Silent but deadly

toNka · Post by **toNka** » Thu Aug 04, 2005 1:07 am

Okay, so here's the update...
I bought an ATi AIW X800XT from Newegg for US$333.
I was pretty happy with it as far as sound goes.
The stock fan is far from quiet, but the card controls the fan on it's own.
Keeps it pretty quite when idle.
If you were not a total SPCR geek you'd be happy with the sound quality of this card.
But we are SPCR geeks so....
I bought a Zalman VF700-Cu and configured ATiTool for clock management.
Had to cut the top row off of the NB heat sink and bend a couple more rows to make it fit (even with stock cooler).

Oh yeah, I just showed some pictures of my room a few posts ago.
Well, I got the DELL 2005FPW so I made some adjustments.

One of the ram sinks was too close to the heat sink bracket so I had to mount it slightly skewed.

Make sure you clean that GPU off first before putting the Zalman on.
ATi put some seriously goopy stuff under there.

Now for some pictures of it installed.
Look how close it is!

And a picture of the entire rig.

My temps are a lot lower with this bad boy on.
In 2D I run it at 250/500@4v, in 3D I run it at 550/580@11v (higher than 850XT specs).
This is an awsome card, well worth the $$$.
It runs solid 100+fps in HL2 @ 1680x1050 with everything on, I mean everything.
I now idle 10+C less than stock cooler.
With the stock cooler I'd be in the 70s under load.
Now I can't seem to hit 60C under load.
Love this Zalman VF700-Cu.

Note to those afraid to mod: It is very intimidating to install one of these on your brand new expensive card. Specially if you have to mod things in order to get it to fit (like I did). There is a guy in the vga forum here who toasted his installing one of these bad boys. I thought it was very smooth and easy to install personally. But it is some what scary to do.

Suggestions? Comments?

lenny · Post by **lenny** » Thu Aug 04, 2005 10:14 am

In your first photo, the NB47J looks like something from a Salvador Dali painting

100+ fps in HL2 you said? Damn... I said I wouldn't upgrade for another year... *sigh*

klankymen · Post by **klankymen** » Fri Aug 05, 2005 12:55 pm

wow, thats a nice system! similar in some ways to the one i have planned...

the one thing i was wondering though is, how is the fit of the fan controller behind the door of the sonata?

did you have to mount the fan controller set back a half an inch or something, or does it fit normally (and allow the door to close)?

toNka · Post by **toNka** » Mon Aug 08, 2005 2:43 pm

The Zalman fan controleer fits just fine behind the door.
I mounted it flush just like the DVD±RW.
The only thing that sucks about it is you have to mount it to those purple rails.
And they can get wiggled loose in the back end because the Zalman fan controller only mounts with the front screws.
I hope that made sense.

toNka · Post by **toNka** » Wed Aug 10, 2005 10:18 pm

Always looking for a new project...
I made a bracket for the Zalman fan controller so it stays put better on sliding rails.
I used an old cdrom drive that will never get used and cut away the area I needed.
I put some u-channel rubber to tame the sharp edges.
Here's some pictures:

If you have this situation in your computer and have the parts/tools, I highly recommend this mod.

toNka · Post by **toNka** » Thu Sep 01, 2005 11:39 am

I had an idea and was wonder what everyone else thinks.
Shoudl I take my PSU (OCZ ModStream 520) and flipped it upside down.
The cables will sit closer to the mobo, the OCZ is setup for BTX cabling.
Then cut a hole in the top of my case to match the 120mm fan.
The PSU will draw it's own air from outside the case.
Then the PSU will not grab air from the CPU.
And the CPU can rely on the 120mm Nexus exhaust.
Maybe even duct the CPU...
This might be more than worth chewing on.
My computer is already quieter than my ears can detect and my temps are low.
This mod might make little to no difference and end up being louder.
But maybe it's all worth it for the sake of modding.
I get bored

Your ideas?

vEnEx · Post by **vEnEx** » Thu Sep 01, 2005 9:38 pm

Hey tonka, I have the OCZ Modstream 450W. When I shut off all other case fans (cpu, intake, outtake) then I only get the sound of the PSU 120mm fan, since I have a passive cooled video card.

I still think the 120mm PSU fan from OCZ is making too much noise for such a big cooler. And I just love the silence my Nexus intake & outtake fan give me. Would it be possible to replace the OCZ 120mm fan with a Nexus one?

