Introduction

Moving over to reviewing for TweakTown has lead me into a lot of firsts and this is no exception. SilenX has sent over a sample to our labs to be tested and this time I will try my skills at a comprehensive VGA cooler review.

SilenX has been around for quite some time. Based in California since 1995, the company was started up by a bunch of engineer hobbyists who were looking to find a quiet solution to cooling. Along with their hobbyist tinkering, comes a bunch of design and engineering knowledge as well. From what I can see so far with what they have shipped me, SilenX is wrapping their minds around almost every angle of this cooler. SilenX also has an extensive line of aftermarket PC products that are worth taking a look at. With the attention to detail this cooler has, I can bet they put the same thought into all their products.

Today we are looking at the SilenX IXtrema Pro IXG-80HA2 and IXG-3F2 optional fans, the latest in a large selection of SilenX products. The IXG-80HA2 is able to run passively, but the packaging does show where SilenX advises the use of the IXG-3F2 with most applications. At first glance this cooler appears large enough to take a good heat load from a GPU and the optional 80mm fan kit should do a good job of evacuating the heat from the fins.

It's time for me to get some images and remove my card from my PC so we can get down to business. I have already run my stock cooler benches, so I am left with the task of striping my ZOTAC 9800GTX bare and installing this SilenX solution to see exactly what the IXG-80HA2 with IXG-3F2 fan kit can do in comparison. Let's have a more detailed look at this process.