14 DAY TRIAL // By now, enthusiasts have likely heard more than enough about the high operational temperatures of NVIDIA's GeForce GTX 400 Series graphics adapters, just as they are likely more than informed on their performance. According to NVIDIA itself, the temperatures aren't really an issue, since GF100 is a GPU designed to be hot. However, with summer approaching, it is likely that room temperatures will rise enough for the reference cooler to no longer be able to handle the heat on its own.
In this situation, a water-cooler is the most logical solution and, predictably, immediately after the cards themselves debuted, cooling-solution developers were more than eager to announce that they would provide one. Among those companies was Danger Den, whose DD-GTX470 waterblock is almost ready to start shipping.
As its name implies, the waterblock is designed for the reference GeForce GTX 470 adapter. It has a copper base and a translucent “smoke” acrylic top, which allows end-users to see the channels. Also, the fitting is threaded directly into the copper and/or top. Furthermore, the waterblock employs an additional RAM Pad mounting point, for a maximum mounting contact, and the contact pads with the PCB prevent warping or bending of the video controller.
The cooling solution completely covers not just the GPU (graphics processing unit), but also the voltage regulators, the I/O chip and the VRAM. Finally, the hand lapped block is equipped with stainless-steel hold downs and high flow G 1/4 - 1/2", 3/8" or 1/4" fittings.
The Danger Den DD-GTX470 is pressure tested before shipment and will be bundled with ceramique thermal grease and thermal pads. All in all, it should drive card temperatures significantly lower, which means not just a higher stability, but also a larger overclocking headroom. Shipments should start later this week, with the suggested price tag of $119.95.