Arctic Cooling Accelero S1 and Turbo Module Review

arcticcoolingacceleros1

Looking for great passive cooling for your graphic card? The Arctic Cooling Accelero S1 should do the trick.

Slap on the Arctic Cooling Turbo Module and turn the S1 into an active (but SILENT!) cooling system. 😀

The Appearance

Generally it’s a huge piece of arranged aluminum fins being linked by copper pipes to flat base where the GPU chip comes in contact with. It’s nicely built, even with the Accelero S1 labeled right along the border of it.

arcticcoolingacceleros1
arcticcoolingacceleros1
arcticcoolingacceleros1

The cooling fins are long and wide, thus 2 of my 120mm fans are now being mounted outside my case just so I could close the side panel.

It also comes with fixed mounting points, 4 to be exact.

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arcticcoolingacceleros1
arcticcoolingacceleros1

While the compatibility list in Arctic Cooling S1’s product page indicates that it works with X1950, I couldn’t get it to mount on my Colorful X1950GT at all.

The S1’s mounting points fit exactly the mounting holes on the Galaxy 8600GT OC Edition but due to the location of the GPU core, the position of the cooling unit was way off in placement thus the graphic card couldn’t be mounted unto the motherboard unless I cut something – either the case or part of the S1, hrmmm…… alright, obviously not a viable option.

arcticcoolingacceleros1
arcticcoolingacceleros1

So in the end I called upon my last candidate – the XpertVision HD2600XT. It’s not listed as a compatible graphic card in the official product page but heck, I gave it a try anyway. Thank God for the little wisdom in understanding how these things work. 🙂 After a little observation I manage to mount the S1 on the XpertVision HD2600XT by using just 1 of the mounting point while using the included holding-clips to firmly attach the S1.

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arcticcoolingacceleros1
arcticcoolingacceleros1

Innovative? Yes. Risky? Double YES! Newbies and kids, please don’t try this at home (or anywhere!).

Another thing about the mounting points – VGA manufacturers change the PCB design from the reference design from time to time, or even right from the start. With changes done on the PCB design, it is difficult for Arctic Cooling (and any other cooling device manufacturers) keep track on compatible models, let alone listing them out in total accuracy. The “fitting list” is based on compatibility with the reference design PCB alone.

Then of course, we have the Arctic Cooling Turbo Module – it’s an add-on fan unit for the Accelero S1 and S2 coolers.

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arcticcoolingacceleros1
arcticcoolingacceleros1

The fans were easily mounted on the Accelero S1, all I had to do was fit the mounting hooks between the cooler’s fins and push the unit down until it hooks. The wires tuck into the fins just perfectly.

Technical Data

Just a brief technical data for the Arctic Cooling Accelero S1

Heat Sink 140(L) x 215(W) x 32(H) mm
Heat pipe 6 mm x 4
Weight 290 g

And for the Turbo Module

Fan 80 x 80 x 15 mm (each)
Fan Speed 1500 RPM
Air Flow 42 CFM
Bearing Sleeve Bearing
Plug 3 pin plug (with power plug converter)
Weight 35 g (each)

Performance

I replaced the Arctic Cooling MX-1 that was pre-applied with the Arctic Cooling MX-2 and here are the results, temperature was around 25°C when the readings were taken.

  Idle (°C) Load (°C)
Stock XV heatsink 38 55
Arctic Cooling Accelero S1 33 42
Arctic Cooling Accelero S1 + Turbo Module 32 40

As you can see from the results, it shows significant improvement over the stock heatsink even in passive mode.

Being a passive cooler – it’s silent! Even the Turbo Module is silent in operation, I had to place my fingers nearby just to know that it’s working by feeling the air movement. Yup, 12 inches away and with the casing open, no audible signs of fan movement. Great! 🙂

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arcticcoolingacceleros1
arcticcoolingacceleros1

Conclusion

The Arctic Cooling Accelero S1 was great when it comes to silent cooling, the Turbo Module made it even better by being small, silent yet providing the additional air-flow.

arcticcoolingacceleros1
arcticcoolingacceleros1

The drawback of the Accelero S1 would be its sheer size and mounting points. Those with limited space inside the casing might have to do a little renovation just to fit the Accelero S1. Those who are thinking of using the Accelero S1 long-term should note that the Accelero S1 might not be able to fit future cards.

I personally think that making the Accelero S1 a little bit smaller would make it easier to fit in tighter space. I sure hope to see a smaller version of it some day, perhaps an Accelero S1 Lite? 🙂 *Hints at Arctic Cooling* The Turbo Module on the other hand was a great addition to the S1, pity it was made for the S1 and S2 alone. 🙁 With a little ingenuity, one could probably fit these twins on other devices……….hopefully.

goldfries recommended

14 thoughts on “Arctic Cooling Accelero S1 and Turbo Module Review

  1. Actually this applies to every other cooling device.

    Just like my Scythe Ninja, Thermalright SLK947U & 900U and many of my other heatsinks – they’re just sitting there as really heavy paper weights.

  2. The size of the cooler is big, that’s the main drawback for me.

    But the performance of the cooler is good.

  3. Yeah, well no harm trying fitting on newer graphic cards.

    As you can see, even I manage to mount it based on only 1 of the 4 points given. 🙂 then grip it with the supplied holder.

  4. This cooler looks pretty sweet (and your review is quite excellent).

    I have a water cooled rig though, so it would have no airflow whatsoever… I doubt that would be a good thing.

    I probably ought to water cool the graphics card anyhow, but it’s a bit of a pain. I’m thinking of switching back to air in my next build (since the heatpipe towers are performing so well) and perhaps I’ll go with something like this in that one.

    Thanks for the effort put into the review,

    – Mason

  5. Mason, glad that you liked the review. 😀

    For me, I’m sticking to air-cooling as I find it less a hassle. As to your water cooled rig, I suppose it still does have air-flow, after all water-cooled setup still needs air-flow as air-flow also helps cooling parts like RAM, hard disk and the bridges. 🙂

  6. nice review 😀

    but what about oced temps?

    and my old sytrin still pwns it LOL….by the way brian, you do know u can use zipties to strap it mar 😀

    ps. wanna sell any of ur hsf? 😀 let me know ;p

  7. this cooler is not compatible with my 8600gtXXX, but using goldfries trick i was able to use it, my idle temps is now 40C not that good, but my old cooler ( vf700cu) gave me the same temp, and the s1 is running fanless! and with 1 screw XD
    im going 2 try again with some better paste + a fan, i hope my gpu dsnt burn
    thank u man!

  8. Thanks for such an informative article and the extensive explanation, it’s been very useful for ever one who wants to get information about it ..

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