7900GT passive stock cooling from MSI

They make noise, too.

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JonV
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7900GT passive stock cooling from MSI

Post by JonV » Sat Jun 17, 2006 1:42 am

Image
As far as I'm aware, this makes for two firsts: The first 7900GT with passive stock cooling, and the first high-end MSI card with passive stock cooling. I'm thinking that unless I see some reviews showing good cooling performance, I may be more comfortable purchasing a different 7900GT card and attaching my own aftermarket passive cooler. Or am I wrong, does MSI have previous experience with this?

Bluefront
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Post by Bluefront » Sat Jun 17, 2006 2:22 am

Well look at it this way....MSI has to warranty the cards if they fail. This cooler probably works well enough to prevent most heat issues. If it did not, MSI would suffer....it's probably ok for most usage.

TomMe
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Post by TomMe » Mon Jun 19, 2006 2:58 am

Looks promising for the future. I have their passive 7600GT and it runs stable, so far..

Azazel
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Post by Azazel » Mon Jun 19, 2006 3:56 pm

Seeing as the 7900GT takes about the same amount of power as a 6600GT, passive cooling is not unreasonable, at stock speeds especially. In reality, the core is probably cooler running than the 6600GT as the 256Mb of ram and 256bit memory controller must draw a fair bit more than the 128/128 mem setup of the 6600 series.

I'm glad somebody has finally put a passive cooler on a 7900, its well within the realms of cooling reality. I have a zalman VF900CU with a fan swap to a Nexus 80mm @ ~6v. Card is overclocked to 580 core & 870 mem, running cool and stable. Temps are low 40s at idle and low 60s at load. I'm sure any decent passive cooler would do the trick, but given how silent the nexus is buried in the case, there's no point in switching for me. Its drowned out totally by a seagate momentus encased in foam.

diver
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Post by diver » Mon Jun 19, 2006 4:10 pm

Tasty...

I wonder what the other side looks like.

Weldingheart
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Post by Weldingheart » Tue Jun 20, 2006 2:34 am

It looks like VM-101 :? according to techreport article, less beefy compared to their passive 7600GT. funny that the site mention it as X1900GT :lol:

hightower
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Post by hightower » Fri Jun 23, 2006 6:14 pm

Could this be the new upcoming passive cooler from AC ?

Webmonkey
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Post by Webmonkey » Sun Jun 25, 2006 3:12 pm

any word on pricing? If the price is not far from a 7900gtx...then...argh..

JonV
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Post by JonV » Sun Jun 25, 2006 3:18 pm

A quick search at european pricewatching sites seems to indicate a price of about 2/3 of an average 7900GTX card.

Webmonkey
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Post by Webmonkey » Sun Jun 25, 2006 11:18 pm

JonV wrote:A quick search at european pricewatching sites seems to indicate a price of about 2/3 of an average 7900GTX card.

that sounds acceptable. But any closer to the GTX, I think I will just get a GTX...

It is a nobrainer that the passive is quieter than the GTX, but, the noise floor in P180 mysystem is a S12-500, 2 120mm tricool at low and a 23dB Papst on the CPU.
If the GTX is equal to or lower anyway, it will not be able to tell the difference between it and a passive GT.

koreth
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Post by koreth » Thu Jul 13, 2006 8:58 am

Is this available in the US anywhere yet? From what I can tell it seems like a Europe-only release.

Webmonkey
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Post by Webmonkey » Tue Jul 18, 2006 4:28 am

JonV wrote:A quick search at european pricewatching sites seems to indicate a price of about 2/3 of an average 7900GTX card.
Hi guys!

Just saw that the card have come into stock today in Denmark. Price ended up being about 2/3 of the original Asus 7800 TOP silent passive card... this is great news!


(I just wonder why Asus did not make a similar silent 7900 card....)

JAH
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Post by JAH » Tue Jul 18, 2006 10:26 am

I want this card for my HTPC, too bad if it's a European release only.

Guess I need to find an EU online retailer that have this instock and is willing to ship to the US.

Webmonkey
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Post by Webmonkey » Tue Jul 18, 2006 11:40 am

JAH wrote:I want this card for my HTPC, too bad if it's a European release only.

Guess I need to find an EU online retailer that have this instock and is willing to ship to the US.
Is this not overkill for a HTPC?????

JAH
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Post by JAH » Wed Jul 19, 2006 3:17 pm

Webmonkey wrote:
JAH wrote:I want this card for my HTPC, too bad if it's a European release only.

Guess I need to find an EU online retailer that have this instock and is willing to ship to the US.
Is this not overkill for a HTPC?????
Well, I have been really fond of my HTPC (base on AMD 3500+) ever since I build it because of its quite operation and want to do some gaming with it. However, I currently use the integrated graphic on my motherboard for video output (MSI K8NGM2-FID) and gaming is not possible at my LCD native res (1920x1080).

So I have been searching for the most powerful graphic card that is completely silent (passive), yet only take up one slot. This one seems to fit the requirements perfectly. I wonder why MSI is not selling this in the US? :?

EndoSteel
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Post by EndoSteel » Thu Jul 20, 2006 11:51 am

IMO, there's no way this thing can cool a 7900GT with no external airflow involved. At least VM-101 fails, even with fins spaced 4mm apart to help natural convection.

