Accelero vs Morpheus vs Accelero with fan swap?

[NewbieOne]

As per title. Based on your experience, what's better — Morpheus or Accelero or Accelero w/fan swap?

 

More context:
 

Spoiler

 

Usually, a naked Morpheus costs about as much as an Accelero, which means that a Morpheus + fans will be more expensive than Accelero with stock fans, but Accelero w/replaced fans costs as much as Morpheus + fans.

 

I've heard mixed things about the benefit of replacing the 92mm fans on Accelero with 120mm Noctuas, however, despite doubling the cost. Perhaps the focused flow of the 3x92s is optimal after all. They're also said to be quiet, although a custom choice of 2x120 for Morpheus would be quieter.

 

I've also seen plenty of tests with Accelero beating Morpheus to thermals, but with either 1) like 5 dbA less noise, or 2) questionable fan selection. Haven't seen a test of Morpheus + 2xP12 or 2xNF-A12x25 vs Accelero Xtreme III. Notably, Accelero seems to cool memory/VRMs better, perhaps due to the higher rpms than the low rpms people use on 12cm fans with Morpheus. And I really care about VRMs due to my tendency to be clumsy and erratic, so I wouldn't like to fry the card and start getting artifacts, or something.

 

Next, if choosing Accelero, how bad is the backplate on Xtreme IV for cooling VRMs vs the normal heatsinks on III? Should people really stick with III and avoid IV?

 

Of course, there's the easier and less risky alternative of Noctuatherapy for your existing heatsink, but a pair of NF-A12x25 costs even a bit more than an Accelero Xtreme III, for probably far less benefit. Hence, Accelero III as a heatsink plus a pair of more modest P12s might bring a better investment while keeping the beast quiet.

 

What's best overall?

 

 

[Applefreak]

In terms of build quality and assembly, the Arctic solutions have never disappointing me. The Rajintek cooler will need 2 extra fans. In terms of performance, it is pretty good but i would not use the included thermal pads and thermal paste. The Arctic cooler is a more well rounded out of the box solution, no need to add fans to it.

If you wanted to go complete crazy, get the Rajintek cooler and put 2 Delta FFB 120 fans on it at full speed.

I must also point out that I haven't installed an aftermarket cooler since the 700 series nVidia and R9 280 from AMD.

[NewbieOne]

32 minutes ago, Applefreak said:

In terms of build quality and assembly, the Arctic solutions have never disappointing me. The Rajintek cooler will need 2 extra fans. In terms of performance, it is pretty good but i would not use the included thermal pads and thermal paste. The Arctic cooler is a more well rounded out of the box solution, no need to add fans to it.

If you wanted to go complete crazy, get the Rajintek cooler and put 2 Delta FFB 120 fans on it at full speed.

I must also point out that I haven't installed an aftermarket cooler since the 700 series nVidia and R9 280 from AMD.

Yeah, my previous last cooler swap was Accelero something-or-other back on a HD4850 blower. Open-air coolers I've usually been okay with. But my current one isn't really the quietest in terms of pure decibels, while also producing a nasty bearing sound. It's something that isn't even loud but gets in your head and screws with your labyrinth if you have neurological sensitivity issues like old me. So at least the fans need out. I could simply get a pair of Arctics and an adapter, or even a pair of NF-A12x25 ULN at full speed via PSU without bothering with the card's PWM. But, while the cost would be minimal for the Arctics, so would probably be the impact. As for the NF-A12x25s, the cost would be relatively high.

 

Depending on what I buy for my CPU, I could end up with a pair of 140mm SW3 hispeeds. Alternatively, I could buy an outlet NH-U12A for €70, strap the SW3s on it and use the NF-A12s on the GPU, though that too probably wouldn't be a cost-effective solution.

[Jeppes]

If you have a decent cooler on the gpu already, try modding it with 120mm fans. I made a 11€ mod on my Vega 56 with 2x Arctic p12 pwm:s and its quieter now with -10C on temps.

[NewbieOne]

5 minutes ago, James Evens said:

Why do you want to replace the arctic fans in the first place?

they are fine

 

III vs. IV?

you could just convert a IV into a III and vice versa. Just tape some heatsinks to the VRM and memory in addition to the backplate.

92 isn't the end of the world, but my hearing is more sensitive than the average, plus some neurological issues. Decibels alone aren't as much of a problem as fast-spinning bearings, vibrations, etc. Plus I sometimes end up gaming with sound turned off. This is weird, I know, but it tends to be my preferred way for playing some games (usually strategies).

 

Does the IV have enough room for memory/VRM heatsinks under the front fan? I already have a backplate, but if A4's is is better, then I guess I could do it like you say, both ways for better temps.

[NewbieOne]

41 minutes ago, Jeppes said:

If you have a decent cooler on the gpu already, try modding it with 120mm fans. I made a 11€ mod on my Vega 56 with 2x Arctic p12 pwm:s and its quieter now with -10C on temps.

Link. Not the fattest beast I've seen but probably not too shabby either. I would still at least swap paste, so might as well mount a better heatsink back on.

[NewbieOne]

A12x25 would be lovely, but I would struggle to justify the expense. On Amazon it would actually be cheaper to get an outlet NH-U12A and take the fans from there than to buy just a pair of fans. (Which I considered briefly.)

 

For Morpheus or for just a fan swap, I'd either buy 2xP12 PWM PST + adapter or non-PST with two separate adapters (any difference?), perhaps a third one to install vertically at 90 degrees to the card? Or I would use a pair of 140 mm Silent Wings 3 hispeeds if I ended up not using them ony CPU.

[NewbieOne]

Hi.

 

I had a lot on my plate these last weeks, so revisiting this subject after some time. Currently looking at Xtreme III vs IV and — because IV is cheaper than III right now — wondering what's better:

 

• Accelero Xtreme IV with its controversially performant backplate, enhanced by aftermarket VRAM/VRM heatsinks to put on the front, at which point VRAM/VRM could become sufficient. Or not.

vs

• Accelero Xtreme III with its nice robust set of tried-and-true front heatsinks, which is essentially already a complete system. However, this doesn't mean a bunch of copper heatsinks couldn't be slapped on the card's other side, or some kind of cooling backplate, if there is such a thing.

Not really considering a pure fan swap, I think, as I want to swap paste anyway. However, feel free to convince me otherwise.

 

Not really considering a Morpheus any more due to the general impression from multiple reviews being worse performance at higher cost than Accelero. Still not writing it off because those tests also show a noise advantage for Morpheus and — to my knowledge, at least — there are no noise-normalized tests.