This might be a new project?

toNka · Post by **toNka** » Sun Sep 04, 2005 11:06 pm

I just replied to your post in silent storage then saw this, HA HA.
Anway, I don't know about replacing it with a Nexus.
Personally I'd imagine it would be fine.
The OCZs yate compared to the nexus are very close in design and spec.
The only real difference that I know of is the use of plastic.
Clear vs. orange.
A lot of people around here hate clear plastic fans.
They are "brittle" and make "more" noice.
I've yet to personally experience this difference myself.
I have 2 Nexus 120s in my case hooked up to a swith (Off, 5v, 12v).
My Nexus' at 5v are equal to my PSU at idle.
I think your case is hot so your PSU is running its fan at a higher voltage.
Try a duct for the CPU or something.
Post a picture of the inside of your case and I'll let you know what I think my be the issue.
That's the best I can do.
The OCZ may not be the quietest PSU on the block but it is darn close.
Specially at idle.
There has to be something odd going on in your system.

toNka · Post by **toNka** » Mon Feb 20, 2006 4:26 pm

The site where I hosted my pictures went down so I'll put some new pictures up for reference.
This is an overview of my set up:

Here is my hdd suspension technique:

Here is a closer look at my 74GB Raptor in the case:

Here is the mod to the Zalman fan controler:

Here is the tweaked Zalman NB heatsink and how close it gets to the GPU HSF:

If there are other pictures you would like to see that got removed, just mention it and i'll upload them.
These pictures should cover the basics though.

Here's what my temps look like:

JimX · Post by **JimX** » Tue Feb 21, 2006 2:43 am

Pics don't work.

Firetech · Post by **Firetech** » Tue Feb 21, 2006 2:54 am

For me either

Firetech · Post by **Firetech** » Tue Feb 21, 2006 2:59 am

For me either

toNka · Post by **toNka** » Tue Feb 21, 2006 11:49 pm

should be fixed now

Firetech · Post by **Firetech** » Wed Feb 22, 2006 12:00 am

It is!

toNka · Post by **toNka** » Mon Apr 03, 2006 10:47 pm

Okay, I fixed all the broken links this thread had by using Image Shack for my pictures.
I hope this thread helps people who had the same hurdles I did.

toNka · Post by **toNka** » Wed Apr 05, 2006 10:28 pm

Got a Ninja, yeah!
Installing was a little trickier than the usual heat sink but not too difficult.
In my particular application I had to do a little modding.
On with the show!

Here's the setup pre-Ninja:

Here' a comparison of my old heat sink ( Tt Silent Boost K8 ) and the Ninja:

I chose not to install the back plate given with the Ninja.
But you still need to replace the bracket.
Here's a picture of it removed:

And here's a picture of the Ninja bracket:

Don't forget to put some thermal paste on.

Here's a picture of it installed:

Be cautious when clamping this bad boy down.
I held the heat sink with one hand to keep it from sliding around while setting the clamps with the other hand.
I recommend doing one clamp per side at a time.
Having two clamped on the same side before clamping the other side will be difficult if not damaging.

Here you can see the clip that will be getting in the way of the Zalman VGA cooler bracket:

Time to get the Dremel out

:

Now, it may be wiser to Dremel this clamp back prior to installation.
Less likely to make a mess on your motherboard.
Then again, it may be harder to install the heat sink with one stubby clamp.
I decided to mod it after it was seated.
I did take precautions though to keep it as clean of a procedure as possible:

Never the less, it still made a little bit of a mess:

Nothing a little compressed air couldn't take care of.
All those shooting sparks so close to the CPU socket can be scary.
I'm crazy though

.

After installing the VGA card we get an idea of how close things are:

But it fit okay and that's all that matters.

Oh yeah, make sure your memory is installed before installing the Ninja if you plan on using the dimm slots closest to the CPU socket:

I decided to clean up my cables a little bit more since I was in there already.
I had some sticky backed Velcro laying around and decided it will probably be a good candidate for cable management.
Sure enough it works like a charm:

So here is a picture of the final setup:

I must say, I am very pleased with the Ninja.
It keeps my CPU temps lower passively than my Silent Boost K8 did actively by a couple degrees.
I keep both Nexus' and the Zalman VGA cooler at 5v unless I'm gaming.

Here's what my temps look like:

Hit me up if you have any questions or advise.

Bubbalobill · Post by **Bubbalobill** » Thu Apr 06, 2006 4:03 am

Looking really good. I´m on to try some ducting on mine soon.

