Passive VGA cooling

[tesco]

Alright since buying my latest computer back in july it's been a lot louder than my old PC.
Mainly because there's a small 40mm fan on the motherboard and one on my vid card, each running at 50% but still too loud for my liking.

First thing I want to do is get rid of that VGA cooling fan.
If I just simply disable it the card gets too hot (just idle!).

So I want to go with a passive cooler (no fan).

I remember clocker used to use something like this, if not this exact cooler:
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835118216

I'm also looking at this one:
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835118029


I'm not too interested in the performance of the cooler, I just want the card to run at a safe temperature when doing some occasional light gaming.
Basically, I don't use the PC for games, but if I ever want to play one I want to be able to. :P

What do you guys think of those I posted?

Also how hard are these things to install?

The card is an xfx 8800GT: http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?Sku=P450-8836

PS. I have some artic silver 5 that's about 4-5 years old is it still good? :lol:

PPS. My preferred sites to order from are ncix, tigerdirect and newegg as I know I can trust all of them. Anything that ships in canadia is fine I guess.



edit:: I don't even know if any of these coolers can be installed on a card this new. They seem to be older designs. :unsure:

[clocker]

I'd look here for inspiration. (http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/coolers/display/vga-coolers.html)

Neither of the Zalmans would be very effective on your card I don't think.

Your AC5 paste should be fine.

[Detale]

I'm not a fan of Zalman either (pun intended)

[tesco]

Thanks.
Those look much more modern.

The arctic cooling accelero S1 rev2 looks like it will be the one I go with.
Seems to get good reviews.

Just need to make a couple measurements to make sure it fits but I'm sure it will.
Any objections? :cool:

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835186016
Newegg is sold out but NCIX has it in stock.

[clocker]

Looks good to me.

[Detale]

Tess when you get it please post some temps. I am looking to maybe get something like this as well. Thanks

[tesco]

Tess when you get it please post some temps. I am looking to maybe get something like this as well. Thanks
Was planning to.:)

It's ordered, just waiting for it to ship now.:unsure:

From the reviews on newegg and the site clocker linked to it sounds very promising. Reports of the temps being better than stock WITH NO FAN. With a fan it's amazing, drawback being that the thing is huge. :P

I jsut hope it fits in my case, i never did get a chance to measure. :lol:
meh, worst case i'll donate it to one of you guys.

[Detale]

LOL or RMA that shit man

[clocker]

So, Ross...how's this working out?

[kaiweiler]

I've been cooling my 8800GT passively with the Accelero S1 for over a year now.
Can't post temps right now, but I remember them being well within acceptable range, even when the card was overclocked significantly.

They key to passive VGA cooling is to have sufficient airflow throughout the rest of your case.

[tesco]

So, Ross...how's this working out?
Okay just got it today and installed not long ago.

Was very easy to install even for someone with 0 experience installing vga heatsinks. :)
Total was about 30 mins of work and that included eating my dinner at the same time.:P

Temps seem to be around 40c IDLE. Keep in mind there is no fan on this so it's 'silent', but there is a case fan right below it blowing air upwards into it.;)
With the stock cooler, at 75% fan speed, sounded like a jet engine and kept the card at around 52 IDLE.

So at idle i've cooled the card and have siilence for the ears.:)

I don't have any load tests yet. Don't have any from before either but I seem to remember it being in the mid to high 60s under load with the stock cooler.

This thing is pretty big but fit easily into my case. It just misses my hard drive, which could have been moved anyway :P, and sits about 1/4inch away from the case side panel.


I also bought another 2gb of ram bringing my total up to 4gb, though I only see 2800mb in windows because I haven't installed 64bit yet.

Oh ya something else worth noting is that the reviews and even artic cooling's own website seem to be a little out of date regarding the voltage reg heat spreader.
They say that the included heat spreader is for the ati x1950 only, and that other cards don't need any cooling for the voltage regulators.
Some reviews said that they worried about that and that you should put your own heatsinks.

But the latest s1 rev2's actually come with heatsinks for the voltage regulators instead of heat spreaders so that problem is solved.

BTW, my 8800gt didn't have any voltage reg cooling to begin with so it's just a bonus for me. :P Unless I put them on the wrong thing. :fear:

[clocker]

Was very easy to install even for someone with 0 experience installing vga heatsinks. :)
Total was about 30 mins of work and that included eating my dinner at the same time.:P

Unless your dinner was soup, you're not chewing your food thoroughly.
I'm going to tell your mother.

[Detale]

Nice to know it worked out well for you AND that it comes with heat sinks too.
What version of Windows are you using ATM Ross?

