What solution to choose for 7900GT?

zhai · Post by **zhai** » Wed Jun 07, 2006 9:02 am

I'm planning to get a new graphics card soon. However, it mustn't elevate the noise level of my system:

A64 3200+ w/ Ninja passive
Asus a8n-e w/ zalman NB47J
6600GT w/ schooner (passive cooler)
Antec slk3000b with the tricool fan, 5v
Papst 4412FGL 120mm in front of case, 5v
seasonic s12-430
random maxtor hard drive (only noisy at seeks)

Temps: CPU - 44C at load, 6600GT - 75C at load.

I'm considering a 7900GT, and I have the following ideas:

1: Remove the fan from the stock cooler (keep the stock heatsink), strap an 80mm Nexus on instead (Can this be easily done with any 7900GT or do I have to get a specific model/brand?).

2: Put my Schooner on the 7900GT and hope for the best.

3: Some other solution that doesn't make more noise than an 80mm Nexus

4: Get a fanmate, put the schooner on the 7900GT and let the 2 case fans ramp up when the 7900GT gets hot (I haven't tried fanmate or any software used for this, so I don't really know if it's possible). Does the 7900GT underclock when in 2D?

Additional option: Put a 5v 120mm fan on the Ninja.

I've looked at alot of the new gpu coolers, but it seems to me it'd be difficult to get them to be silent enough.

I'm leaning towards #1, any comments, suggestions?

psionic · Post by **psionic** » Thu Jun 08, 2006 4:29 am

If you're set on the 7900GT, look at today's SCPR article on VGA coolers.

The Zalman VF900CU @5V is 20dbA @ 1m and cools a 7800GT to 63C.

I have a 7900GTX which is fairly quiet, cannot distinguish over Nexus D12's @ 12V or a Arctic Cooling Freezer 64 HSF inside a P180B.

nutball · Post by **nutball** » Thu Jun 08, 2006 7:26 am

A 7900GT can be run semi-passive with an Aerocool VM-101/102, all it needs is a little airflow to keep it at acceptable temps (I'm using a 92mm Nexus to cool a 7900GT/VM-101 and a A64 X2/Ninja).

[Of course if you're in the US this won't help you!]

JonV · Post by **JonV** » Thu Jun 08, 2006 6:42 pm

The Schooner will cool your new card just fine. It cools my 7800GT, which runs slightly hotter than a 7900GT, and the general airflow in my case (from a single Nexus 120mm at 5V-9V) isn't significantly higher than yours.

In fact, if you believe X-bit labs' power measurements, a 7900GT should have just about exactly the same peak thermal output as a 6600GT, so the upgrade shouldn't affect you at all.

McBanjo · Post by **McBanjo** » Fri Jun 09, 2006 7:23 am

Zalman ZM80D-HP cools my eVGA stock 7900GT without problem. Acctually lowered the temps in with 6 degrees but then, my case is a little special

silver bullet · Post by **silver bullet** » Sat Jun 10, 2006 2:55 pm

I stuck a Zalman VF900-CU, on my 7900GTX (XFX - 675mhz core) and it works great. A lot quieter than stock (running about 1/2 speed) and idle temp is about 43c (with internal case temp of 31c). It was really easy to install just needed a small screw driver to off the stock HS.

ShagMan · Post by **ShagMan** » Mon Jun 26, 2006 12:15 pm

I was wondering... the 7900GTX has a nice heat-piped cooler, with 1/2 the exhaust exiting the case. Is the onboard still that loud? It looks quite large, I'm just thinking will the Zalman 700 really do that good of a job for that much quieter. The stock cooler just seems like a good chunk of engineering on the 7900GTX.

Lawrence Lee · Post by **Lawrence Lee** » Mon Jun 26, 2006 4:00 pm

You can get rid of your Maxtor's noisy seeks by setting AAM to quiet (I love my three Diamondmax 10s).

If I had a 7900GT, I would replace the stock heatsink with a Zalman VF900CU *AND* fan-mod it with a more efficient 25mm thick one. I find the stock fan on it a little annoying at low-speed.

Azazel · Post by **Azazel** » Tue Jun 27, 2006 2:52 pm

Amourek wrote:You can get rid of your Maxtor's noisy seeks by setting AAM to quiet (I love my three Diamondmax 10s).

If I had a 7900GT, I would replace the stock heatsink with a Zalman VF900CU *AND* fan-mod it with a more efficient 25mm thick one. I find the stock fan on it a little annoying at low-speed.

I've done this with a nexus 80mm on a 7900GT. It works well, with a temp increase of ~3 degrees, comparing the nexus @ 5v vs. zalman @ 5v. Temps are still very good. However, the mod itself isn't too easy and I had to do a mobo swap to fit it, as I'm using m-ATX with a soundcard. Luckily I had another board at home that worked fine for that. Getting the original fan back on would be pretty interesting...