Table Of Contents

Intro
1- Compatibility
2- S2 Packaging & Accessories
3- Turbo Module Packaging & Accessories

Accelero S2 Details
4- The Heatsink
5- Ramsinks
6- Base Surface Quality

Turbo Module Details
7- The Turbo Module Fans

Installation
8- Heatsink Installation
9- Turbo Module Installation
10- Case Installation

Benchmarks
11- 7600GT Passive Performance
12- 7600GT Active Performance
13- Thermal Compound Performance
14- Turbo Module Acoustics

15- Conclusion


Manufacturer Product Page: Arctic Cooling

Product Number: ACCELERO-S2

Price:
Accelero S2: $24.03 at Directcanada
Turbo Module: Approx $12.00CAD

Warranty: 6 Years

Availability:
Accelero S2: Now
Turbo Module: August-2007


Arctic Cooling is a name which has quickly become synonymous with unique and high-quality products in the highly-competitive field of cooling products. They have products that span nearly every consumer’s cooling needs; cases, power supplies (soon to be released), coolers for GPUs and CPUs as well as case fans and thermal compounds. They are headquartered in Switzerland and practice what they call the “Swiss Art of Engineering”. This being said, most of their products definitely have a very unique look and feel to them.

In this review we will be looking at their Accelero S2 passive cooler which is the smaller sibling of the larger Accelero S1 passive cooler. We will also be looking at the optional Turbo Module for the S1/S2 coolers which Arctic Cooling recommends if you are planning on overclocking your graphics card when using one of their passive coolers. All of Arctic Cooling’s products carry and incredible 6-year warranty which is handled directly by the store where you purchased the product. The Accelero S2 is aimed at cooling mid-range cards so if you are looking for cooling higher-end cards, you should look at the Accelero S1


Compatability

ATI:
- X1650 to X1050 series
- X850 to X300 series
- 9*** series

Nvidia:
- 7600, 7300 series
- 6600 series
- 5950 to 5200 series
- GeForce 4 Ti series
- GeForce 4 MX series


2- S2 Packaging & Accessories


Arctic Cooling packages their Accelero S2 in a clear plastic wrapper that shows you exactly what you are getting. The cooler is not afforded much protection from mishandling but since the whole thing is made of metal as well as a few bits of plastic, there really isn’t anything to worry about. All of the accessories are packaged in a little compartment on the back of the package.


Only the necessary accessories are included and they include 8 aluminum ramsinks, an expansion bay cover, a Ziploc bag with spacers, screws, and an Arctic Cooling sticker and an easy-to-understand instruction manual. We would have liked to have seen some additional thermal compound but this cooler has pre-applied compound.


3- Turbo Module Packaging & Accessories


The packaging of the dual-fan Turbo module very much reflects that of the Accelero packaging. There are once again various pieces of “information” (read: marketing) written on the back of the package.


The accessories are very basic once again and include a 3-pin fan to 4-pin Molex adaptor, the instruction manual and a sticker.


4- The Heatsink


The first thing anyone will notice about this heatsink is that it is huge for one that is geared towards lower-end graphics cards. It measures 7 ¼” in length by 5 ¼” in width which is larger than most mid-range cards. There are two copper heatpipes which run parallel to each other and at a right angle through evenly-spaced aluminum cooling fins. The orientation of these fins is done in such a way that they take advantage of the natural airflow within a case in order to increase the passive cooling potential of the Accelero S2.


You may notice that the fins are spaced quite far apart which increases the airflow around each separate fin. Finding a good balance between the number of fins and the spacing in between them is a hard balancing act and some coolers have their fins spaced far too close together which stifles their cooling potential. Luckily, this is not the case with the S2.


On the bottom, we see a small copper GPU contact base which is intersected by two relatively thin heatpipes. This base is covered in a metal shroud that is used as a mounting and tightening bracket when the S2 is mounted on the graphics card. This shroud also acts as a secondary cooling device by pulling some of the heat away from the copper base and spreading it over a larger surface.

In the picture to the right, it looks like the heatpipes are open but I assure you that they are not and what you are seeing is a trick of the lighting. Both of the thin heatpipes are soldered onto the base which has a thin layer of pre-applied thermal compound already on it. The 3M tape on the two sides is not thermal tape but rather a semi-convoluted way of mounting the spacers as you will see in the Installation section.

You may also see that there is some kind of debris on the thermal paste. This was present when the base was still in its protective cover so it must have been there from the manufacturing stage between the application of the thermal compound and the final packaging. While this was removed for the testing, it is NEVER good to see this sort of thing.


