GELID Solutions Silent Spirit CPU Cooler
Novermber 6, 2008
Reviewer: Jedd
Category: Computer - Cooling
As multi-core CPUs become common place in most of our computers, keeping them cool is not a new issue. Today we take a look at a product from a new player on the market…GELID Solutions’ Silent Spirit Quad Powered Heatpipes CPU Cooler.
Company:
GELID Solutions, Ltd., www.gelidsolutions.com
Price:
$35.00 US
Ratings
Price: 
Install/Setup: 
Usability: 
Support:
Average Rating:
Launching back in mid June 2008, GELID Solutions, Ltd. is a new player in the cooling market. However, the founders definitely are not new to the industry as they have ties to Arctic Cooling. With the background of co-founders Gebhard Scherrer and VC Tran, I’m sure we will see many more quality offerings from Gelid Solutions.
Getting Started
The first thing you will notice when you pull the Silent Spirit out of the box is how light it is. Made from an all copper core with nickel plated aluminum fins, there are four copper pipes connecting the base with the fins. Sitting on top of the aluminum fins is a 92mm fan.
The second thing you will notice when you pull the Silent Spirit out of the box is its unique design. In order to cool down the Northbridge heatsink (chipset) and surrounding voltage regulator module close to the CPU, the heatsink has been tilted specially to an angle for this purpose. Unlike other top flow coolers this unique feature stops hot air from accumulating beneath the heatsink.
Although the Silent Spirit ships with the Intel motherboard clips, changing the clips to the supplied AMD clips was a snap. The removal of one simple screw to make the changes makes it much easier than many other CPU coolers on the market.
The Silent Spirit also comes with pre-applied GC-1 high performance thermal compound. For many users this is probably a good feature as they do not have to figure out how much compound to apply without getting too much, but making sure they have enough. Over the years I have had mixed experience with the quality of this pre-applied compound. In this case, you should feel safe with the GC-1 compound Gelid provides.
Usability
Installing the cooler was very fast with its standard AMD platform clips installed. Within just a few minutes of installing the new cooler, connecting the power cord to the motherboard, I was up and running. It actually took me longer to clean the previously applied thermal compound off the CPU.
When working with your CPU cooler, sound volumes typically have a direct correlation to the cooling capacity. The louder it is, usually, the better it cools. Many manufacturers have developed a “silent” line of coolers, but most of the time you are dealing with a variable speed fan and the “silent” part of the design is when you turn the fan down to the slowest speeds.
GELID has done a good job designing the Silent Spirit. It operates with relative low noise levels and still provides good cooling capabilities. Once installed and up and running and happy with the noise levels (without doing any fan speed adjustments in the BIOS), I started up SpeedFan (version 4.35) and BurnIn 2008 to test out the cooling qualities.
Results
| Fan |
Idle |
Load |
| Thermaltake Silent Boost |
39° C |
49° C |
| Gelid Silent Spirit |
36° C |
45° C |
As you can see, the Silent Spirit took off on average about 3.5° C between idle and load temperatures. At any single moment, this may not be significant, but over time this 3-4 degrees can mean hundreds if not thousands of hours of additional wear on your CPU, thus helping to extend the longevity of your CPU.
Specifications and Features
| Specifications |
| Dimentions: |
108mm (l) x 100.5 mm (w) x 125 mm (h) |
| Heatsink Material: |
Copper base with nickel plated aluminum fins |
| Heatpipe: |
4x sintered heat pipes |
| Fan Dimensions: |
100.5 x 100.5 x 45 mm |
| Fan Speed: |
900-2400 |
| Maximum Air Flow: |
45.8 CFM max |
| Noise: |
10 - 25.8 dBA |
| Connector: |
4-pin PWM |
| Weight: |
370g |
| Warranty: |
5 Years |
| Features |
- Quad Sintered Heatpipes
- Unique Fin Architecture
- Special Heatsink Angle Design
- Optimized Air Flow Concept
- Intelligent PWM Fan Control Curve
- Anti-Vibration Fan Mounts
|
| Compatibility |
- Intel LGA775/LGA 1366*
- AMD Socket 754/ 939/ 940/ AM2/ AM2+
*Additional bracket will be provided by Gelid Solutions in the future
|
Pros:
- Light weight Material
- Low noise levels
- Pure Copper Base
- Good Cooling Capabilities
Cons:
- Pre-applied Thermal Compound
Adding It All Up
The GELID Silent Spirit does a great job at keeping your CPU cool and safe. I especially like the design and the product quality. The solid copper core and the aluminum fin design are quite unique yet quite functional. Although the price seems a little high, you definitely get what you pay for when you purchase the GELID Silent Spirit CPU Cooler. I look forward to seeing what GELID comes out with next!
Because of the excellent quality, solid cooling capability, and plain cool engineering, we are awarding GELID Solutions Silent Spirit CPU Cooler the UpgradAdvisor.com Recommended Upgrade seal of approval!!!
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