VGA Silencer + R9800P@XT = HOT

zoob · Post by **zoob** » Thu Jun 24, 2004 8:12 pm

Hi there

Situation:
VGA Silencer + R9800XT = ?

First off, let's get the video card out of the way.

I have a BBA Radeon 9800 Pro 256 MB which is identical to the 9800 XT in every respect, except that it has a different stock HSF, and is clocked lower to 380/340, core/memory. I flashed it to a full XT running at 412/365.

The VGA Silencer fan header was modified to have the three pin plug required for the 9800XT boards. It is installed using Arctic Silver Ceramique for the TIM. I am using a revision 3 unit.

The result:
TOO HOT!

I've been stressing it with RTHDRIBL, and although the temperatures are really high, I have yet to see any artifacts.

Even with it switched to "high", the card is BURNING to the touch. Overdrive tab reports 77 C. It does, however drop nearly 4 C when I open up the side of my case.

This is still roughly 13 C higher than my modified Globalwin WBK38 heatsink with a 5 V 60mm NMB fan (silent). With the Globalwin heatsink bolted to the card, the actual PCB was never burning hot.

Conclusion:
VGA Silencer + R9800XT = POOR COOLING

Suggestion:
For air cooling, modify a decent CPU heatsink, and put your desired quiet fan on it. This defeats the benefits of the VGA Silencer's DHES, however, provides a MUCH more comfortable GPU temperature.

Post by **Rusty075** » Thu Jun 24, 2004 8:41 pm

If you can run the card at full load indefinitely with no artifacts, then the cooling is fine.

It's time to get over the obsession with temps. 77° is just fine for a GPU.

The fact that the temps drop when the side panel comes off is an indication that your case has poor airflow.

MonsterMac · Post by **MonsterMac** » Thu Jun 24, 2004 8:56 pm

most cards can take temps in excess of 110C, once it hits 120C though there is chance of damage. the vgasilencer is suppsoed to get burning hot to the touch, and so is the pcb itself, you do have a hot running card there. your temps are perfectly fine, i dont see why your not happy with them.

Jan Kivar · Post by **Jan Kivar** » Fri Jun 25, 2004 1:11 am

Did You check the temps with the stock cooler?

Cheers,

Jan

acaurora · Post by **acaurora** » Fri Jun 25, 2004 9:13 am

I have an Asus 9800 XT, with the more noisy cooling solution. ASUS decided to put 2 small fans instead of one big one. Seems a good idea, right? Cool more area? Yes, but at the cost of noise -_-;;. Since you cannot control one fan individually, the setting is for BOTH fans. In any event, the SmartDoctor utility bundled with the card helps, as it adjusts fan speed depending upon temperature. The highest I've ever seen mine is 70. Usually it idles at around ~55-60 C.

If it really bothers you that much, you may want to check out the Revision 4 Artic Cooling VGA silencer, due out in 6-7 weeks. They said that more info will be on the artic cooling site in about 4 weeks.

zoob · Post by **zoob** » Fri Jun 25, 2004 12:43 pm

Rusty:

Okay, fair enough. My temperature obession is somewhat in check now. My CPU hits 60 C under load, and I'm not too freaked out. But when my ENTIRE video card is burning hot to the touch, that can't be "a good thing(TM)".

High speed mode creates too much noise for my taste. The silent mode sees temperatures of 90 C + and I also get a huge amount of artifacts.

Silence usually comes hand in hand with low air flow. I also may need to clean out my air filters (heavily used Bounce dryer sheets taped over my intake grills), as they haven't been cleaned for nearly two months.

MonsterMac:
I would feel uncomfortable with a large PCB hitting ~100 C, as this could cause some serious damage to other components in the computer. A stray cable could melt all over the card, or flecks of dust could start burning. Seeing as ATI Overdrive thinks ~70C is the threshold to push the core up to 418 (from 412), temperatures above this seem to be in the range where there is a risk of damaging the card.

With my modified CPU heatsink installed, the heatsink gets warm, but the board is NEVER burning hot.

Jan Kivar:
I unfortunately do not have a stock 9800XT cooler. Only the dinky 9800 Pro cooler, and that resulted in some pretty high temperatures. Mid 70s IIRC. Didn't have it on too long, as I installed my modified CPU heatsink about 5 min after I first tested the card.

acaurora:
A peak of 70 C would make me feel much more comfortable. I look forward to hearing more about this new revision. In the mean time, I need to free up some PCI slots so I can use my own solution.

Just a thought, a dual slot version of the VGA silencer would be sweet! If it could be twice as tall, the extra surface area could help dissipate the heat much more quickly.

acaurora · Post by **acaurora** » Fri Jun 25, 2004 4:45 pm

that'd be pretty huge... -_-;; a 3 slot graphics card... yeeesh!

johnjv · Post by **johnjv** » Wed Jun 30, 2004 6:13 am

Maybe you'd better check your install of the silencer. Did you tin the hs before putting it on the core? There is some issue about grounding it that has to do with a spacer I saw on one site. Non-conductive epoxy on the ram sinks? The third wire on a fan is for rpm monitering, right? Is your mod ok? Folks on other forums rave about how well this cooler works. The his iceq card on many reviews has the lowest temp/ best oc of all 9800 pros because of it. I've been looking into this planning on getting a 9800pro now that they're about 2 bills, was leaning towards the his card but they're sold out now at the places I trust to purchase at. Don't take this as a slam, just double check it.