Prolimatech MK-13 VGA Cooler Review
Installation Part One - The Cooler
Published: 29th August 2010 | Source: Prolimatech | Price: 49.90 EUR |
Installation
Installation of a VGA cooler is something that causes a raised heart-beat in even the most stalwart of us. One of the many things we pride ourselves on here at OC3D is that we're enthusiasts just like you, and so rather than just install it how we know it should go we thought we'd walk you through it with us, following the instructions to the letter. After all just because we've done this a few times, most people wont have and so having clear and precise instructions is vital.
For our installation we'll be using an ATI HD5870.
Straight away we have a slight issue as according to the pamphlet that accompanies the MK-13 the first thing to do is attach the heatsink. Clearly this will make installing the RAM and VRM heatsinks problematic so let's re-arrange things to how they clearly should go.
The VRM heatsink for the ATI 5xxx cards is the fairly standard "sticky bottom and screw" affair. Peeling the tape off and placing it upon the VRMs you can see just to the right of the heatsink in this shot it was a simple matter of screwing it tight.
There isn't a shortage of surface area and the black anodised heatsink certainly will offset nicely with the nickel of the main MK-13 itself.
The RAM sinks, of which there are more than enough, attach just using the sticky, without any screws. The instructions are staggeringly unclear about where exactly to put them, but it's worth noting that four at the top of the shot here are actually too low. The bottom edge needs to match to the bottom edge of the chip otherwise the main heatsink wont fit.
The MK-13 itself is mounted using the standard cross-brace and four sprung-loaded screws that are common with these type of things.
Lay the heatsink flat, place the card on top and screw them in in the same manner you would the head of an engine. Start with opposite corners to ensure alignment then insert the other two screws. Gradually tighten each one moving around them until it's locked in place.
Here it is in all its glory. The screws holding it in place protrude much further than the ones of the stock heatsink. Otherwise it's certainly an attractive heatsink although leaving the rather untidy ends of the card exposed is both aesthetically undesirable and once again rears the "hot air exhausted into case" problem most third-party cooling has.
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
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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
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