This past week we met with Gigabyte at their summer press event. They wanted to show us some upcoming products and to give us more details on some of their recently released products. One of those products was their GeForce GTX 1080 Xtreme Gaming graphics card, and more specifically its new cooling system. This new cooling system is the WindForce Stack 3X Cooling system. It of course is the evolution of Gigabyte’s popular WindForce 3X cooler.
The WindForce Stack 3X makes use of three 100 mm fans. These fans have a unique blade design, double ball bearing structure, angular fin design, and six composite heat pipes. Unlike most 3-fan cooling systems the WindForce Stack 3X actually has a stacked design with the center fan recessed and the fins of the other two fans stacked above it. This allows for Gigabyte to fit three 100 mm fans in a standard card length (most coolers have 90mm fans). The center fan also spins in the reverse direction to optimize airflow to dissipate the heat more effectively with less turbulence.
The fans used in the WindForce Stack 3X are not your typical fans either. The center fan features an angular fin design that is designed to increase air intake. The fins also have a cut-out edge, which makes room for overlapping with the side fans and together generates 2x the airflow. The fans use double ball bearings, which increase the lifespan of the fans 2x.
Gigabyte actually introduced the first 0dB semi-passive fan back in 2007 and all of the fans on the cooler offer this feature. Under light load or idle, the fans turn off, ensuring complete silence. The FAN STOP indicator turns on to display the fan status. This extends fan life, reduces power consumption, and makes it so less dust is stuck on the card.
Finally the cooler shroud itself features the Xtreme Gaming logo on the side of the card and the top of the card. The lights on the card are all RGB and can be controlled via software.
The WindForce Stack 3X Cooling System is available on Gigabyte’s GeForce GTX 1080 Xtreme Gaming and GeForce GTX 1070 Extreme Gaming.
