GFX cooler

[Windibob]

after searching high an low for an ati cooler which both performs incredibly well and looks the business, i was dissapointed. however, i really really like the idea of having a cpu hsf on my gfx card. dont kno y, but i just do. and since nobody makes cpu hsf's for gfx cards (in all fairness, y wud anybody!) i have come to the conclusion that i am going to have to do some serious modding and do it myself.
atm, i have a Akasa AK824cu Copper Base CPU Cooler - Blue LED (Socket A) (HS-004-AK) lying redundant in a box that i am very strongly considering using on my r9800pro. any suggestions or oppinions are welcome, (except the negative ones ;) )

[Sc4mpi]

Why not try a 1U heatsink there quite gd

http://img67.photobucket.com/albums/v205/Sc4mpi/other/PIC00003.jpg

this is the one on my server its very slimline and keeps a 3200+ under 40 would be quite gd on a gfx card i recon

[Windibob]

impressive, but can it keep a r9800pro below 40 deg?
size doesnt matter, there arent any other cards. those of you who have seen my machine will kno that cooling and noise were both an issue e.g. temps are good at 7v to all fans and temps are better than some water cooling sytems with all fans at 12v

[tuBBymAN]

what about a zalman?

[Windibob]

hmm passive cooling isnt really my thing

[eaterofpies]

i used to have a p3 1u cooler on my GF3 . . . worked a bunch better than stock and didnt weigh too much / extend too far and try and rip the card appart. id recommend an athlon 1u cooler or similar. they wont cool the card as well as a full sized sink but at least it wont rip the agp socket off.

if you do decide to use a full sized CPU cooler make some supports out of an old pci card / buy a cheap one to hack appart and sand down (remove all external metal) also wear a proper face mask if you do this as you do not want fibreglass bits in your lungs and clean up properly afterwards . . . also consider making some kind of support for the end of the card.

the zalmans work but rely on good air flow so you need fans anyway just not on the card (i have one on my GF3 now) . . . im interested in this as ive got a radeon 9800 pro too

how do u find the temp on the ati cards btw? i cant find an onboard temp sensor or anything

[Windibob]

i dont thing there is an onboard temp sensor, the only way is to probe it. and u think a 1u will keep it nice and chilly? do they make 1u coolers that accomodate 80mm fans. actually, the more i think about it, the more i like that idea. i would be a hell of a lot safer for LANs than a full sized 1.

[Windibob]

think*

[eaterofpies]

im assuming the gpu dosent use quite as much power as a cpu so it should be fine the only problem is botching a hold down :) i was never one for epoxy

if u cant get 1 with a fan size u want build a fanadapter

[BirdofPrey]

Erm zalmans dont have to be passive, u can buy an 80mm fan for them

[eaterofpies]

i still think the results from my 1u were better tho noisyer(sp?) and zalmans i think are a bit overrated tho passive cooling is a good idea. my zalman kit was rated up to gf 4s and it could barely handle my gf3 passive with resonable air flow in the case anyway id say go for a cpu block and botch a hold down

anyone know how to remove the sink from radeons i cant get the pins to pop back through for some reason :( i want to see if i can flash the bios to an xt as you can on some apparently they have the same core and pcb just different bios on some boards

[tuBBymAN]

yeah i had a zalman cooler with a fan on it it was tres good

[BirdofPrey]

pies, ull probably need heat to get rid of the thermal epoxy, use a hairdryer and a screwdriver to pop the pins thru

[eaterofpies]

pies, ull probably need heat to get rid of the thermal epoxy, use a hairdryer and a screwdriver to pop the pins thru
i cant get the pins to pop through . . . surely they should be pop throughable without having to remove any epoxy

[BirdofPrey]

hmmm nvidia ones seem still till the heatsync is loosned and then some pliers pop them out

[eaterofpies]

mental note dont listern to BOP . . . again

tried to pop the spring mounted hold downs out and managed to kill them because u have to pull a pin out from the heatsink side and they just fall out . . . oh well not so bad ill just check what the core is and its a R350 so i cant flash it to an xt :( so i go find some more pins and my thermal paste WRONG my thermal paste went missing in my house move so now i cant use my card at all and im in safe mode (4 bit colour) cos my pci voodoo3 keeps crashing when im in non safe mode . . . next time someone tell me its not worth it . . . please

oh and im too poor to afford some thermal paste and / or a new heatsink for the card (no really i am i need a job)

ahh well . . . wonder how well KOTOR will run :-/

[BirdofPrey]

oops, worked on all my cards :(

[Windibob]

im liking the cpu hsf idea lots now, mainly becasue its 100% custom

[tuBBymAN]

sounds like lots of work, you could watercool the whole system and put a water block on it

[eaterofpies]

i was thinking bout that but water + pc = :-/ also the equipment will cost you a kidney and water weighs a lot so its even more effort going to lans

[BirdofPrey]

Its not (normally) actually water, its a non conductive fluid

[Sc4mpi]

nope its normaly distilled water only the koolance things use a alterntive fluid that i no of..... plus agreed they do weight a ton, mine did hense i removed it

http://img67.photobucket.com/albums/v205/Sc4mpi/other/Untitled-2.jpg

http://img67.photobucket.com/albums/v205/Sc4mpi/other/Untitled-1.jpg

[tuBBymAN]

yeah the stuff they put in car batteries

[BirdofPrey]

Erm all that matters is what fluid u put in them, as long as its enuff like water to go thru the pump, and dosnt corrode the plastic its ok to run thru a water cooling system

[tuBBymAN]

what about that water wetter stuff thats supposed to be great as it makes the water even more conductive to heat.

[eaterofpies]

also water wetter is sposed to stop copper and alu reacting if theyre in the same water cooling loop . . .

[Jynx]

Water wetter increase specific heat capacity and almost stops the damage that even distilled or de-ironised water can do to metal.

[BirdofPrey]

For some reason when deionised was mentioned i thought of little irons in the water being fished out with a sieve!