QUIETEST gpu cooler?

003 · Post by **003** » Tue May 15, 2007 4:06 pm

I am looking for the absolute quietest GPU cooler. I am using an eVGA 7800 GT CO (factory overclocked 7800gt). Space is of no real concern, I have all free slots in front of the video card. What would be the absolute quietest cooler I could use with it?

jhhoffma · Post by **jhhoffma** » Tue May 15, 2007 4:14 pm

The quietest cooler would be one with no fan at all, like this.

There is also the Plus version. Both would probably require a special mount, you'll have to look into that.

It's called passive cooling. You could probably find others, however they may not be as high quality. All passive coolers should be silent, but as for their cooling capacity....

003 · Post by **003** » Tue May 15, 2007 5:36 pm

Would that work on a 7800gt (that has a factory overclock no less) that is already inside an undercooled (for silence) PC?

I am absolutely terrible when it comes to modding cases and/or components to make them fit. What is the absolute quietest vga cooler that has a fan? Maybe a replaceable one so you could swap in a quiet one.

EDIT:
Just checked, that actually won't work. Looks like it needs a fan (though you could probably use a quiet one), but my fanless chipset cooler, thermalright HD-05-SLI.

My motherboard is a DFI LanParty UT nF4 Ultra-D. Unless anybody could confirm the HR-03 gpu cooler would fit on the ultra-d along with the h5-05-sli, I dont think I can use it. So what is the next best vha cooler for silence?

jhhoffma · Post by **jhhoffma** » Wed May 16, 2007 5:13 am

VF-900 with a fan swap. There are also the Arctic Cooling Accelero S-series and the NVsilencers.

Lawrence Lee · Post by **Lawrence Lee** » Wed May 16, 2007 7:12 am

jhhoffma wrote:VF-900 with a fan swap.

+1

003 · Post by **003** » Wed May 16, 2007 8:49 pm

I thought the fan on the VF900 Cu was propitiatory... how would you change it?

mike961734 · Post by **mike961734** » Wed May 16, 2007 10:15 pm

ive heard good things about this cooler from vantec

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6835110015

reviews say it is fairly quiet but a fair bit cheaper than the vf900

however if price is not your biggest concern, and silence is, vf900 fan mod or not.

btw here's a link to some one who did the fan mod
viewtopic.php?t=32610&highlight=vf900+mod

TK421 · Post by **TK421** » Thu May 17, 2007 5:44 am

I have an overclocked 7800 GT and I installed the Zalman vf-700 on it. It's older than the vf-900, but cheaper and VERY quiet:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6835118117

I use the fanmate controller dialed all the way down to minimum, and it's practically inaudible and my temps, under load, never exceed 70C.

jhhoffma · Post by **jhhoffma** » Thu May 17, 2007 6:08 am

I have the VF-700 as well on my 6600GT AGP. It works well, and at 5v the fan is moderately quiet, but not good enough, IMO. I replace mine with a YateLoon D80SM-12 @ 5V and it is much quieter and puts out more air.

All Zalman fans are prone to buzzing. Sometimes it bothers people, sometimes it doesn't (usually when there's something else in the system that's louder). I recommend fan swaps for all Zalman HSF than have built-in fans.

As for how to switch the fan, yes the fans are unique (not proprietary) as they are center-mounted (screwed into a bracket), but you can find a quiet fan of your own, cut it away from the frame and depending on the heatsink, mount it where the old one is/was. Search for "VF-700 fan swap" or "VF-900 fan swap" to find plenty of articles (some with really good pictures) on how to do this.

003 · Post by **003** » Thu May 17, 2007 7:39 pm

Hey, I already have a VF700-Cu, and that is what I use! I did a search for vf700 fan mod but I could not find much. Basically, I use it on my 7800gt, which is factory overclocked to 490/1100. I use it on the quiet setting, but I can still hear it when things heat up. What would be the quietest fan I could mod to fit on it and still have enough air flow? And how exactly do I DO the mod?

jhhoffma · Post by **jhhoffma** » Fri May 18, 2007 4:59 am

I repeat...

jhhoffma wrote:Search for "VF-700 fan swap"

003 · Post by **003** » Fri May 18, 2007 12:36 pm

I did... its not that easy... there are many pages of results and the thread titles dont seem to have that in them, and me being new here, don't know what types of threads are posted where. A link to a good thread would be really helpful

jhhoffma · Post by **jhhoffma** » Fri May 18, 2007 2:21 pm

Here you go...

Here

Here's one with the VF900, but the process is similar.

Here

Sorry I don't really have time to search more right now...I guess I didn't realize how many more posts there are with those terms in it...probably cause many people are doing it, recommending it, and talking about it.

Try narrowing your search by seaching only in "Cool and Quiet VGA" and using "Search Exact Terms" or whatever that option is on the search page.

The process is simple. Unscrew the old fan. Cut out the new fan from it's frame. Use superglue or some adhesive to stick it on. Fire 'er up!!!

003 · Post by **003** » Fri May 18, 2007 8:44 pm

I'm so confused! I need pictures or I will ruin something! And I don't understand how to tell what fans will fit and what won't. Would the 80mm Nexus real silent fan work? How much cfm does the stock fan push in silent mode? I'm so lost....

Das_Saunamies · Post by **Das_Saunamies** » Fri May 18, 2007 9:28 pm

They list two fans in that thread: the Noiseblocker S2 and some Yate Loon 80mm. If they find them adequate, that's a base to build on, both performance and size wise. There was also a Yate Loon listed in this thread, so do some creative thinking.

If you're unsure of how fan motor mounting works, try dismantling some cheap ones for practice before moving on to your VF-700. But it's a pretty simple and straightforward process if you just concentrate and don't use excessive force.

If you muck it up, you can always learn from the experience and buy a new one(most likely is that you'll just ruin the fan). Take it like a man.

--

I've got a VF-900Cu and while it's fine at 5V in idle, it needs nearly full revs to work while gaming. I'm guessing it's more of a memory chip issue, but regardless, I get BSoDs or crashes to desktop long before the core reaches 70'C or higher. The card is an Asus EN7800GT.

Tephras · Post by **Tephras** » Fri May 18, 2007 10:24 pm

003 wrote:I need pictures or I will ruin something!

Here's some pictures of a fan swap on a Zalman 7000 CPU cooler.

jhhoffma · Post by **jhhoffma** » Mon May 21, 2007 5:31 am

Modding a VF700 is much easier than a CNPS-series CPU cooler. Any 80mm fan should work. Nexus would be fine, but a 5v-modded D80SM-12 is cheaper.

Take the HSF off the video card before modding. It's not hard to do at all, once you have both sides exposed. Anything that is taken off from stock can be put back on easily...

Frankie says RELAX!!

samuelmorris · Post by **samuelmorris** » Mon May 21, 2007 9:17 am

I agree with the first post. Best option is to have no fan at all, e.g. an HR-03. I run mine on an X1900XT without a fan, and my case ventilation is two nexus 120mms out, and a 120mm NZXT and 80mm Noctua fan in. Temps are still lower than the stock cooler. Heat-wise, there isn't that much above the X1900XT other than the current gen top-end stuff.