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TennMax Stealth V3 Fighter

Posted: May 27, 1999

Written by: Dan "Tweak Monkey" Kennedy

Estimated Retail Price: $23.50 from TennMax.

 




3Dfx's Voodoo3 cards are very fast and easy to overclock. But with the great speed comes immense heat. TennMax has developed a $23.50 solution that will take the heat from a Voodoo3 card and allow it to run smoothly, even when overclocked. The Stealth V3 Fighter is just like other TennMax coolers: small, quiet, and very effective.

 

Installation

As with any direct cooling device, installation of the Stealth V3 Fighter requires some skill. I tested the cooler with the Voodoo3 3000. In this case, I had to remove the pins from the large heatsink. Then I twisted the old heatsink with a little force and it came off. I cleaned the extra glue and gunk with rubbing alcohol, let the card dry, then proceeded to install the cooler.
I then aligned the pins on the Stealth V3 Fighter with the holes left from the old heatsink, and pushed the pins in. The pins secured the cooler to the card.

For specific instructions on this process, click here.

 

Features
  • Works with Voodoo3 2000, 3000, and the upcoming 3500 (claimed).
  • 1 1/2" x 1 1/2" x 3/8".
  • Almost silent.
  • Patented TennMax technology.

 

Performance

Test system

Pentium II 450
ABit BX6 mainboard
64 MB PC100 SDRAM
Voodoo3 3000 using the latest V3 drivers, with Q3Test support
19" Optiquest V95 monitor
VSYNC disabled
Creative Labs Sound Blaster Live! Retail
Windows 98

The default speed for the Voodoo3 3000 is 166 MHz. Without any additional cooling, I got my Voodoo3 3000 running at 178 MHz, and it was fairly stable. It was, however, very hot.

After adding the Stealth V3 Fighter, I was able to overclock up to 198 MHz before the card failed. At 190 MHz, the card was rock solid. I got it up to 195 but only a few tests would run before the PC would lock up. Even at 195, the card was still cooler than the overclocked Voodoo3 with only a heatsink. I tested the Voodoo3 at 166 MHz to represent the default setting, 178 MHz to represent the overclocked Voodoo3 with only a heatsink, and 190 MHz to represent the Voodoo3 with Stealth V3 Fighter cooler. Note - I believe it's far more dangerous to run the card at 178 without any active cooling (fan) than it is to run the card at 190 with a Stealth V3 Fighter.

 

Turok 2 T2Mark test (turok2.exe -benchmark)

While running at 190 MHz, the Voodoo3 3000 is significantly faster at all resolutions, and it ran perfectly smooth at 1600x1200 with Turok 2.

 

Quake II Timedemo 1 (map demo1.dm2)

In Quake II's demo1 test, the Stealth V3 Fighter can mean the difference between smooth and choppy game play at high resolutions.

 

Quake II Crusher demo (map crusher.dm2)

Even the Crusher demo runs pretty well when the Voodoo3 is overclocked to 190 MHz. I have yet to see the Crusher demo reach 30 FPS without a faster CPU at 1600x1200.

 

Noise

Even with the case cover off of my PC, I could not hear the Stealth V3 Fighter. As with every other TennMax product I have tested, it is very quiet and efficient.

 

Conclusion

The TennMax Stealth V3 Fighter allows you to easily overclock a Voodoo3 3000 card to run faster than even the upcoming Voodoo3 3500. I am certain this cooler will allow a Voodoo3 2000 (143 MHz) to reach impressive speeds as well, probably even faster than a standard Voodoo3 3000 (166 MHz) while still running cool and without problems. This cooler is like an upgrade for the Voodoo3: you can run a Voodoo3 2000 faster than a Voodoo3 3000, a Voodoo3 3000 faster than a 3500, and so on. Voodoo3 cards are hot enough to warrant the purchase of a cooling product, and this product easily gets the job done.


[+] Good

  • High quality product - very quiet.
  • Efficient; small yet very powerful.
  • Cooling the hot surface of a Voodoo3 chip.


[-] Bad
  • Installation will void your warranty.
  • At $23.50, it may seem a bit costly for some.



Stealth V3 Fighter Score Comments
Value 9.0 The performance boost is worth the price.
Performance 9.5 Voodoo3 3000 @ 190+ MHz...
Features 9.0 It's a simple fan, but a good one.
Quality 9.0 Very small, quiet, and well constructed.
Overall 9.1 If you've got a Voodoo3, cool it!


You can purchase the TennMax V3 Fighter by clicking here.

 

Have opinions or thoughts regarding this product?  Share your thoughts and suggestions at the discussion board

 

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