[tesco]

Nice to know it worked out well for you AND that it comes with heat sinks too.
What version of Windows are you using ATM Ross?
windows 7 (beta) 32bit. Gonna install the 64bit windows 7 because I quite like this windows 7. :happy:

BTW what do MCP and SPP stand for? (I see it in everest under 'sensors' (temps)).
I know that MCP ahs soething to do with northbridge but what exactly do these mean?

[clocker]

What motherboard?
If it's nVidia based...
MCP= media&communication processor
SPP= system platform processor

[Detale]

Ah see now thats ODD I hav ethe same OS running and it shows 4 gigs
http://img258.imageshack.us/img258/3489/4gigsei1.jpg

I really like it too. I did find another small thing that I loved. as you can see this is my HTPC and I use Media Center and I noticed that they added a slide bar when you watch movies which is a plus as before you could only do a 3 sec jump in fw or reverse. So this is a huge plus IMO.

[tesco]

Ah see now thats ODD I hav ethe same OS running and it shows 4 gigs
http://img258.imageshack.us/img258/3489/4gigsei1.jpg

I really like it too. I did find another small thing that I loved. as you can see this is my HTPC and I use Media Center and I noticed that they added a slide bar when you watch movies which is a plus as before you could only do a 3 sec jump in fw or reverse. So this is a huge plus IMO.
Mine says that too, but it's actually only running on 2800mb.;)


What motherboard?
If it's nVidia based...
MCP= media&communication processor
SPP= system platform processor
okay, now translate.:P

[clocker]

What motherboard?
If it's nVidia based...
MCP= media&communication processor
SPP= system platform processor
okay, now translate.:P

"Stuff" and "More Stuff".
They do like, important shit.

[lynx]

IGP, SPP and MCP (http://www.nvidia.com/object/nppa.html)

[tesco]

Ah see now thats ODD I hav ethe same OS running and it shows 4 gigs
http://img258.imageshack.us/img258/3489/4gigsei1.jpg

I really like it too. I did find another small thing that I loved. as you can see this is my HTPC and I use Media Center and I noticed that they added a slide bar when you watch movies which is a plus as before you could only do a 3 sec jump in fw or reverse. So this is a huge plus IMO.
First is 32bit, second is 64bit which I just installed:
57055706


btw why am I getting a 2.9 all of a sudden in the Windows Experience Index?
Not that I care, it's a useless stat, but just wondering if something is wrong.
It's the hard drive that is listed as 2.9.

[Detale]

Click on Windows expeirence index to show individual scores. I'll bet its the Hard drive I had the same thing until Clocker said


The CPU is running @ 4.2GHz (467 x 9).

I had the same thing happen with the HDD score.
Try this...
-Make sure "Volume write-back cache" is enabled in the Matrix Storage Manager.
-Go into Device Manager and double click on the individual drive(s) under Storage devices. Go to the "Policies" tab in the box that opens and check both options...enabling write back AND flushing of the cache.

Restart the machine and run the index again.
Should bring your score up to "normal"...although at this point, I don't think anyone is sure what "normal" is under this new scheme.


Win7 will recognize and install to an array with no driver help from you.
Afterwords, you'll need the Matrix driver to be added...get the latest one from Intel.

Right click will expose more options once you've RAIDed the disks.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v78/clocker/IM1.jpg



Also My system shows 3325 MB of Ram.
http://img150.imageshack.us/img150/4167/ram1wc5.jpg

[tesco]

Just tried that, still got 2.9 for 'primary hard disk'.

[Detale]

Do you have them raided or no? I don't get it either 6 is still my HDD and my lowest stat as well.

[clocker]

Just tried that, still got 2.9 for 'primary hard disk'.
Have you rebooted the PC since you made the changes?

[tesco]

Just tried that, still got 2.9 for 'primary hard disk'.
Have you rebooted the PC since you made the changes?
yes.:(

And no no raid.

BTW my hard disk shows up as sata 150 in device manager although my motherboard, cable and hard drive are all sata 300.
It did that with vista as well.:mellow:

[clocker]

Has the drive been jumpered (capped)?

[tesco]

hmm I've never checked that before.
Let me see now...

edit: can't see what it's set to but shouldn't the default be 300 anyway?

[clocker]

No.
Usually, if there is a jumper installed at all it's capping it to SATA 1 spec.
I can't recall which, but one of the manufacturers ships all their drives so jumpered.

Pull the jumper off altogether and see what happens.

[tesco]

No.
Usually, if there is a jumper installed at all it's capping it to SATA 1 spec.
I can't recall which, but one of the manufacturers ships all their drives so jumpered.

Pull the jumper off altogether and see what happens.
It's a seagate incase you remember what manufacturer.
I'll try to get around to trying that tomorrow. I can't remove the hard drive with the computer running because of that accelero cooler.:lol:

BTW I have the load temps now. I've been running folding@home on the GPU ffor a few hours now and the temp is at 52c.
Also the idle temp seems to have dropped to 38c after the comp has been running for over 72hours with this thing.

