Thanks to such an extensive range of upgradeable computer parts, users are much fussier than they used to be. There was a time when manufacturers could get away with creating excessively noisy cooling solutions. Back in the days when the delta fans were considered to be the ultimate, users seemed to be more tolerable when it came to operating volumes. These days what computer users will and will not tolerate is very different and as a result there are many high-quality cooling products to choose from.

Products are now designed to be so efficient that they only require a small degree of air-flow to do their job. Over the years things like heatpipe technology, materials such as copper and unique fin designs have all played a huge part in shaping the cooling industry. There are so many manufacturers making various cooling products for todays computers that it has become very difficult to keep up-to-date with whats what. There are of course a few key players in the high-end arena and most of you will know who they are.

Another company that is working hard to join the elite few is Arctic-Cooling, based in Switzerland they were founded in 2001. This makes Arctic-Cooling one of the younger cooling manufacturers out there, yet they seem to have achieved so much in so little time. They are now one of the largest suppliers of VGA coolers. Their most successful VGA coolers to date have been the Silencer series that seem to have been around for ever now. Arctic-Cooling now offers over ten different variations of the Silencer, designed to suit a wide range of graphics cards.

The Silencer series are now becoming quite old and although the design has evolved quite a lot since its original introduction, Arctic-Cooling are now moving to a newer series. This series is known as Accelero and currently there are just two versions designed to support the latest ATi and NVIDIA graphics cards. The Accelero coolers use a completely different design to that of the older Silencer coolers. First and foremost the hot air is no longer vented through the rear of the case.

This is a method that all high-end ATi and NVIDIA reference cooling solutions use. However, like other after-market parts from Zalman and Thermalright, this Arctic-Cooling product leaves the hot air in the case. Surprisingly, just like the Zalman and Thermalright coolers, this Arctic-Cooling solution does not appear to produce all that much heat. Theoretically, despite what is being used the GPU will output exactly the same amount of heat. However, an inefficient cooler will trap a lot more heat creating an oven like effect. Given this is not an issue with the Accelero X1, the air being pushed over the fins never really gets that hot.