Is the VGA Silencer enough for a 9800Pro

1398342003 · Post by **1398342003** » Mon Mar 08, 2004 11:42 am

I have a 9800 Pro and I was looking at the VGA silencer to replace the ZM80C-HP. I've been thinking of the VGA silencer since I ran the card without case fans for 5 minutes and couldn't touch the card it was so hot.

Incidently the "evacuate the warm air" role of the VGA silencer isn't important to me, as I have very low case interior temps and relatively high airflow, though the pressure is slightly negative.

Would the VGA silencer cool the GPU better than the ZM80C? (In my situation and in a head to head comparison)

pocketmoon · Post by **pocketmoon** » Mon Mar 08, 2004 12:18 pm

I have a vga silencer on a 9800Pro, not overclocked, and it appears to run fine, although the new heatsink is just too hot to touch when the fan is in 'slow' mode, but I guess this is around 60 - 70c which, again, I guess is fine.

wumpus · Post by **wumpus** » Mon Mar 08, 2004 3:48 pm

Well one problem with the 'slow' mode on a 9800pro is that the 70-80c of the massive VGA silencer surface area acts as a giant heat RADIATOR inside your case. So case temps go up, quite a bit!

That is why I have mine permanently on 'high'.. still quiet enough for me, but IMO 'slow' mode is not workable on the higest end gaming cards.

1398342003 · Post by **1398342003** » Mon Mar 08, 2004 4:13 pm

So as long as it's on high it works efficiently, but on low/slow it acts like a small, inefficient Zalman, right?

wumpus · Post by **wumpus** » Mon Mar 08, 2004 4:25 pm

right, depending on the heat output of the video card you use it on..

1398342003 · Post by **1398342003** » Mon Mar 08, 2004 8:34 pm

True, but I meant in my situation.

kie · Post by **kie** » Tue Mar 09, 2004 2:00 am

your situation is that you have the second hottest ati card out there atm
only the 9800XT is hotter

so from what the others are saying, you would have to use the cooler fan on high setting

Joudbren · Post by **Joudbren** » Sat Mar 13, 2004 4:33 pm

I'm running my AIW 9800Pro at 9800XP speeds and tried the Silencer on mine and found it to get smoking hot on the lowest fan setting. The Silencer was like a huge heat radiator in my case unless I turned the fan speed on high. I ended up putting the Silencer on my wifes 9700 Pro as I needed to exhaust more heat from her case (worked like a charm and less heat on her card) and switched back to my Zalman 80C and OP1 fan for my 9800Pro. Personally, I found the Zalman to be a much better solution for me and the OP1 fan on slowest setting is virtually inaudible. I was able to obtain a better overclock with the Zalman and it seems to deal with temperature swings better when I'm gaming. Not sure why. In any event, the Silencer is working great for my wifes system and providing the required drop in internal temps for her and Zalman is working fine for me. Every situation seems to be different depending on how well your case evacuates heat, airflow, etc. If you don't have the OP1 fan on your Zalman, you may want to give that a try instead. You'll be amazed how little airflow is required to drop the temps on the Zalman. Good Luck!

James

1398342003 · Post by **1398342003** » Sat Mar 13, 2004 7:02 pm

Well today my GPU overheated with the Zalman. Ambient temps were <20°C.

I'm going to reseat the sink before I buy the OP1, if it can run properly for another month or two I should have enough time to finish my new case that will have 2 M1As cooling the GPU.

1398342003 · Post by **1398342003** » Sun Mar 14, 2004 9:26 pm

I reseated the Zalman, but now my CPU temps have gone up 6°C, while ambient temps have stayed the same. I have two theorys

First is that the GPU is now radiating a lot of heat properly, which means that the previous seating was poor, and that my ambient temp sensor could be usless.

Second is that the CPU heatsink isn't working properly.

I think that the first is true, but the ambient sensor has been astoundingly accurate to the case temperature, so

. The GPU is now stable though, and that's what counts.

/EDIT The CPU HSF is working properly, but the Zalman's surface temps are lower, I can only assume that it is working better, and putting out more heat.

The ambient sensor is at the bottom of the case, while the CPU HSF is at the top. The GPU must put out enough heat to cause a 6°C temperature difference. (my case lies horizontally with the MB on the bottom of the case)

1398342003 · Post by **1398342003** » Sun Mar 21, 2004 12:49 pm

I dusted out the CPU fan yesterday, (Aero 7 blower) and the CPU temp dropped the 6°C that it gained.