Webmonkey
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Post by Webmonkey » Thu Jul 20, 2006 2:56 pm

EndoSteel wrote:IMO, there's no way this thing can cool a 7900GT with no external airflow involved. At least VM-101 fails, even with fins spaced 4mm apart to help natural convection.
Asus made it with a passive 7800 - so, why could a 7900 not be cooled??

Webmonkey
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Post by Webmonkey » Sat Jul 22, 2006 11:05 am

Did anyone see this? Albatron are also making a passive 7900GT.

http://techreport.com/etc/2006q2/computex/index.x?pg=2

Webmonkey
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Post by Webmonkey » Mon Jul 24, 2006 3:10 am

EndoSteel wrote:IMO, there's no way this thing can cool a 7900GT with no external airflow involved. At least VM-101 fails, even with fins spaced 4mm apart to help natural convection.

source??? :shock:

hkBst
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Post by hkBst » Sat Jul 29, 2006 7:07 am

I was thrilled when I discovered about the passive 7800GT(X?) from ASUS and thought they would come soon with a passive 7900GT which would be easier to cool because of the 90nm manufacturing process. I don't know why they never produced it, but I am glad MSI (and Albatron) are doing it now.
The MSI card seems to be ready and I can purchase it online. Unfortunately I've been unable to find even a single review. Anyone know where they are?

Webmonkey
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Post by Webmonkey » Sat Jul 29, 2006 4:05 pm

hkBst wrote:I was thrilled when I discovered about the passive 7800GT(X?) from ASUS and thought they would come soon with a passive 7900GT which would be easier to cool because of the 90nm manufacturing process. I don't know why they never produced it, but I am glad MSI (and Albatron) are doing it now.
The MSI card seems to be ready and I can purchase it online. Unfortunately I've been unable to find even a single review. Anyone know where they are?

Nope - but I also would like to read one or two :-)


BTW - a Danish website mentioned that a printed German magazine "PC Games Hardware" in early July had tested the MSI card and experienced heating problems... It did not state the test config, so I do not know their airflow level..........

yacoub
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Post by yacoub » Sat Jul 29, 2006 7:16 pm

While that is tempting, passively-cooled GPUs always run a good deal hotter and require airflow over their heatsinks so you will obviously need a bit more case fan airflow over it than an actively cooled videocard.

Also, the lack of heatsinks on the RAM chips is almost unforgiveable. Sure, you can add your own, but when you're already going to be paying a premium for the passively-cooled card, they could at least include those.

hkBst: I am right there with you. I have held off as long as I can for a passively-cooled Asus 7900GT. I went ahead with an eVGA 7900GT KO which has a larger copper 'sink that covers also the RAM chips.
I'll just put up with the fan.

GamingGod
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Post by GamingGod » Sun Jul 30, 2006 5:41 pm

do you have the 7900gt ko now? How is it working out, any issues?

Webmonkey
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Post by Webmonkey » Sun Jul 30, 2006 9:20 pm

Guys, just got an ASUS EN7600GT silent - it runs cooler than my old GF6600 passive 300/250MHz card and the strangest thing is that the PCB is BLUE like on the current ASUS website - but all reviews of the card I have seen feature a GREEN PCB.


Anyone know if there is a difference - besides the color of cause


:D


Actually I am happy that I did not get the 7900GT passive from MSI - it would not fit on my A8N32 with the XP90 cooler...or it sure would be a VERY tight fit...

TomMe
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Post by TomMe » Sun Jul 30, 2006 11:26 pm

What are your GPU temperatures Webmonkey?

Anvar
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Post by Anvar » Mon Jul 31, 2006 12:23 am

Webmonkey wrote:Guys, just got an ASUS EN7600GT silent - it runs cooler than my old GF6600 passive 300/250MHz card and the strangest thing is that the PCB is BLUE like on the current ASUS website - but all reviews of the card I have seen feature a GREEN PCB.


Anyone know if there is a difference - besides the color of cause
Could it be that the reviewers use review samples, as in reference cards?

Just a guess.

yacoub
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Post by yacoub » Mon Jul 31, 2006 2:43 am

GamingGod wrote:do you have the 7900gt ko now? How is it working out, any issues?
Should arrive today.

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Post by Webmonkey » Mon Jul 31, 2006 4:57 am

yacoub wrote:
GamingGod wrote:do you have the 7900gt ko now? How is it working out, any issues?
Should arrive today.

We expect at full report tonight! :P

yacoub
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Post by yacoub » Mon Jul 31, 2006 8:32 am

lol ok. i'm still trying to figure out if ATITool can control the fan on it or not. If it can do that and can read the card's temp sensor it should be able to manage dynamic fan speeds like it does for my X800XL which would be ideal. i really like ATITool and don't want to have to learn and install RivaTuner or some other program.

RDaneel
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Post by RDaneel » Mon Jul 31, 2006 10:09 am

I'm curious, yacoub, as to your opinions on the stock HSF on the KO. I assumed that I would need a Zalman 900 to put on there, but if the noise can be controlled with software and save the $40, that wouldn't be a bad result. Let us know your thoughts!

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