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Driverheaven Guide: Upgrading GFX Cooling

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Old Apr 22, 2004, 07:55 AM   #1
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Driverheaven Guide: Upgrading GFX Cooling
Joe "Roadee" Dawson, one of Driverheavens Moderators has put up a great guide to help all of your interested in upgrading your video card cooling.

"I see a lot of members here on DriverHeaven wanting to get the most that they can out of their video cards. Games seem to keep getting better and more complex, and requiring more and more video power. Yet our income doesnt always allow us to upgrade every time the newest card comes on the market.

One of the easiest ways of increasing performance for low cost is upgrading the cooling on your video card. It is fairly easy to do, but a lot of people are understandably weary of trying it. So I figure that since I am upgrading the cooling on my card, I will share this experience with you, and hopefully help a few of you take the plunge in modding your video card. You must keep in mind though, that performing ANY mods on your video card VOIDS the warranty. So again, only attempt this mod at your own risk!!"

Read the guide here
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Old Apr 22, 2004, 08:05 AM   #2
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Very interesting read. Good work.
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Old Apr 22, 2004, 08:48 AM   #3
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hmm it seems that the VGA silencer is alot easier to install than the Zalman Heatpipe. But IMO, the Zalman makes my graphic card look goood.
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Old Apr 22, 2004, 10:26 AM   #4
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Man what great timing on this guide! I was looking to upgrade the cooling on my radeon... thanks!
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Old Apr 22, 2004, 10:34 AM   #5
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Very nice Roadee great work!
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Old Apr 22, 2004, 12:03 PM   #6
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i might have the balls now to do some of my own modding now.....
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Old Apr 22, 2004, 12:55 PM   #7
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if you are getting those clocks on a 9800 pro with stock cooling judas, might be worthwhile to see how high the card can go.
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Old Apr 22, 2004, 01:18 PM   #8
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Nice one Roadee, I was going to do that exact guide but my VGA Silencer got lost by Canada Post in transit. After waiting 2 weeks I got pissed off and bought a dual fan card by Vantec that has blue led's instead
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Old Apr 22, 2004, 04:04 PM   #9
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I was thinking about adding some blue LED's to the VGA Silencer
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Old Apr 22, 2004, 04:09 PM   #10
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Good job Roadee!!
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Old Apr 22, 2004, 08:31 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally posted by Zardon
if you are getting those clocks on a 9800 pro with stock cooling judas, might be worthwhile to see how high the card can go.
er.... i believe i got a good one... cause i was able to successfully complete the 3Dmark03 entire suite with the core at 450 and the mem at 400 on stock cooling... although i must admit... we bit more artifacts then i could have ever put up with... And i refuse to post the score....(bye bye chaos )
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Old Apr 23, 2004, 12:38 AM   #12
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I still prefer the time and effort it takes to attach an AMD heatsink to a vid card.

Nice guide Roadee. This will help A LOT of people.
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Old Apr 23, 2004, 06:20 AM   #13
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Quote:
Originally posted by Judas
er.... i believe i got a good one... cause i was able to successfully complete the 3Dmark03 entire suite with the core at 450 and the mem at 400 on stock cooling... although i must admit... we bit more artifacts then i could have ever put up with... And i refuse to post the score....(bye bye chaos )
you could also successfully complete the entire suite at higher clocks but once you see artifacts you are past the cards running level so its kind of pointless.
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Old Apr 23, 2004, 06:51 AM   #14
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Nice guide, I'll probably do something like that with my next card- probably the 9800XT, the 9700p is going as fast as it will already.
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Old Apr 23, 2004, 08:02 AM   #15
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Quote:
Originally posted by BWX
Nice guide, I'll probably do something like that with my next card- probably the 9800XT, the 9700p is going as fast as it will already.
I'm using about the same clock speeds on my 9700np as you are. Are you using stock cooling??
And also, would it be worth to upgrade to 9800XT?
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Old Apr 23, 2004, 10:17 AM   #16
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Quote:
Originally posted by Gardinen
I'm using about the same clock speeds on my 9700np as you are. Are you using stock cooling??
And also, would it be worth to upgrade to 9800XT?
\

