Test Results:

Test Rig:

• Intel E6600 Conroe 2 Duo

• Koolance INX3 1050 Water Cooling

• FOXCONN 975XAB

• 2 x 1GB OCZ DDR2 PC2-8800 Gold XTC

• Bluegears Enspirer 7.1 Theater Sound Card

• Thermaltake 700 Watt Toughpower

• Graphics Card 1: EVGA 7600 GT

• Graphics Card 2: XFX 7900 GT

• Room Temperature: 21 C

   The stock heat sink is gets plenty hot during any kind of operation whether idle or under load. As I mentioned before, a lot of the stock coolers just aren't well centered or don't have very good quality copper heat sinks.

   Another great benefit is that the fan noise is gone! Looking back on the IceberQ 6 specifications, I remembered the fan noise rating of 20db. This actually seems quieter than my silent case fans of the same rating. The 7600 GT and 7900 GT series all have had some relatively loud fans these days as the cores get faster.

Great Copper Cooling

   For those who were wondering how my previous Zalman GPU cooler compares to the IceberQ 6, the temperatures were almost identical across the entire spectrum. The only difference was the idling temperature where the Zalman was all of 1 degree warmer. The one characteristic that benefits of the Ice 6 is how the fan duct directs the warm air out the back of the case, rather than leaving it inside.

   With the IceberQ 6 and Memory heat sinks on these rather hot running video cards, I couldn't help but wonder how much more capable the video cards were of overclocking. Keep in mind that every video card tends to have different results depending on when and what revision you might have, not to mention the various grade components used to power your video card and system. 


Conclusion:

   Temperature readings say what needs saying the loudest when summing up the Vantec IceberQ 6 performance. The IceberQ 6 runs cool and very quiet, performing very well across the test bench. It's design and construction is a big step above default video card heat sinks. This is a very attractive alternative that looks great and transforms your video card into something above the norm.

   I'd like to thank Vantec for the IceberQ 6 and for their quick customer service in answering questions and help.