|
We recently took a brief look at the first in what appears to be a growing
number of low cost cooling accessories from CoolIT. Primarily known
for their super impressive MTEC CPU liquid coolers, the company is apparently
trying to expand their product line and offer some that will cater to
enthusiasts on a budget as well. Their first was appropriately named
as the "RAM Fan". In short, its sported a simple yet effective design.
Their second does not deviate from this and rather than
target your memory modules, it is designed to provide additional cooling to
all your expansion cards.
**click to enlarge**
Like the RAM Fan, it comes in a standard blister pack with some very basic
info on the product. There are no installation
instructions included simply because installation is easy and tool-less.
|
**click to enlarge** |
**click to enlarge** |
There's not much to brag about its overall design as well. Made
entirely out of aluminum, the cooler sports an 80mm LED fan and features a
unique tool-less design. There are a total of four thumb screws, two
of which actually screw into the two that offer the support via the
expansion slot mounting holes. The fan is powered by a simple two-pin
fan connector that you can plug into any available fan header on your
motherboard. It is not very long, so make sure you have a header
available on the bottom section of your motherboard. That, or have a
power adapter handy as it does not include one.
Specifications
No
specs are listed on the CoolIT Website but those who represent CoolIT did
kindly provide the following information on the fan's specs...
Voltage: 12
Power: 2Watt
Speed: 3000rpm
Airflow: 38.88 CFM
Noise: 32.31 dBA
Installation
|
**click to enlarge** |
**click to enlarge** |
No
instructions are included with the product because like their RAM Fan, it is
that easy to install. There are two sets of thumb screws which makes
it easy to install without the need for any tools. However, it is
important to note that the install may be a bit more difficult for those
featuring cases that have their own built-in tool-less PCI card install
features. I did run into some issues when installing on my main test
rig featuring the excellent 3D Aurora full tower case from Gigabyte.
The tool-less bracket
that runs across all expansion slots was a big issue and I had to resort to
only using two of the four thumb screws to mount the cooler in place.
Like their RAM Fan, this cooler is designed to blend in well with all their
products, including their high-end Freezone MTEC Cooler shown in the install
above. The fan also sports some blue LED's that will blend in well
with most modern setups.
Performance
Being able to measure cooling performance on the components this cooler does
target is much more difficult. We are talking about a wide range of
expansion cards that not only include your primary video card, but also
sound cards, TV Tuners, SCSI cards, etc. With most of these cards, you
are simply unable to measure performance due to the lack of built-in temp
sensors. That's where my trusty ThermoHawk 200 comes into play.
For those unfamiliar with this excellent tool, the
ThermoHawk 200 provides
highly accurate surface temperature readings. Most importantly, this
infrared touch-less thermometer provides readings that are highly
consistent. Measure in the exact same spot with the same ambient
temperature, and you'll get the exact same reading every time. It is
the perfect tool for PC enthusiasts and overclockers.
Testing here was a bit more difficult due to the broad range of components
it can actually aid in cooling. A number of temps were recorded with and without this cooler
running. Two cards were installed in this test system consisting of a
very hot-running ASUS EAX1600XT SILENT passively cooled video card and the
Creative X-Fi XtremeMusic Sound Card. Temps were recorded both from
the processor and the back side of each card. Mind you, the fins on
the backside of the EAX1600XT get so hot, you can't even keep your fingers
on them.
The results were not much to brag about.
It did provide some additional cooling, but nothing too substantial and it
all depended on the slot the card was in. Note though that this
particular passively-cooled video card runs extremely hot and this cooler
only provided a slight "boost". I still couldn't really keep my
fingers on its cooling fins. Basically, you'll looking at roughly a 2
degree difference in temperatures when installed and running for about 10-15
minutes.
Conclusions
The CoolIT PCI Booster, hence its name, will
basically provide a slight "boost" in cooling your expansion cards.
Nothing remarkable to note about performance though. It does aid in
cooling, but the results were not substantial. Those looking for an
additional means of cooling their video card will probably find this product
of interest. I say this because its name should not fool you and this
cooler is designed to mount over practically all your PCI slots, providing
cooling to not only your PCI cards, but your hot-running video card as well.
However, note that performance will greatly depend on the slot you have the
card loaded on and the position of the fan itself. There aren't many
PCI expansion cards I can think of that run very hot other than some TV
Tuners. This product is basically designed for those that have plenty
of hot-running cards installed on a smaller chassis that does not tend to
dissipate heat efficiently.
The CoolIT PCI Booster has an MSRP of $24.99.
More information on this product can be found on the
CoolIT Website.
Also, for those unfamiliar with their other
products, I highly recommend you visit their website and research on their
high end CPU cooling products. They are honestly the very best in
terms of a performance/price perspective. For an opinion, you can take
a look at our reviews on both the Freezone
and Eliminator. Both are
highly recommended products for overclockers.
|
Pros |
Cons |
- Simple Installation
- Low noise
- Looks appealing in case
|
- Moderate performance
- Possible install issues with
tool-less case designs
|
Questions?
Comments?
Discuss them here...
|
