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Sytrin KuFormula VF1 Plus


Date
: 05/8/06 – 02:36:44 AM

Author
:

Category
: Cooling

Page 1 : Introduction

Manufacturer:
Sytrin

Price:
$37

Today we are going to look at a product from a lesser known company, Sytrin. Sytrin's goal is to produce effective high quality products. With this in mind and 10 years of experience in both computers and manufacturing Sytrin has been producing a growing line of high quality cooling products, cases and power supplies.

Video display technology progresses at an extremely fast pace, though this is great from a performance perspective, heat at the same time is also increasing at an alarming pace. In a video card cooling market dominated by names such as Arctic Cooling, Zalman and Thermalright, lesser known companies struggle to get their name and product known. This is where Sytrin and their KuFormula VF1 enters. With years of experience behind them and a dedication to quality, we should expect no less than stellar performance from this product.

Page 2 : Package

The KuFormula VF1 VGA cooler's glossy black and green package is designed to draw attention. The top of the box shows the heatsink and crossflow fan along with company name, product name and "Build Your Own Cooling".

The back outlines key features along with specifications and package content for both the VF1 and VF1 Plus.

Sytrin's KuFormula VF1 heatsink comes in two flavors, the VF1 and VF1 Plus; we will be taking a look at the plus version.

The opposite side outlines key features.

Before we take a look at the contents, head over to the next page and we shall discuss specifications and features.

Page 3 : Specifications

Here are some key specifications from Sytrin's website:

• High compatibilities for both NVIDIA and ATI video cards for AGP or PCI Express
• Efficient dual heat pipe cooling design for up most cooling performance
• Free cooling building & upgrading
• Customized multi-functional cross flow fan compact & powerful (VF1 Plus version)
• Free speed controlling 3 speed modes for E-Z set-up (VF1 Plus version)
• Easy to upgrade for future new video card releases
• Easy Installation

  And some specifications:

  
  

  As mentioned before, the KuFormula VF1 Series heatsinks comes in two different packages, the standard and the plus version. The difference is that the standard package does not include memory heatsinks, a crossflow fan, a PCI bracket and a fan controller.

  
  Page 4 : Contents Cont.
  

  Inside the box the contents are all neatly packed, secured and protected with soft Styrofoam and cardboard.

  

  The KuFormula VF1 Plus cooler consists of three major parts: the heatsink, mounting hardware/accessories and fan assembly. First, we will begin by taking a look at the heatsink.

  Heatsink

  

  The heatsink itself is fairly simple, consisting of aluminum fins on a copper base with two bent copper heatpipes to transfer the heat to the upper portion of the heatsink.

  

  On the bottom there is a large copper block with cut tracks and threaded holes for the mounting links.

  

  Though the base is fairly well done, some light machine marks and scratches are visible.

  

  Fan Assembly

  

  The fan assembly consists of three parts: the crossflow fan, fan frame and a PCI bracket which is also a fan controller.

  

  The included crossflow fan is a standard low profile crossflow fan with rubber grommets to reduce noise caused by vibration.

  

  Next we have the fan frame which is used to attach the crossflow fan to the PCI bracket.

  

  And finally the PCI bracket and fan controller.

  

  The rear sports a three position switch to change between three different fan modes: high, medium and low.

  
  

  Mounting Hardware and Accessories

  Lastly, we have the mounting hardware and accessories. These include mounting links, plastic washers, screws, plastic rivets and memory heatsinks.

  

  As mentioned earlier, Sytrin includes gold anodized aluminum heatsinks. Though they are small, they should be sufficient because GDDR3 memory does not produce much heat.

  

  
  Page 5 : Installation
  

  Before we can install the KuFormula VF1 Plus onto the video card we will first need to install the standoffs and mounting hardware.

  

  Sytrin includes three sets of mounting links. Using the manual, select the appropriate link for your video card. I used 'Link A1' for the ATI Radeon X*** series. To assemble the mounting mechanism, put the standoff through the mounting link and secure with a plastic C ring, then attach the mounting link with the standoff and C ring to the heatsink using the included screws.