5- Ramsinks


The ramsinks provided with the Accelero S2 are a bit higher than we are used to seeing and they are made of the usual aluminum. The problem with these is not in their construction but rather with the weak thermal tape that is applied to some of their undersides; it does not want to stick properly to the ram chips. Even after multiple times cleaning each ram chip with 90% isopropyl alcohol, two of the ramsinks refused to stay on the chips past the 20 minute mark of the load test. Fortunately, this was only a problem with two of them and the others stayed on without a problem.


6- Base Surface Quality


After the first load tests with the pre-applied thermal compound, the heatsink was uninstalled and the compound was removed so I could check the base quality. The second I began removing the thermal compound I could feel very slight ridges in the base and once it was completely removed, lo and behold: the machining marks stood out like a sore thumb. Even though the base is completely flat, the overall finishing of this base leaves a bit to be desired. Hopefully, this does not affect overly affect the cooling results of the Accelero S2.


7- The Turbo Module Fans


The Turbo Module consists of a pair of 80mm fans which clip directly onto the Accelero S2. Neither of these fans has a protective shroud over them so you will want to make very sure there is nothing that may interfere with their revolutions. Arctic Cooling promises that these fans are run extremely silent due to fluid dynamic bearings and will increase the cooling potential of the S2 exponentially. They are attached to one another by a sleeved wire which ends in a 3-pin fan connector. The Turbo Module operates at a constant 1500rpm.


In the picture above you can see the clips which “hook” onto the cooling fins of the S2 in order to secure the Turbo Module fans. It should be apparent from this picture that the construction of these fans is very basic in order to keep down their cost.


8- Heatsink Installation

The Arctic Cooling Accelero S2 comes with a well-written instruction manual which everyone should take a look at because there are some areas where the installation of this heatsink can go oh-so wrong.


The first step of the installation consists of removing the protective layer over the tape which is attached to the metal retention shroud. After this is done, plastic spacers have to be stuck onto the corners of the shroud with their position being determined based on which graphics card you have. This becomes quite a frustrating process because if these plastic spacers are not placed exactly centered with the hole, it will not line up with the holes on your graphics card. It can quickly degenerate into a lesson in futility if you don’t have steady hands. In addition to this, the tape which these spacers are stuck onto becomes a dust magnet in no time. Personally, I think this whole portion of the mounting system should be revised.


Ensure that you have a VERY small screwdriver because the next step will require some deft maneuvering.

Arctic Cooling supplies four pin-sized screws with this heatsink which are used to attach the S2 onto your chosen graphics card. First tiny (and very easily lost) washers must be placed over the heatsink mounting hole on the rear of the graphics card and then the screws must be inserted (while lining up with the plastic spacers) and tightened.


At this point the heatsink looks installed but Arctic Cooling recommends one more step and that is to put a couple of spacers between the graphics card and the cooling fins.


You are provided with a top part and a bottom part to each of these spacers and they clip into each other. Their installation can become somewhat of a hassle but the end result is that the heatsink will not succumb to the affects of gravity and “bow” downwards once you install it in your case.


9- Turbo Module Installation

The Turbo Module contains its own instruction manual which is very straightforward and easy to understand.


Each of the fans should be placed at either end of the heatsink in order to have the air they move cover as much of the fin surface as possible. The joining wire must then be pushed down into the gap between two of the fins. This installation may seem easy at first but making sure the fan rotors do not hit the power wire requires some careful maneuvering. You may also notice that the fan on the left is hanging out over the side of the S2; this will cause a problem with the case installation as you are about to see.


10- Case Installation


The installation into a Gigabyte 3D Aurora 570 case (Link to Review) went without a problem except the tool-less expansion slot clamp on the case came VERY close to clipping the S2’s fins. You may also notice that the expansion slot cover directly behind the heatsink’s fins has been left open in order to facilitate airflow over the heat-dispersing fins. There is also plenty of space left over if you want to add a second card for SLI or Crossfire.


The installation of a second card becomes impossible once you add the Turbo Module since the two fans seem to fractionally “sag” downwards and will clip the lower graphics card. This is a real shame for anyone wanting to use the Turbo Module inside of an SLI rig. On the other hand, some motherboards have a bit more space between the PCI-E slots than my DFI Lanparty does. Remember what I said about the fan on the left of the heatsink causing a problem? Well, as you can see if it is placed too far over to the left, it will hit the expansion slot. Make sure you install it with room to spare.


