Cooling Video Adapters

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Numerous video adapters are currently on the market — from expensive adapters for modern video games to relatively cheap ones for office workstations, which can handle only the simplest tasks.

The facilities used to cool video adapters change with the adapter's price.

In practice, an efficient cooler for a video adapter can cost about $10. Most manufacturers won't install such a cooler on a simple, low-end device, because it will increase the adapter cost rather considerably. Therefore, cheap video adapters often are equipped with the simplest cooling devices, usually standard heatsinks. Sometimes, however, even budget products are equipped with cheap coolers comprising a heatsink and low-power fan (Fig. 10.23).

Figure 10.23: Cooler installed on a video adapter

When the power of a standard cooling device is insufficient, it is possible to replace it. However, replacement of a standard cooler installed on a video adapter is expedient only if you plan to overclock the adapter.

Manufacturers often provide a significant reserve in the cooling system installed on the video adapter; they regularly install large heatsinks and powerful fans. Sometimes, even the adapters that are already overclocked might be encountered. The Abit Siluro OTES adapter is a good example (Fig. 10.24).

Figure 10.24: Video adapter equipped with the OTES cooling system

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