  

  If you have not already done so, remove the existing cooler. In this case, it is the Arctic Silencer 5 revision 2. To ensure proper contact with the heatsink and video card components, clean the memory modules and core with a high concentration rubbing alcohol or thermal compound cleaner.

  
  

  The next thing that we will have to do is assemble the PCI holder, fan controller and crossflow fan. This three piece assembly should take no more then a few minutes to put together.

  

  First begin by attaching the crossflow fan to the fan frame.

  

  Then, to the PCI bracket/ fan controller.

  

  Now, onto the main event!

  We will begin by mounting the memory heatsinks. Remove the backing from the base of the heatsink then place it on a memory module and apply some pressure to ensure that it sticks. Directional orientation does not matter in this case because of the BGA style memory modules.

  

  Now with the memory heatsinks attached, place the KuFormula VF1 on top of the video card and make sure the standoffs pass through the mounting holes.

  

  With that done, secure the heatsink in place using the included spring loaded screws and plastic washers.

  

  Now with the hardest part done, all that is left to do is reinstall the video card and fan assembly! As simple as this seems, it required a bit of fiddling. After a bit of wrestling, it was finally installed.

  

  The installation process should be quick, painless and should take no longer then 30 minutes for the average person. Now that the heatsink and fan assembly are both installed, let's see how it performs!

  
  Page 6 : Testing
  

  First we will begin with system specifications:

  AMD Opteron 148 w/ Thermalright XP120 and a Panel L1A @ 5v
  DFI LAN party NF4 Ultra- D
  2x 512mb OCZ El Platinum Rev 2 TCCD
  Sapphire X800GTO2 w/ 16 pixel pipelines
  2x Seagate 80GB SATA II RAID 0
  Seagate 120GB SATA
  Tagan 480W
  Lian Li PC65B
  4x Antec 80mm case fans @ 5v
  
  Coolers:

  KuFormula VF1 Plus
  with Arctic Silver 5
  Arctic Silencer 5 revision 2 with Arctic Silver 5

  

  In order to test the KuFormula VF1 Plus we will record both idle and load temperatures under stock and overclocked conditions. Load temperatures are measured after running 3D Mark 05 for three hours and idle temperatures are measured after idling for three hours on the desktop.

  

  Under stock conditions, the Sytrin KuFormula VF1 Plus
  clearly
  took the lead – actually, it was no competition.

  

  Again, the KuFormula VF1 Plus wiped the floors with the Arctic Silencer.

  Without a doubt Sytrin's KuFormula VF1 Plus is far superior to the Arctic Silencer. With a much larger surface area, heatpipes to transfer the thermal energy into the path of the airflow and a variable speed crossflow fan it is no mystery why it performed so well. Though the KuFormula VF1 Plus performed much better, it was noticeably louder, even with the crossflow fan running on low. Now that we are done with testing, head over to the next page for the final verdict.

  
  Page 7 : Conclusion
  

  It doesn't take much analyzing to conclude that this is an awesome product. The KuFormula VF1 Plus not only performed extraordinarily well, but it was also easy to install, well made, quiet and aesthetically pleasing. It is unbelievable that the KuFormula VF1 Plus can perform 30 degrees Celsius colder than the Arctic Cooling Silencer 5 revision 2.

  

  This product is definitely a must have for enthusiasts and overclockers. Although the KuFormula VF1 Plus is slightly louder than Arctic Coolings Silencer 5 revision 2, its impressive increase in cooling abilities is a more than fair trade off.

  Advantages

• Unmatched performance
• Competitively priced
• Well built

  Disadvantages

• Large, incompatible with multiple card solutions
• Fan controller only supports fans up to 0.3A eliminating the possibility of high performance fans

  Overclockers Online would like to thank Sytrin for providing us the review sample