Intercooler Impressions

The last time i bought anything from Nyko I ended up not using it much as there is only so much lightgun games one can play. I have kept the perfectshot back in its box since my early plays of Umbrella Chronicles and have yet to even dust off them for my recent Darkside Chronicles run.

The Intercooler TS is an entirely different matter, fitted onto my Playstation3 it will form part of my console and function as much as the system. It has to be up to speed and frankly if it cost a bit more it would be worth the money too. Thankfully the price of Intercooler is on par with the other third-party brand I saw in Singapore, in fact its worth every dollar considering how much it will be used and how well it works. The common complaint i often hear of the product when reading up on it was the loud noise emitted by the fans when operating. That much is true but the noise doesn't bother me much as i'm used to the noise of the built-in cooling fan of the ps3 by now. The intercooler fits on to the back of the playstation3 where the vents are, a big difference considering all USB-powered fans fit onto the front vents of the playstation3. At first i didn't understand how the Intercooler could work placed onto the back vent with all the exhaust vent blowing out from there but i think that's where its temperature sensor could come into play. The sensor senses the temperature of the playstation3 from the exhaust air emitted and regulate the Intercooler fan speed accordingly. The four fans of the Intercooler works together with the in-built fan to improve the air circulation inside the system by blowing into the system and exhausting the hot air out of the system. This is achieved with one pair of fan blowing in one direction and another pair blowing in the other, at least from what i can tell studying the fans at work since the fans only run when placed in right position and temperature. I rarely hear the built-in fan running anymore since installing the intercooler, not because the Intercooler is so damn loud but because it does such a good job that the in-built fan doesn't even kick in.

Does Everything (Except Keeping Cool)

While i was doing my usual game hunting earlier this month in singapore, my friend was hunting for a cooling fan for his playstation3 slim. Now this guy is a certified cooling geek, the type of guy who looks at the size of the cooling fan first and foremost before anything else when shopping for a PC. OK i may have stretch that part a little bit but the point was he instill a fear in me which i learnt to let go a long time ago. I remember back when i first got my ps3, i placed it in a vertical position at a confined area so the fear of overheating the unit was always there. I kept a standing fan turned on facing directly at my ps3 the whole time it was powered on that time. Later when i moved the ps3 downstairs to hook up with the LCD TV, i never really bother to cool down the unit anymore since it was in a horizontal position at a relatively open space.

After some friendly teasing from my friend, i became a little paranoid again and wonder why did i abandon my cooling habits a while back. The cooling fan which i could find in Singapore are mostly USB-powered made by third-party brand i have never heard of before, frankly they looked a little tacky and not the least bit reliable. Ultimately i came home without a cooling fan but still a lingering concern of this matter then i decided to see if there were reputable third-party labels dealing with these cooling fans gizmo. I found this Temp Smart Intercooler by Nyko which happens to be powered by its own external AC adapter and is available at most Gamestop outlets, all the hallmarks of a reliable product if you ask me. I immediately ask my sister to make a last-minute addition to my shopping list and here it is along with my other easter haul she brought back this week. Now the only thing remaining is to see how well it works when hooked up with the playstation3.