
NZXT Kraken G12
NZXT Kraken G12
Should the VRAM and voltage converter be additionally equipped with heat sinks? I have my doubts that the air cooling is sufficient.
The new GDDR6 memory gets extremely hot, especially on the new RX 5700 series. I have tested several Ram coolers and improved heatspreaders, but unfortunately there is currently no satisfactory solution for this heat problem.
Hello SilentWarrior87
If you want to do something good for the card, additional coolers would be an advantage, especially for the voltage converter.
As a rule, the GPU chip produces the greatest heat dissipation to the heat sink, so among other things, the included components that have direct contact (pads) with the heat sink are also heated by the GPU chip.
The best thing to do is to separate the wheat from the chaff and then cool the GPU chip separately.
Most GPUs from 2010+ onwards have a small heatsink built onto the voltage converter, which eliminates the need to buy one.
The rams simply want to be well ventilated, which is quite sufficient in hard operation, which the commercial versions do not achieve due to the usual design, as the heat sink reflects heat to the board and vice versa. The fans then push everything down onto the board, which in my opinion results in a limited lifetime.
Many GPU manufacturers neglect one or more RAM devices that are not connected to the heat sink (pads), probably due to the cost of the heat sink design and the individual arrangement of the RAM devices. Technically unsexy.
Kraken G12 is a simple solution and also very cost-effective if you have a suitable heat sink which in a 120 fan version is completely sufficient to achieve better cooling performance provided the cooler gets fresh air and blows the heated air far away from the heat source computer. Larger than 120 is always better but not necessary as this solution is good for the GPU anyway.
The fact that the solution can be equipped with a fan, which is also supplied, is simply first class. Of course you can also optimise it like airflow etc. but somewhere it stops and you want to have new components after about 5 years at the latest. The advantage is that you can pass on the old components with a clear conscience, as they have always been well cooled.