Arctic Cooling Accelero Xtreme 4870X2

Inspecting The Accelero

The Accelero Xtreme features three 92mm fans which connect directly to the 4870 X2's PCB via a four-pin fan connector. The fans themselves are quite shallow but the fin pitch is steep. The former allows the cooler to take up no more than three expansion slots, while the latter ensures that they still have some decent air pushing power. Owing to the downward orientation of the fans and design of the heatsink, when the Accelero is installed, hot air is not exhausted directly out the back of your case. This means that the best results are to be had from this cooler in cases with a lot of airflow.

The Accelero heatsink itself is a combination of aluminium fins with copper heatpipes and a pair of copper base-plates to cool the 4870 X2's two GPUs. Both base-plates are pre-applied with MX-2 thermal paste and ready to rock. The base-plates extend to cover the memory chips, and the Accelero is also bundled with two large additional heatsinks which cover the RAMDACs and VRMs of the card.


There are lots of individually cut-to-size heatpads supplied so all of the toasty parts of the card benefit from the Accelero. They parts of the cooler which fit over the memory are very neatly machined to accommodate and fit around the various integrated circuit contours of the 4870X2. While the orientation of the fans doesn’t direct air out the back of your case, it does mean that the memory heatsinks benefit from the airflow which can't be a bad thing.

Installation

Installation is clearly explained in the manual, which even describes how to remove the stock cooler so even someone that’s never installed an aftermarket model should feel fairly comfortable. The cooler proper and memory heatsinks both attach by using the original screws and heatspreader that covers the back of the 4870 X2's PCB. The cooler also uses the stock 'X' shaped retention brackets to ensure a solid contact with the GPU.


Screwing the retention clips to the cooler requires a lot of force (not the Star Wars kind), so it's essential you use a screwdriver that fits the screws properly. If your tool isn't up to the job, it's easy to slip and gouge your PCB or to grind the screwhead out. Small-tipped Philips-head screwdrivers with large handles for decent grip are the best ones for the job. Always remember, Maplins is your friend and it loves you.