14 DAY TRIAL // High-end graphics cards from AMD and NVIDIA can stay cool now that they know just what to choose in order to shrug off that extra heat. The latest cooler from Scythe, dubbed Setsugen (Snow Field in English), is the second product with this name released by the company and adopts the fin structure of the famous Mugen 2 CPU cooler, namely the M.A.P.S. (Multiple Airflow Pass-Through Structure). The cooler, thus, is divided into four fin blocks, each built with a 6mm copper heatpipe. Rotary speeds and, consequently, the airflow and noise level are adjustable and the heatsink may come in different sizes and shapes, for full compatibility with any of the supported VGA adapters.
The genuine Scythe Slip Stream SLIM fan measures 120 x 120 x 12 mm (4.72 x 4.72 x 0.47 inches). The fan itself comes coupled with the aforementioned Mugen 2-based heatsink and has adjustable airflow and rotary speeds. The actual speeds may be set as low as 800 RPM (± 30%) and as high as 1200 RPM. According to the rotation, the airflow itself will change, ranging from 19.40 CFM to 45.47 CFM. The entire cooler measures 180 x 33.5 x 139 mm / 7.09 x 1.32 x 5.47 inches and weighs 375 grams.
The actual supported video cards are quite many. The official specifications offer the complete list of supported video cards, with the most notable being the GeForce GTS 250, GTX 260, GTX 275, GTX 280 and GTX 285 adapters from NVIDIA and the Radeon HD 4850, HD 4870, HD 4890, HD 5850 and HD 5870 from AMD/ATI.
In order to ensure stability and full compatibility with all supported adapters, the mounting process is simple and uses a new type of mechanism that depends on the actual VGA card model. The product may be fixed to the card by means of four screws, which are secured with backplate thumb screws. The screws are shifted according to the placement of the actual mounting holes, a placement that depends on each card's individual design.
The cooling module may have a noise output between 19.53 and 33.67 dBA, depending on the selected speed and ariflow. The product is already available at an MSRP of 27.95 EUR/US$ 39.50.
