Final Words & Conclusion

The Verdict

So then, you guys know that I'm not easy to impress. Often we can recommend a product, but not easily we tag it with a 'best hardware' label. Well, it's the case today. I am still fairly stunned to see how good the combination of the GeForce GTX 260 SP216 is with the Accelero XTREME GTX cooler.

The tremendous amount of cooling performance is really exciting. I mean the last time I noticed a high-end NVIDIA GPU run at 50 degrees C air-cooled while under full load (FurMark) ... was probably several years ago. The fact that this cooler is doing that without you hearing anything makes it even more impressive. Sure you will need three slots with this cooling solution applied. And that will be its biggest downside. But other then that, there is not even one thing even remotely negative to say about the cooling solution. We absolutely adore it.

Combined with a GeForce GTX 260 SP216 card this boils down to true value. The GTX 260 series offers really great performance. All games to date will play really well up-to roughly 1920x1200 / 1920x1080 with a very nice selection of image quality settings. Fact is also that thanks to the great cooling performance, your overclocking experience is a pretty safe bet as well. And sure, while the card is already overclocked a little for you, you can tweak much more out of it, with that GPU remaining cool.

The bundle then. Inno3D tops this iChill edition card off with FarCry 2 the full game and Warmonger the full game. Next tot hat the warranty is extended towards 3 years, a good deal we say. Even better news is that NVIDIA just lowered the pricing on the GTX 260 SKUs shaving down that premium AC cooler price again.

There's nothing other left to say than the sheer simple fact that I was really excited to see this combo. And the combo of this GPU along with this VGA cooler is a match made in heaven. There's nothing that I can do really, other then granting it out top 'Best Hardware' award. Let's hope there will be some decent stock in the stores for you to be able to purchase this product. If you already own a GTX 260 or 280/285. You can of course purchase the cooler separately in the stores as well. It comes really recommended.

If you can life with the big size of this cooler .. then trust me when I say, it won't get any better than this with an air based cooler.

Very nice.

-Hilbert-

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