Benchmarks

All benchmarks were run twice to ensure accuracy

System used:

Processor: AMD X2 3800+ (at 2.6Ghz)
Processor Cooling: Arctic Cooling Freezer 64
Motherboard: DFI Lanparty SLI DR Expert
RAM: 2GB Corsair XMS PC4000 DDR (at 520Mhz)
Hard Drive: Samsung Spinpoint 250GB, 7200Rpm SATAII
Case: Gigabyte 3D Aurora 570 (Review)
Case Cooling: 4x Noctua NF-S12-1200 fans @1200rpm (2 intake, 2 exhaust) (Review)
PSU: Silverstone Decathlon 650W (Review)

Video Card:
BFG 7600GT OC (580/1450)

Methodology
All benchmarks were run with the side of the case closed. The temperature of the room was a constant 26.5°C and if the temperature rose above that, the test was not run. All GPU temperature measurements were made using Rivatuner while all room temperature monitoring was done with two Compunurse digital thermometers. All tests were conducted twice to insure accuracy.

Any “Idle” number you see is the temperature of the card after 1 hour of displaying the Windows desktop.

The program used to stress the GPUs was ATItool with its “spinning box”. We have come to understand that this test utilizes more GPU power over a longer period of time than playing even the most stressful game. A game will have peaks and valleys in GPU usage while the ATItool spinning box uses a constant (and very high) amount of GPU power. Therefore, this is a very stressful test for any GPU cooler. This test was also run over a 1 hour period of time with the temperature being recorded as the 1 hour timer expired. Remember, the graphics card is overclocked out of the box so it will be operating at a slightly higher temperature than the stock version.


11- 7600GT Passive Performance


Due to its larger and more widely-spaced cooling surfaces, the Arctic Cooling Accelero S2 simply blows the competition out of the water when using the heatsink without a fan attached. It is truly amazing to see a passive heatsink outstrip a stock active cooler and the S2 does just that in this test. Remember: for acceptable passive cooling, good case airflow is a must.


12- 7600GT Active Performance


In the active tests, the S2 with the Turbo Module installed lags slightly behind its closest competition. This is probably due to the Turbo Module’s inability to actively cool all of the aluminum fins. Nonetheless, it is very impressive that the turbo module is able to knock 7°C off the passively-cooled result.


13- Thermal Compound Performance

Note that this test was run with the Turbo Module installed.


While the stock thermal compound was performed well, a fresh application of OCZ Ultra 5+ brought the temperatures down even further. This shows that the pre-applied thermal compound on the Accelero S2 could be of better quality.


14- Turbo Module Acoustics

Without a doubt, the fans on the Arctic Cooling Turbo Module will be the quietest fans in your case. Even though they are constantly working at 1500rpm, they barely produce any noise and what little sound they do make will be easily drowned out by your CPU fan. Considering these are small fans, it is good to see that the noise output has been kept to a minimum.


15- Conclusion

The Arctic Cooling Accelero S2 promises to deliver superior passive cooling performance and we have found that it does exactly that. The results speak for themselves with the S2 in passive mode cooling the 7600GT to levels lower than the stock fan can achieve. Add to that a price that is significantly below the majority of its competitors and this heatsink looks more and more appealing. Even the Turbo Module is priced perfectly and performs well enough that it justifies its additional cost. It is both quiet and it pushes the cooling performance of the S2 even further.

The overall construction of the S2 shows a lot of thought has gone into the engineering but a few issues rear their ugly heads to slightly mar the overall experience of using this heatsink. One issue (however minor it may be) is the finishing on the copper base that contacts the GPU core. On a cooler that is so well engineered, this kind of blemish leaves us wondering what the cooling performance would have been if a little more care had gone into the base. Unfortunately, another problem was the installation of the plastic spacers on the retention clip; why tape is used is beyond me and it really doesn’t work too well at all.

It is very important to repeat once again that for this cooler to really shine you need good case airflow. Without it, any passive heatsink will struggle keeping even the lowest-end GPUs cool.

With downright amazing cooling performance in both passive and active modes makes the Accelero S2 a competitor for our Dam Good Award. Unfortunately, some very minor hassles with installation and base surface quality as well as somewhat lackluster pre-applied thermal compound prevent it from going all the way to the top. Thus, the Arctic Cooling Accelero S2 and Turbo Module combo gets a 4.5/5 rating here at Hardwarecanucks.


Pros:
- Great passive cooling performance
- Good active cooling performance with Turbo Module
- 6-year warranty
- Price
- Low weight
- Well-engineered design


Cons:

- Large footprint
- Base finishing could be better
- Pre-applied thermal compound could be better
- Turbo Module does not allow for a second card in SLI on some motherboards