The Grandis 3 replaces the predecessor model from SilentiumPC as the flagship. Briefly summarized there is a massive heatsink, a 120 mm and a 140 mm fan and an appealing look at a low price around 50 €. Beside the standard model this one is also available as ARGB version. But can the Grandis 3 also prove in the test that it can keep up with the strong competition? To evaluate this, we have tested the non-RGB version for you.
Specifications
| Version | without RGB lighting | with RGB lighting |
| Socket compatibility | AMD: AM2, AM2+, AM3, AM3+, AM4, FM1, FM2
Intel: LGA1150, LGA1151, LGA1155, LGA1156, LGA1200, LGA1366, LGA2011(v3), LGA2066 |
|
| Size (L x W x H) | 131 mm x 140 mm x 159 mm (with fans) | |
| Weight | about 1050 g (with fans) | |
| Heatpipes | 6 x 6 mm (for ARGB version nickel-plated) | |
| Fan | Sigma HP 140 PWM 250-1400 RPMSigma HP 120 PWM 250-1600 RPM |
Pulsar HP 140 PWM (ARGB) 250-1400 RPMRPM Pulsar HP 120 PWM (ARGB) 250-1600 RPM |
| Scope of delivery | cooler + 2 fans, mounting material, thermal paste, instructions, PWM splitter | |
| Price | € 90.16 * | € 14.44 * |
Scope of delivery and workmanship
In addition to the cooling tower and the two fans, the kit contains the usual mounting material, heat-conducting paste, a PWM splitter and the mounting instructions. The mounting of the fans to the cooling tower is realized by mounting brackets, there is no decoupling of the fans. However, this did not become noticeable later, there was no interference noise due to vibrations.
The heatpipes are covered by plastic caps, the uppermost cooling fins are coloured black. Additionally the ends of the cooling fins are serrated, which results in a nice look. Regarding the processing of the cooling fins there were no defects – no bent cooling fins, no irregular spacing.
When assembled, the fan protrudes slightly above the cooling towers in the middle – this provides a slight draft in the direction of the voltage converters. An additional voltage transformer cooling is quite useful and should not be underestimated.
The only negative points that stand out were during the installation of the cooler. On my test specimen, the fan could not be inserted from above, but unfortunately only from the side. Optically I could not find a reason – this makes the later assembly more difficult. Additionally the spacers to the mounting rail did not hold in the AMD backplate. You had to fix them by yourself until they were screwed together.
Mounting
To install the Grandis 3, attach the mounting rail with the spacers to the backplate. Then fix the cooler on this rail with two screws and insert the fans. Due to the fact that the middle fan can only be pushed in from the side, this leads to minor complications when installing directly in the case – in my case, I first had to remove the graphics card in order to have the required space. Unfortunately, the mounting brackets don’t hold the fans by themselves – so a bit of tact is necessary. Once the cooler is finally fixed, there is no wobbling and no problems.
Due to the symmetrical structure, however, there are limitations in RAM compatibility. If you use bulging RAM heatsinks, you have to move the front fan upwards. Possible RGB modules are thus completely covered. If you move the cooler upwards, you have to expect a higher overall height – here you have to check if there is enough space in your own case. With RAM modules of normal height there are no restrictions.
Power and temperatures
In order to test the Grandis 3, we had it compete against the EKL Alpenföhn Matterhorn Pure as a very good 120 mm single tower cooler and the Fuma 2 as a direct competitor in terms of price.
The test system consists of a Ryzen 5 3600, which is enthroned on a MSI X570-A Pro. The whole thing is built with 16 GB RAM and a GIGABYTE RX 5600 XT GAMING OC in a Fractal Design Define 7. A good case ventilation was provided by some Wing Boost 3 ARGB. For better comparability, identical thermal paste was used everywhere – in this case the Arctic MX-4.
The test scenario is a high CPU load by Prime95 with the “In-Place FFTs” – due to this the load is also constant and gives us comparable values. First of all, it should be said that the 3000 series gets very hot in this scenario due to Ryzen. This is due to the 7 nm technology and the resulting hotspots on the heatspreader. In normal gaming mode, the CPU is of course much cooler – even at low speeds. However, this test scenario shows how powerful the coolers are.
I decided to do the tests at 50% PWM and 100% PWM. 50% PWM is a good “everyday value”, where the fans should not be too loud under normal load, but keep the CPU cool enough. We then see the maximum potential at 100% PWM.
The Grandis 3 leaves the Fuma 2 behind it minimally in terms of performance – but with an identical heatpipe construction and a larger fan in the middle, this was foreseeable. So here you have slightly more potential to get the maximum out of your CPU. In terms of volume, the Grandis 3 can easily compete with the Fuma 2 – at 50% PWM it is significantly quieter than a Matterhorn Pure and even at 100% PWM the Grandis 3 is comparatively quiet – audible, but without any noise.
Conclusion
For the price of roughly 50 € (current: € 90.16 *) SilentiumPC has delivered here. With such a large cooler with a solid workmanship, you have to make small sacrifices to the price of course – such as a somewhat bumpy mounting and a minimalist scope of delivery. But this is absolutely bearable and not really relevant after the installation. Smaller deductions are still made for RAM compatibility – nevertheless, it must be said that a rock-solid product is being brought to market here. The Grandis 3 has definitely earned its Gold Award!
SilentiumPC Grandis 3
Design
Workmanship
Mounting
Cooling
Volume
Value for money
90/100
Good cooling performance, solid workmanship. With a revised assembly this cooler would be close to ideal!
