't that seem stupid or money just grows on trees these days for some people.
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Originally Posted by silenthill
when you install a third party VGA cooler you void your warranty and the company that makes the cooler doesn't give you a warranty so if anything goes wrong you have nowhere to turn too, doesn't that seem stupid or money just grows on trees these days for some people. |
So for system building and testing mobo/ram/cpu on builds it's a great solution....this way if I get a faulty PSU or mobo I dont' fry a valuable GPU while burning in other components. Also it's super quiet now and I don't have to hear it screaming on the test bench for a 48 hour burn-in
Would make much less sense if all the items were new, and you were paying MSRP. Then I have to agree with you, it's just silly.Quote
Just about every card I have owned since a GeForce 2 Ti has had an aftermarket cooler. (Blorb on the GF2, remember those? lol) Not only do you get better cooling, but you can also clock higher and at lower noise levels than a stock cooler. I still have stock cooling on my GTX470 only because it is actually a good solution.
Worrying about a warranty is silly IMO. If you break the card changing the cooler it's your fault, but if the card happens to die a few months down the road from no fault of your own, just slap the stock cooler back on.
Back in the 9800 pro days, the stock cooling was well past inadequate and caused the cards to die prematurely. Overclocking was out of the question with stock cooling. Attaching an AC silencer (or a 1U copper server heatsink) was the only option.
I usually buy a new cooler WITH the brand new card. I only use stock cooling to test the new card and make sure it's not DOA, then the better third party cooling goes on.Quote
Worrying about a warranty is silly IMO. If you break the card changing the cooler it's your fault, but if the card happens to die a few months down the road from no fault of your own, just slap the stock cooler back on.
Back in the 9800 pro days, the stock cooling was well past inadequate and caused the cards to die prematurely. Overclocking was out of the question with stock cooling. Attaching an AC silencer (or a 1U copper server heatsink) was the only option.
I usually buy a new cooler WITH the brand new card. I only use stock cooling to test the new card and make sure it's not DOA, then the better third party cooling goes on.Quote
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As if to make matters even more enjoyable, when we moved the card amongst our various motherboards attempting to find one that it would fit into without fouling the chipset heatsink, the RAM sinks fell off. We were really gentle too.
And that causes fast death of a GPU. For what they charge for these things you would think that they would get that sorted out. I mean, surely some one some where in testing said "Oi, my ram sinks bloody fell off !".
Thanks again for a wonderfully honest review Mr VB. I shall avoid like the plague.Quote