Opinions on the Accelero Xtreme Plus II?

it's pretty good actually , but you should also consider the Thermalright shaman :

Comparison : HERE (480 gtx)

The shaman doesnt cool the vrms ( i dont think)

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They're good coolers, I've had them running on my 480's for a few months now. Very quiet, even at 100% fan speed, and a good reduction in load temps.
But the included ram and vrm sinks have to be attached with AC's included thermal glue, which works, but I didn't like it.
I wound up modding my existing vrm plate to fit around the Accelero.

An alternative to using AC's lethargic thermal glue would be to buy some good quality thermal tape to apply to the sinks.

It's best to use a good quality tape. I found a link to an online store that stocks it, I've used 3M tape and it was quite good, they also have Akasa which is rated well.

www.frozencpu.com/cat/l3/g8/c487/s1291/list/p1/Thermal-Thermal_Pads_Tape-Thermal_Tape-Page1.html

Edit:
You can try AC's included thermal glue if you want to, it may work out ok for your card.
The Accelero Xtreme Plus II has a new version of thermal glue that is not as permanent as the previous versions had. But it has to be properly mixed, then requires several hours of curing time.
I followed their instructions to a "t", but still had sinks that weren't adhering properly.
I've seen other complaints about AC's new thermal glue.

Having some good thermal tape on hand would be a good idea, in case the glue doesn't work well, as it can be cleaned off the sinks if necessary.
Edited by DerComissar - 5/6/12 at 9:53pm

I just fitted a Arctic Cooling Twin Turbo II to my Evga 580 a few days ago, and I can honestly say the heatsinks+glue are a right pain to fit.

Glue needs mixed for 5mins continuously, you then have 15mins to apply it and put the heatsinks in place, and wait for a further 5hrs for it to set / cure.

If you buy decent thermal tape it'll at least take the glue out of the equation & you should be happy with the temps I'd imagine.

Although, I'd seriously consider the Zalman VF3000F over the AC coolers as it has a custom heatsink for the vrm's+ram which will make installation easier.

For even lower temps your other option is the Antec 620, H50, etc.. fitted using one of DWood's custom brackets.

Well said!
That's exactly what I did with AC's glue. I've seen postings from others that aren't happy with the glue, finding it to be still "tacky" after days of curing.

Before the Acceleros, I had VF-3000F's on my 480's, one I bought and installed on my EVGA 480, the other came factory-installed on my Zotac AMP 480.
They were fine coolers, but their best feature was the one-piece screw-on heatsink plate. It's too bad AC, and others, still use stick-on sinks.

I never tried any of the self-contained water coolers, but there is no question that it's a highly effective cooling method. DWood's bracket is a terrific way of mounting those coolers and adding a fan for the vrm's.

Hope the AC Turbo II works well with your 580.

What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas:D

Sorry, couldn't resist that. But ambient temps do make a difference, my cards get several degrees warmer under load when the ambient temp. is higher.
Your top card does seem to get a lot hotter than it should though, Since you tried swapping them and get the same results, it may be an airflow issue causing the large temp. difference.

With my 480's and the Acceleros, in a HAF 932, I originally had no side fans on the door, as it had the un-vented windowed version. I bought a stock vented 932 panel, with the fan mounts on the grille, and swapped it out. Mounting four 120mm fans on it dropped my gpu temps. as much as 10 degrees on load. But another benefit was that it decreased the temp. difference between the two cards. I reduced the temperature difference of the hotter-running top card from about 10C at load (Furmark) to an average of 2 degrees compared to the bottom card temperature.

Your EVGA Classified 200 board has excellent pci-e slot spacing for sli, so your cards should be fine for breathing room. I just looked up a Cosmos II review, it's got great airflow, but according to the review here:
www.guru3d.com/article/cooler-master-cosmos-ii-review/10
it just lacks having enough side panel airflow, just as my 932 didn't originally.
I wouldn't want to be hacking fan holes into a Cosmos II side panel though! Perhaps a 120mm fan or two could be attached inside the case blowing onto the cards, particularly into the hot mid-zone between the two cards, either by attaching onto the inside of the door, or on the drive cage area in front of the cards. You mentioned two 120mm side panel fans though, I didn't see any on the review case, but if it has them you should try enabling them as intakes.
Edited by DerComissar - 6/9/12 at 9:33am