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Stasis NV6800C1 "IceStorm" VGA Cooler Review - Page 1

Introduction

Heat. It's a PC enthusiast's worst enemy. As spring moves closer and closer towards summer, one thing is obvious: it's not getting any colder. For people who push their hardware beyond stock speeds, these hotter days can mean losing stability and overclocking headroom. Fortunately just in time for summer, a new aftermarket cooling solution has become available for the nVidia 6800 series of graphics cards: the Stasis NV6800C1 "IceStorm" heatsink. I was able to snag one of these coolers and compare it to the nVidia's reference cooler which came stock on my BFG 6800GT OC. Tests were performed during one of the hottest afternoons California has seen in a while. The performance of this heatsink is incredible, but is it worth the downsides? Read on to find out.

A little about the NV6800C1

The NV6800C1 "IceStorm" heatsink is a bit different from the average aftermarket VGA cooler. Most air coolers, such as the Arctic Cooling NV5 Silencer or the Zalman VF700, use an integrated fan. The NV6800C1 is unique in that it has a mount to allow the end-user to supply their own standard 80mm fan. This is a welcome innovation and has a few advantages:

• The user can select a fan for total silence or maximum performance.
• The fan can be controlled from a central fan bus.
• Case modders who like to have a bit of "bling" to their rig can choose a UV or LED fan.
• When the fan dies, it can be removed and replaced. The heatsink lives on.

The heatsink itself is a huge piece of copper, weighing in at around 750 grams. My primary concern with this heatsink was that its sheer weight would warp the PCB of the video card. Matthew Terpstra of Stasis Thermal Management assured me that even with a fan installed, the weight would not bend my video card out of spec, and so far so good. The heatsink is designed with dozens of tiny copper fins which maximize surface area and cooling potential. With specs like these, I was certain my days of 90ºC plus load temperatures would be over.

The packaging, heatsink and accessories

The NV6800C1 arrived via USPS and was well-packaged. Gently shaking the box made no worrisome rattling sounds, and opening the box revealed a protective layer of air-filled plastic padding. Inside the box were two smaller boxes, one which contained the mounting accessories: screws, springs, washers, a backplate, as well as some thermal paste and decorative stickers. The other box contained the heatsink itself, surrounded by a layer of bubble wrap. I was pleased with the attention to detail that had gone into packaging the NV6800C1. It was certainly well protected!

The first thing that impressed me when I took the heatsink out of its box was how heavy it is. It feels to be about 2 pounds of pure copper. This is a substantial weight for any component to have hanging off of it, so I was expecting some extreme performance if it didn't break my card in half. The green plexiglass on top of the heatsink is a mounting shroud for a standard 80 mm case fan. The NV6800C1 fan shroud is available in 3 different colors, however I doubt you'll want to collect them all. The second thing that impressed me about this heatsink was the level of care that had gone into lapping its base. The base was beautifully smooth, and gave off a perfect reflection. This thing is about as flat as flat gets.

Armed with the brief installation guide, a toolkit and my trusty Arctic Silver 5 thermal paste, I pulled out my BFG 6800GT and prepared to install this copper beast. More on the next page.

Stasis NV6800C1 "IceStorm" Review - Table of Contents

1. Introduction, Information and Packaging
2. Installation, Performance Testing and Conclusion