First Impressions
The Cooler Master CoolViva Pro, or CoolViva for short, comes in your standard brick n' mortar style packaging. Don't worry, you don't need a chainsaw to open the packaging. What's interesting is that the front says the CoolViva emits 20dBA, which is really decent for an aftermarket VGA cooler. One thing to keep in mind that is especially important is the list of video cards compatible with the CoolViva. If you aren't sure if your video card model fits, your best bet is to head over to the Cooler Master website for the latest update. It's too bad the latest high-end cards from NVIDIA and ATI don't work with the CoolViva, but this isn't surprising considering the design of the stock coolers on those boards are strong and the time it takes from design-to-release for manufacturers in today's market. Jumping straight into the aesthetic elements of the cooler you'll notice it's quite a large design compared to others on the market. Unfortunately with video card manufacturers the trend has been towards monstrous stock coolers, whereas for the aftermarket cooler it's always been the story of losing the adjacent PCI device slot as a standard compromise for years now. It makes sense to give your video card the room in needs to breathe even for single slot solutions, so keep that in mind if the size of the CoolViva Pro dismays you.


The actual parts that make up the CoolViva are few. Besides the fan shroud, the heatsink and fan make up the rest of the device. Although at first glance it may not seem like it, the actual heatsink is compromised out of aluminum with a copper base connected to triple heatpipes that run the entire length of the heatsink. This simple, yet excellent design allows the air to remove heat and shoot it straight out of your system. This is an element of the design we really think more manufacturers should consider as video cards are getting increasingly hot. With our test setup we have two 92mm Antec Tri-Cool fans set to the low setting blowing air over three hard drives. This air is directed towards the PCI devices and is subsequently sucked in by the CoolViva fan, heated up some more, and then with the help of an included PCI mesh bracket, the hot air is expunged without ever reaching your processor's cooler or the power supply. Compared with the Zalman VF900-Cu GPU Cooler, whose turbulence may cool surrounding components better, the CoolViva does does a better job at keeping other key components, namely the processor, from receiving any additional hot air. If you think the sticker as an abomination, go ahead and take it off if you want, but you won't be seeing it anyway.


To open up the CoolViva you first have to remove three screws and unfasten the clips that keep the two separate pieces together. We're doing this to show you the guts, but you may want to do this once a year or so if you are serious about getting rid of any potential dust build up in the CoolViva. The typical fan design is tossed out in favor a directional fan that really does push a lot of air. Simply placing your hand where the exhaust is tells you it's doing a good job. As it stands the fan offers a three-pin style connector, so if your video card has this type of connection you're going to preferably keep that connection so you can control the fan via software. The CoolViva includes a MOLEX adapter if you have an older video card that lacks such a header. This isn't as precise as Zalman's Fanmate solution, which offers a dial to control fan speeds at a whim, but personally having the CoolViva run on one speed isn't a bad thing since it's hardly audible in the first place. This is what makes the CoolViva so appealing, it can cool just as well as more expensive coolers while operating at a comfortable noise level and without any extra mumbo jumbo. We would have loved to compare the CoolViva at multiple speeds but our test bad lacked the connections. Not to worry, it's still one hell of a performer, and like other well-designed coolers, easy to install.


When installing the CoolViva, perhaps the most difficult task is removing your existing stock cooler. After this hurdle you basically have to follow a few easy steps to get up and running in no time. Just clean off any thermal grease, we recommend using Acetone or Isopropyl Alcohol (above 90%), and take the display studs and screw them into the appropriate holes on the CoolViva. Take a close look at the underside heatsink picture above. Those tiny threaded holes are where the studs go depending on your video card model. Thankfully the instructions, while laughably misspelled at times, are easy to understand. After this you'll peel the cover off the included gold colored memory heatsinks and stick them on there one at a time. Be sure to not install them where the actual huge heatsink goes, namely the topmost chips, because they can potentially interfere with the rest of the installation. We recommend applying thirty seconds of pressure to the memory heatsinks for a proper hold. From there on out all you have to do is apply thermal paste, slip on the cooler, stick on the insulating cushions, and lock the spring nuts with screws. Thermal goop is included if you don't have any, but for proper comparison we used Arctic Silver 5 for this. Beyond that you know what to do, so as you can see it really isn't that intensive and should probably take you anywhere from 15 to 35 minutes.


Obviously the biggest deterrent to purchasing the CoolViva is its size. Compared to the Zalman VF900-Cu GPU Cooler it is huge. The CoolViva manages to make slipping a sheet of paper between the cooler and the adjacent hard drive impossible. That isn't to say it's resting on the hard drive, but it is touching it. This isn't a big deal since both items operate without interference, but if you own a small case that's pretty crowded your best bet is to either make sure the CoolViva fits or pass it up and get an alternative. It's up to how much your time is worth because you can venture to your local Fry's or Micro Center and return it there if it doesn't fit, or you can buy something you know that does fit and be done with it - the choice is yours. The pictures above show firsthand how the CoolViva operates and the accompanying PCI mesh slot that lets hot air find its way out. The Antec Solo testbed case is among the smallest mini-towers out on the market so there shouldn't be much of an issue in your case. As of publishing this article the price for a Cooler Master CoolViva Pro is approximately $25.04 USD compared to the Zalman VF900-Cu GPU Cooler which costs $32.49 via our GotFrag Price Comparison. Not a big difference price wise, but as you'll see on the next page there is a considerable thermal difference depending on your noise tolerance level.