Post by **Ralf Hutter** » Thu Apr 06, 2006 5:03 am

toNka wrote:Now, it may be wiser to Dremel this clamp back prior to installation.
Less likely to make a mess on your motherboard.
Then again, it may be harder to install the heat sink with one stubby clamp.
I decided to mod it after it was seated.
I did take precautions though to keep it as clean of a procedure as possible:

Never the less, it still made a little bit of a mess:

Nothing a little compressed air couldn't take care of.
All those shooting sparks so close to the CPU socket can be scary.

Acccccck!

It makes my head spin just thinking about that ultra-fine metal powder landing all over the mobo. No matter how much you try and blow it off, you'll still end up with some remaining in tiny cracks and crevices. Hope nothing shorts out!

toNka · Post by **toNka** » Thu Apr 06, 2006 6:28 am

Great, now you have me all freaked out.
Oh well, what's done is done.
No shorts so far... other than the ones I'm wearing

.
Yeah, I wouldn't recomend Dremeling it while it's already on there.
But like I said... I'm crazy.
Now I'll just have to hold my breath

and hope everything is okay.

toNka · Post by **toNka** » Thu Apr 06, 2006 6:34 am

Hmmm... ducting?
I thought about that when I installed it.
After seeing the temps when finished, I'm not sure how much better it will get.
Sounds like a hassle if it's only going to bring it down maybe 1 degree.
But then again, I do half my mods just to do them

.
We'll see...

Mr_Spork · Post by **Mr_Spork** » Thu Apr 06, 2006 7:23 am

I'm just looking at your zalman chipset heatsink and saw that you had to bend it to make it fit.

I have had the same problem with the chipset getting in the way of the gfx cooler. Even though I have no experience of your motherboard, I think you didn't need to go through all the trouble of bending the zalman chipset fins but instead, you might have been able to mount it off center like I did with mine.

What I mean is that instead of mounting the zalman chipset square on, you can adjust it so that the chipset heatsink is mounted lower and doesn't get in the way of the gfx cooler. Here's my illustration:

As you can see with mine, a small proportion of the nForce chipset is exposed. Now here's how close the zalman chipset and gfx heatsinks are without having to bend the fins:

Like I have said before, I'm not sure if you are able to do the same thing with your motherboard as the distance between the chipset and pcie slot might be different. But I hope to have helped you on your future ambitions.

btw, nice job you've done to your rig.

toNka · Post by **toNka** » Thu Apr 06, 2006 11:43 am

Thanks for your input.
I did try that when I first mounted the thing.
It works with the stock cooler but not the Zalman.
The placement on my motherboard is way too close.
If you look closely, you'll notice I shaved off the top row as well.
That's how bad the fit is.
Now if I could just fabricate a heat pipe solution...
Maybe I could contact ASUS and get a replacement chipset cooler and bend it to fit my motherboard.
You never know.

bobinho · Post by **bobinho** » Thu Apr 06, 2006 2:04 pm

Great job Tokna, I only don't understand why you had to cut off the clamp. At my rig it hasn't been a problem. Is your GFX that long. The Zalman VF 700 CU of my 9800 Pro is more to the center of the Ninja.

toNka · Post by **toNka** » Thu Apr 06, 2006 6:25 pm

Awh, you got lucky.
On the X800 series it's too close

toNka · Post by **toNka** » Sat Apr 08, 2006 10:58 pm

I think I've hit a record low with the Ninja:

This is at night time with my window open and low CPU load.

eoctanker · Post by **eoctanker** » Thu Jul 13, 2006 8:38 am

How are you getting speedfan to id your components by their product names and not buses and other unintelligable stuff? I loaded speedfan 4.28 and it is giving me all sorts of temp sensor readings for different stuff. I have two exact readings for something running at 139C!!!! My system runs fine and my CPU and GPU and HDD remain in the 30's at all times... I would like to use this system especially since I am getting ready to add some mods with different fans and change out the GPU stock HS with a Zalman.

Is there someplace on the web that has directions or instructions to help me set this up and understand what some of the readings are? By the way, I have a Nforce 4 settup but the speedfan shows it as two Nforce 2's...

toNka · Post by **toNka** » Wed Jul 19, 2006 1:58 am

Uh, I changed the titles myself.
To help better narrow down what temps are what try running to programs (SpeedFan & MBM5) and compare the temps you are uncertain about.
See what others with the same mobo are setting there's to also.
(Mine is a nForce3 Ultra)
Post a picture and I might be able to help too.
That 139C reading is definately off.
My temp1 reads 13C which is supposed to be the case temp.
I don't monitor it because it is obviously incorrect and it doesn't change for squat so I can adjust an offset degree.