Conclusions

The HR-03 Plus 8800 cooler delivers excellent performance when used with a fan.  It significantly lowers the GPU temperature, even when using a relatively quiet, low speed fan.  (Under certain conditions it may be used without a fan in pseudo-passive mode if there is enough case airflow around the video card to dissipate the heat.)  The overall construction and build quality are excellent.  And the ability to mount the HR-03 Plus heatsink on either side of the video card provides a lot of flexibility. (I still prefer mounting the heatsink on the component side so the fan can directly cool all the little component heatsinks as well.)

 

As I mentioned earlier, as video cards have become more complex, so has the installation of aftermarket VGA coolers.  Quite a bit of disassembly and reassembly is required to remove the stock 8800 cooler and install the HR-03 Plus.  Thermalright has done a very good job of making the procedure as painless as possible.  However, some users may still find it intimadating, especially when working on a $500~$600 video card.

 

It must also be noted that the HR-03 Plus will take up considerably more room (expansion slots) than the stock/OEM cooler.  And the majority of OEM coolers incorporate automatic fan speed control but you will most likely be limited to fixed or manual speed control after installing the HR-03 Plus.

 

The Thermalright HR-03 Plus 8800 cooler is currently available with a typical street price of $54.99. (Note: It is currently for sale at Newegg.com for $54.99.)

 

 

Thermalright HR-03 Plus 8800 VGA Cooler Review - Cases and Cooling 27

 

Thermalright HR-03 Plus 8800 VGA Cooler

 

Strengths:

 

  • Outstanding cooling performance
  • Very good build quality
  • Relatively easy to install
  • Very quiet when used with a low speed fan
  • Looks cool

Weaknesses:

 

  • Required fan not included
  • Relatively large size may be an issue in some installations

The HR-03 Plus 8800 VGA cooler is the best air-cooling solution you can buy today for your 8800 video card.  Outstanding performance and excellent build quality once again bring home the Gold for Thermalright. 

 

Thermalright HR-03 Plus 8800 VGA Cooler Review - Cases and Cooling 28

 

I would like to thank our friends at Thermalright for sending us their new HR-03 Plus heatsink to review — thank you!  Be sure to use our price checking engine to find the best price on the HR-03 Plus or anything else you may want to buy! 

 

And if you have any questions or comments about the article, or would like to see what others have to say about the HR-03 Plus, just click into our Cases, Cooling, Power and Modding forum to join in the discussion!
« PreviousNext »