[Detale]

Damn I gotta get that cooler. Tess you should think about doing a raid array man.

[tesco]

Damn I gotta get that cooler. Tess you should think about doing a raid array man.
Ya I was going to buy 2 wd raptors and raid them last year but then I realized the price of those things.:lol:

[Detale]

You can get some 7200 rpm drives as well you know theyre cheap enough now

[tesco]

You can get some 7200 rpm drives as well you know theyre cheap enough now
I have a 7200rpm 750gb hard drive now.
If I buy another the exact same and raid0 them will I see much improvement?:unsure:

[Detale]

Sure you will if you buy two more and raid em you'll see even more improvement as I'v just learned. Clocker MD will be in soon to explain.

[clocker]

I have a 7200rpm 750gb hard drive now.
If I buy another the exact same and raid0 them will I see much improvement?:unsure:
Yes, you will...most likely.

[Detale]

Well I saw a difference with my two 750's I had added one and raided em and for what it's worth the Win 7 index went up a bit :idunno:

[Cabalo]

No.
Usually, if there is a jumper installed at all it's capping it to SATA 1 spec.
I can't recall which, but one of the manufacturers ships all their drives so jumpered.

Pull the jumper off altogether and see what happens.
It's seagate drives, they all come jumpered by default

[tesco]

no.
Usually, if there is a jumper installed at all it's capping it to sata 1 spec.
I can't recall which, but one of the manufacturers ships all their drives so jumpered.

Pull the jumper off altogether and see what happens.
it's seagate drives, they all come jumpered by default
:o

You guys were right about the jumper. Found it and removed, now the drive shows up as sata2. :)

[tesco]

Hey BTW have you guys ever had problems with motherboard mounting screws coming loose?
I always have with every isntallation I've done. A few months or years after installing a motherboard i'll notice that one or two screws will be missing that were once there (found in the bottom of the case usually just rolling around).
Anyone else had this? Obviously no clocker since he changes his configuration every day :rolleyes:

And it's not that i'm installing them too loose or using the wrong screws. It's the correct screw installed as tight as I feel safe going. Somehow they just seem to work their way loose from the vibrations after a few months.

[clocker]

Ross, it's the screws you're using.
If you look, I'll bet they are the ones that have ridges under the head...the flange is not smooth.
Many (nay, most) newer motherboards have little raised dots around the mounting screw holes, these are basically acting as heat transfer points from the inner layer's circuitry.
The combination of the dots and the ridged screw flanges makes for bad contact and loose mounting.

Or maybe that's not it...you could just be a pussy and not tightening down enough.

[tesco]

Ross, it's the screws you're using.
If you look, I'll bet they are the ones that have ridges under the head...the flange is not smooth.
Many (nay, most) newer motherboards have little raised dots around the mounting screw holes, these are basically acting as heat transfer points from the inner layer's circuitry.
The combination of the dots and the ridged screw flanges makes for bad contact and loose mounting.

Or maybe that's not it...you could just be a pussy and not tightening down enough.
They're the flat-bottom ones in all of my computers.

5721

The ones circled in blue in the pic are the ones I use for the motherboard.
The ones I circled red are the ones with the ridges you are talking about and I use those for hard drive, cd, vid card, case, etc.

And I'm not doing it too loose. If I went any tighter i'd strip the scew or start compressing the motherboard. :lol:

edit: hey btw see in that pic above the L shaped peice of metal? WTF is that for? I've never been able to figure it out, I notice that almost all cheapo cases come with that thing.:lol:

[clocker]

hey btw see in that pic above the L shaped peice of metal? WTF is that for? I've never been able to figure it out, I notice that almost all cheapo cases come with that thing.:lol:
Maybe a bracket for adding a lock to the sidepanel?

[tesco]

hey btw see in that pic above the L shaped peice of metal? WTF is that for? I've never been able to figure it out, I notice that almost all cheapo cases come with that thing.:lol:
Maybe a bracket for adding a lock to the sidepanel?
Could be. I've never figured out where it attaches though.

edit: you're right, just checked and there's a slot it can fit through at the back then you throw a lock through it. :frusty:

[clocker]

Great.
So I'm one for two this morning.

Next!

[Detale]

WOW I think I actually know something to help one of you guys

That bracket is used for 2 things I know of. if you look at the back of some cases it has a slot that this fits into, to either lock or set up a open case warning button.

DAMN! I just re-read where it was answered

[clocker]

DAMN! I just re-read where it was answered
Too busy reading everyone's PMs, eh?


Actually, I just posted to revive HW world...been dead in here the last few days, hasn't it?

I'm going to redo my loop soon- have to get my car through emissions first- so things might pick up again....

[Detale]

:lol::lol::lol: