I’m always looking for the right balance between proper cooling and noise output. Remember the old cases and cpu coolers you used to get that where so loud it was plain stupid, luckily things have gone a long way and we have abandoned 40/60mm screamer fans (remember the old Deltas? ) but today still I have to say the loudest component in my PC is my video card.
But let’s face it, now-a-days graphics cards make waaaaay too much noise… not to mention high temperatures.
Now even the TIMs (Thermal Interface Material aka thermal paste) have come a long way. There are many brands but I think the most established is Arctic Silver, which used to be the leading brand in top performing TIMs for all sorts of use. Today many manufacturers are able to create high performing pastes and Coolink entered the game here as well.
Coolink was kind enough to send me some coolers and some of their TIM for me to put to the test, and to say the least I was very pleased with the results. For this review I will be reviewing their GFXChilla GPU cooler and a tube of their Chillaramic thermal paste.
Coolink products come in sturdy cardboard display or plastic display packages, so its easy to see what your actually buying, the back of the box reveals additional information such as dimensions and general info.
Employing 4 high-performance heatpipes and two large 80mm fans, the GFXChilla provides superior cooling performance at minimum noise levels. The GFXChilla is widely compatible, simple to install and can easily be upgraded.
- Four 6mm heatpipes for excellent heat distribution throughout the cooling fins
- Two large, low-profile 80x80x10mm fans (18dB)
- Low profile: takes up only 2 expansion slots
- Incl. self-adhesive aluminium RAM & VR heatsinks
- Easy installation and broad compatibility
Specifications
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A well-documented installation guide tags along with the kit hat has a great step-by-step working order to mount the cooler. However if you don’t know how to replace the cooler on your video card then you damn-well better read the manual twice, just to be on the safe side.
Upon further inspection of the cooler itself, we see a copper base, aluminum fins, and a set of heatpipes. The cooler also houses 2 low profile 80mm fans. Normally I’m used to the fact that those low profile fans are noisy, but it seems Coolink did their research and came up with 2 perfectly silent fans. The only downside to these fans is that they do collect dust rather quickly so they could use a blast of compressed air every few months.
Included with the pack are also a good selection of memory / mosfet heatsinks. Big ones, small ones, and low-profile ones. You`ll be needing them when you mount the heatsink and find out if it obstructs any of your memory chips.
I encountered only one problem here and frowned my head upon another: the issue with those little heatsinks. They can fall off, even though they’re using 3M adhesive stickers. Some did come off on their own by vigorous shaking. Normally people aren’t going to be shaking their video cards on purpose, but think that happens if you go to a LAN party transporting your PC? However, using a lighter I heated the heatsink slightly and reattached them, which seemed to do the trick as I couldn’t shake one lose ( that and they’re still on the card as we speak).
Now the frowning part.
Coolink is apparently capable of making an excellent quality product and their own cooling paste, so I was a bit flabbergasted to see those little tubes of generic silver paste you get with every cooler you buy (or steal, whatever). It would have been nice if Coollink included some of their own name-brand thermal compound. Even so I chucked the small tube out the window (trying to hit some birds but failed)I , and applied some of their own product the Coolink Chillaramic.
Using my video card’s stock cooler, I always noticed my GPU was exceptionally hot (to the point I couldn’t touch the cooler for more than a few seconds). As you can see, the factory-applied paste isn’t spread very well and didn’t even cover the GPU. This was also noticable on the cooling block itself, and even the memory chips had an oily residue on them. I cleaned all the residual paste from the manufacturer’s half-assed job and applied some Chillaramic (the proper way), and mounted the cooler.
The card was used normally for 2 days as a burn-in before measuring to give the thermal compound ample time to cure.
This heatsink was tested using a Gigabyte ATI X1900 video card. We tested using the stock cooler with stock TIM and the Coolink GFXchilla with Coolink thermal compound. Note: measurement used are on the DIE thermal sensor using ATI’s tools to read temps.
| idle (C) | load (C) | |
| Stock Gigabyte Cooler | 52 | 91 |
| Coolink GFXChilla | 41 | 51 |
The stock cooler achieves a top load of 91 C!!! That is why I burned my hand while touching the stock cooler!
How much more proof does one need? The aftermarket GFXChilla managed to drop the idle temperature with 11 degrees C, and the load by and astonishing 40 degrees Celsius. Big thumbs up for Coolink there. Then I started thinking that these results could be the magical Chillaramic TIM rather than the cooler.
I couldn’t just let the GPU be the judge of that so I put up another test, I cleaned off CPU and reapplied some Arctic Silver Céramique and let it set in for the time hosted up on their website, made sure the room temperature was maintained and started testing, after those periods I did the same with the Coolink Chillaramic, and what I found out is that the Chillaramic doesn’t contain any magical powers but it is a good competitor against Arctic Silver (which I’ve used with watercooling equipment for years).
| CPU Idle | CPU Load | |
| Arctic Silver Céramique (low) | 39 | 57 |
| Arctic Silver Céramique (high) | 36 | 51 |
| Coolink Chillaramic (low) | 40 | 57 |
| Coolink Chillaramic (high) | 36 | 51 |
As you can see the only difference I could measure was with the fan speed low and the cpu on idle, with just 1 degree, I’d say there a great match, so with that concluded all I can say is…
Great work Coolink! You have some great quality products that can stand on their own in todays stiff competition. The combination of Coolink’s thermal compound and great quality VGA cooler works very well together, so I would suggest bundling the two products together in the heatsink package.
About Coolink
Coolink is a brand of the Kolink International Corporation and stands for an effective conjunction of no-frills performance, excellent quality and attractive pricing. Coolink – the direct link to affordable high-end cooling! Kolink International Corporation is a cooling specialist established in 1996 and well known among industry insiders.
Throughout the years, Kolink designed and manufactured many top-performing heat-sinks under various brand names that succeeded in international markets. An experienced R&D team and ultra-modern production plants in Taiwan ensure continuous progress, efficient manufacturing conditions and strict quality standards.
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