Today we are reviewing a revolutionary new VGA cooling solution by Scythe, the Setsugen. This VGA cooler is priced in the 50USD range. The Setsugen boasts an integrated 120mm fan, which is rare in VGA cooling solutions, and supports a plethora of video cards. The Setsugen also includes its own fan controller which doesn’t rely on software control. Let us dispense with the small talk and move on to taking a look at this new VGA cooler from Scythe!
Specifications
Before we show the full specifications and features for the Setsugen there are a few things we need to mention. This is the second Scythe VGA cooler to use the M.A.P.S. (Multiple Airflow Pass-Through Structure, which was adopted from the Mugen 2 CPU cooler design. The other item worth mentioning is that this cooler is compatible with almost every AMD and nVidia video card currently on the market as seen on the Scythe site
HERE.
- Model Name: Setsugen VGA Cooler
- Model No.: SCVSG - 1000
- Fan Dimensions: 120 x 120 x 12 mm / 4.72 x 4.72 x 0.47 in
- Fan Speed: 800 (± 30%) ~ 2.000 rpm (± 10%)
- Noise Level: 19.53 ~ 33.67 dBA
- Air Flow: 19.40 ~ 45.47 CFM
- Supplied Fan: Scythe Slip Stream 120 mm SLIM (with fan controller)
- Overall Dimensions: 180x33.5x139 mm / 7.09x1.32x5.47 in
- Weight: 375 g (13.22 oz)
Packaging
The Setsugen comes packaged in a colourful cardboard box which contains product images and specifications. Also to note on the exterior of the package is a sticker which shows this product is now compatible with AMD’s new HD5870 video card.
Within the packaging we find the Setsugen, installation documentation, and various accessories we will expand on in the installation section.
One additional item we wished to showcase is the slot mounted potentiometer used to control the fan speed. This uses a single expansion card slot.
A Closer Look
Two aspects that clearly stand out while first looking at the Setsugen are the physical size of the cooler itself and the 120mm fan. We all have seen 120mm fans in cases but in this application the thin 120mm fan looks enormous in retrospect to the entire cooler assembly.
As can be seen the Setsugen uses a 4 copper heat pipe cooler design. The GPU block as far as we can tell is composed of a nickel plated copper base. The functionality of these two components is to transfer heat efficiently through itself to the main heatsink assembly. The heatsink assembly is constructed of aluminum which dissipates heat to air well.
This brings us to the first issue we had with the Setsugen VGA cooler as shown below.
The Potentiometer to regulate the fan speed is hardwired to the fan and cooler assembly. We would have preferred a connector or some sort of disconnect for this as it will make installation awkward.
Linear Mode