I'm using the stock heatsink, but I lapped it mirror smooth. Also I removed the shim, used AS Ceramique and used nylon nuts and springloaded washers w/ metal bolts to hold the heatsink on. I also took the stock fan out and strapped a 60 x 25mm 4000 rpm fan to the heatsink- Well I have it attached with screws now- I can complete 3dmark03 and any other benchmark @ 370 core- I also have big heatsinks on the ram.. The memory is weak on my 9700pro though- I think it''s just one of the chips because I used to run it at 350mhz all day long, then all of the sudden it starts showing artifacts at anything above 325 or so- but it will still complete benchmarks at much higher speed, just showing artifacts..

I think I'm going to buy a 9800XT when the new cards come out, or maybe just save up and buy one of the new cards (the X800) when the price comes down a little on them.. An OC's 9700 pro is still a pretty fast card though.. I just wish my memory went faster.. But Oh well.
'Here are some pics of the mod- the fan is now connected with regualar screws-
Actually now it's a 50 x 15mm fan @ 4500rpm, but I hardly hear it. and it fits better..

Oh, and I have a northbridge heatsink on the heatplate with a 40mm fan on that- it works great- pluse there is an 80mm fan blowing directly on the card that is mounted in the side of my case which cools the whole card.


http://users.adelphia.net/~bwx232/at...-ramsinks1.jpg
http://users.adelphia.net/~bwx232/at...-ramsinks2.jpg
http://users.adelphia.net/~bwx232/at...-ramsinks3.jpg
http://users.adelphia.net/~bwx232/at...-ramsinks4.jpg
http://users.adelphia.net/~bwx232/at...-ramsinks5.jpg


I would buy an XT if you got the money and like games like FarCry- But the 9700pro pushes even that game pretty good, I'm having fun with it.. But that game need a gig of ram to turn up all the options- When I put everything on very high I get stuttering & HD activity w/ only 512 mb of ram- but besides that get playable framerate..
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Old Apr 23, 2004, 10:47 AM   #17
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Quote:
Originally posted by Zardon
you could also successfully complete the entire suite at higher clocks but once you see artifacts you are past the cards running level so its kind of pointless.
Reason i said i wouldn't post my 3Dmark score...

I do believe though with some decent cooling... and maybe a stronger PSU i might be able push it to say 430 and 390 without a hitch....
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Old Apr 23, 2004, 12:54 PM   #18
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Quote:
Originally posted by Judas
Reason i said i wouldn't post my 3Dmark score...

I do believe though with some decent cooling... and maybe a stronger PSU i might be able push it to say 430 and 390 without a hitch....
well go do it then !
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Old Apr 23, 2004, 01:11 PM   #19
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Quote:
Originally posted by BWX
\Oh, and I have a northbridge heatsink on the heatplate with a 40mm fan on that- it works great- .
What is the main purpose of the heatplate?
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Old Apr 23, 2004, 02:11 PM   #20
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It cools off the chip underneath it-- put your finger on it after running a benchmark for a few minutes.. Mine gets crazy hot- well it used to, now it's just warm.
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Old Apr 29, 2004, 10:46 PM   #21
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Are you using a VGA Silencer??
If anyone has done this mod using the VGA Silencer.......either on there own or had someone help them.....do me a favor and post your opinion about the install and your over all impression of the cooler. It will be a nice way for other's reading this to get a better idea about the cooler and what other's think about it.


Thanks!!
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Old May 3, 2004, 12:01 AM   #22
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Awsome guide bud, i was thinking of doing the same on my 9700 Pro, this guide is really gonna help me, congrats on a very well done article, keep up the good work.
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Old May 3, 2004, 05:04 PM   #23
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You should just throw it in Kakarot's prommy
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Old May 4, 2004, 06:16 PM   #24
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im so sad that this arctic cooling VGA silencer wont work on my Ti4200...

looks like ive gotta go find a suitable AMD heatsink and start drilling and cutting...
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Old May 4, 2004, 09:00 PM   #25
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Big Grin P
Well, my own Artic is in the mail... So i'll post my own impression of it soon

My