Arctic Cooling Accelero S2 GPU cooler review

The concept of passive cooling for graphics boards isn't a new one, and indeed it is a market that is gaining ever more traction - As graphics AIBs creating both ATI and NVIDIA parts fight to differentiate themselves from their competition, moving from an active to a passive, silent cooling solution is one of the more popular ways of doing just that.  There's certainly very little to be said from a negative point of view when faced with an efficient silent cooler on a GPU, although of course with graphics cards becoming ever more powerful (and generating ever more heat with it) such designs are having to become ever more innovative to cope with these increasing demands.

Speaking of innovation takes us nicely on to Arctic Cooling, the provider of today's review part - For several generations now, this company have been distinguishing themselves with after-market third-party coolers for both ATI and NVIDIA graphics boards, to the point where a new generation of parts often coincides with a wait with bated breath to see how much Arctic Cooling can improve upon the reference solution.  Indeed, it isn't just enthusiasts who have taken a shine to these solutions, with AIB partners also welcoming these coolers with open arms - Most notably, our recent review of PowerColor's Radeon X1950 PRO SCS3 showed of the abilities of Arctic Cooling's Accelero S1 as the cooling solution of choice for that board.  In fact, it is this part's little brother that we put under the microscope today - While the Accelero S1 is designed for higher-end boards such as the aforementioned Radeon X1950 PRO, the Accelero S2 we look at today sets its sights on the mid-range market, and in particular ATI and NVIDIA's last generation boards such as the GeForce 7600 GT and Radeon X1650 XT.

With silent cooling and a reduction in temperature over the reference cooler amongst Arctic Cooling's claims, the Accelero S2 has some lofty goals to aspire to.  Can it deliver?  Let's take a look.