Gelid GX-7 Rev. 2 Review

Performance Analysis

Despite its Gamer moniker, the single slim fan actually stays really quiet under our motherboard's Standard PWM fan control setting, and it's still able to achieve a delta T of 47°C on our overclocked Core i7-2600K. Unfortunately, we don't have a result for the original GX-7 on our new test system, but the result is still decent in that it stays so quiet and also tops the result of the Arctic Freezer i30, for example, which sits in a similar price range and is a little louder.

Upping the fan speed to full by disabling PWM sees the delta T value fall a little further to 44°C, while the noise output rises to a louder whooshing noise, but not one that we'd consider especially intrusive. Again, this is a decent result, especially for a cooler that costs little over £30. However, neither the PWM nor the full speed setting is enough to match the performance of the cheaper SilverStone Argon AR01, although the slim fan on Gelid's cooler does give it an advantage in the noise department, especially at full speed.

Conclusion

The Gelid GX-7 Rev. 2 is a well rounded cooler that's capable of producing good temperatures at a low noise level. The use of a slimmer fan to improve RAM compatibility can only be a good thing, especially when it doesn't appear to hinder the cooler's performance. Small touches like a braided fan cable, extra fan clips and an included LGA2011 mount would make for a more complete package, but their absence doesn't detract from what's an attractive bundle overall. If you're chasing as much bang for your buck as possible, the Argon AR01 runs cooler for less, but if you like or simply aren't fussed about its looks, the GX-7 Rev. 2 is more ear friendly and still competitively priced for the performance it offers.