Sapphire 1950 Pro with which fanless cooler?

lazygun · Post by **lazygun** » Mon Jul 09, 2007 8:23 am

Hi,

(I just searched for 'Sapphire 1950 Pro' and got nothing, so I hope this is a first topic on this card in combination with a non-stock cooler.)

I just ordered the above card, and was hoping if anyone had some experience mounting an Accelero 1 or HR-03 or any fanless heatsink of the sort, on it. I read that the stock cooler isn't particularly silent, hence my question.

It will be housed in a P182, and if need be I'll place a fan over the videocard.

Thanks in advance for any reactions!

edit: its PCIe, I've read some problems with the AGP version (it least, I only see topics on the AGP version while googling)

Matija · Post by **Matija** » Mon Jul 09, 2007 9:26 am

Try searching for X1950

The Accelero S1 needs a fan to cool the card properly.

I have the HR-03, and my horror experiences with it (still unfixed) are described in this thread. It's a fabulous heatsink, but unsuited for the X1950 Pro by default. If you can fix the problems, it can cool the GPU passively.

Take a look at X1950 GT, if you can cancel your order. The newer models don't have the stupid VRM issue, and they are supposedly likely to clock to the Pro's speeds (maybe just the GPU, I'm not sure).

rpsgc · Post by **rpsgc** » Mon Jul 09, 2007 10:25 am

Matija wrote:The Accelero S1 needs a fan to cool the card properly.

Right... Do you have one? I do, and 48ÂºC @ load (rthdribl) isn't exactly what I would call "not cooling the card properly".

Matija · Post by **Matija** » Mon Jul 09, 2007 10:57 am

tuna_armadillo disagrees with you

48 degrees under load (passive) doesn't sound right. I would say that rthdribl doesn't put the card under maximum stress. Try the ATT 3D renderer - it brought my card to 61 degrees after half an hour, and the HR-03 is beefier than the S1.

rpsgc · Post by **rpsgc** » Mon Jul 09, 2007 11:20 am

1- My S1 is the card stock cooler. Maybe his isn't properly mounted.
2- VGA 43-44ÂºC idle? Mine idles at 35-36ÂºC. My case is properly ventilated. Is his? Crappy airflow.

Matija · Post by **Matija** » Mon Jul 09, 2007 11:30 am

Just try the ATT renderer. I'm not that much of a gamer, but I haven't seen any game push my GPU over 51-52 degrees, while the ATT thingie can heat it up to over 60.

s_xero · Post by **s_xero** » Mon Jul 09, 2007 12:07 pm

Matija wrote:Just try the ATT renderer. I'm not that much of a gamer, but I haven't seen any game push my GPU over 51-52 degrees, while the ATT thingie can heat it up to over 60.

60 degrees isn't even warm for the X1950 or other high-end cards. They take 80-90 degrees with relative ease..

Evreything is relative...

rpsgc · Post by **rpsgc** » Mon Jul 09, 2007 12:14 pm

I've ran ATT 3D Renderer for almost an hour and it peaked at 53ÂºC.

It's pretty common knowledge... Don't use a passive VGA/CPU cooler unless you have good airflow.

Matija · Post by **Matija** » Mon Jul 09, 2007 12:36 pm

That's very nice. You must have a hurricane in your PC

rpsgc · Post by **rpsgc** » Mon Jul 09, 2007 1:16 pm

Matija wrote:That's very nice. You must have a hurricane in your PC

Just two quiet 120mm fans (and a 140mm PSU). Of course my SLK3000B has a side panel vent and I've removed the hard drive and floppy drive cages for increased airflow. Also I have most of the cables tucked away.

That or my S1 is really kick ass

lazygun · Post by **lazygun** » Mon Jul 09, 2007 4:34 pm

Wait. So, if I change the stock cooling I might run into those VRM cooling problems? What if I leave the stock cooling, will there be any issues?

I checked out the Artic Cooling website, and they have some heatspreader to fix on those VRM thingy's. Is that a good option if I were to try out an Accelero S1?

edit: well I read in another forum that Sapphire has fixed the VRM problems in a revised version (which also is a bit quieter, so I guess this temporary card will just keep its stock cooler; I'm going to get a new card next year). I guess I just have to wait and see if I bought the old version or the new one...

Matija · Post by **Matija** » Mon Jul 09, 2007 11:59 pm

"A bit quieter" will still be enough to make you half-deaf, as the stock cooler induced ringing in my ears after 20-30 minutes of playing a game.

The S1 will be a good choice, but as all passive coolers, you must have good airflow in your case. If you don't, then it's going to need a fan.

Wait and see. It's easy to remove the stock cooler.

Funky D · Post by **Funky D** » Tue Jul 10, 2007 10:43 am

I think the success of passive cooling the x1950 varies greatly between different manufacturers/revisions of cards. Here is my experience:

I have an AGP HIS X1950Pro IceQ 3 Turbo. The stock cooler was quiet, but mine started rattling after a month, so I recently installed the Accelero S1.

First installation, I left the stock VRM heatsink in place with an 80mm fan on the side panel. The card would shut down after about 5 minutes under load, at 55C.

Second installation, I tried the smaller VRM heatspreader that came with the S1 with the fan on the side panel. Card shut down shortly after load, around 48C.

Third + installations, I put the stock VRM heatsink back in place and moved the fan to different locations. Placing the fan against the S1, blowing towards the card, seemed to be the only stable configuration (but my arm got tired of holding that fan in place after 10 minutes

)

I'll be getting a low profile 80mm fan in the next few days to test further (the regular 80mm fans won't fit beneith the card without taking out one of my PCI cards). But it's not the GPU that's causing all the heat, it's the VRMs. Just as some other people have reported, the VRM's on my card get too hot to touch. The fan of the stock cooler is directly above the VRM's... maybe it needs to be to keep the card cool?

Not sure why the VRM's on some cards stay cool... maybe it's the AGP version with the problem? Maybe it's because the HIS "turbo" card is overclocked by default? Whatever the cause, it would take a very large heatsink to keep the VRM's on my card cool, and there's just not enough room with the Accelero in place.

rpsgc · Post by **rpsgc** » Tue Jul 10, 2007 11:46 am

My card also has this heatsink, I don't know if it's common to all X1950 Pros.

Funky D · Post by **Funky D** » Tue Jul 10, 2007 1:04 pm

rpsgc wrote:My card also has this heatsink, I don't know if it's common to all X1950 Pros.

How hot does that VRM heatsink get? It seems to have more surface area than the sink on my card...

rpsgc · Post by **rpsgc** » Tue Jul 10, 2007 1:13 pm

Funky D wrote:How hot does that VRM heatsink get? It seems to have more surface area than the sink on my card...

I don't know. Never touched it.

lazygun · Post by **lazygun** » Tue Jul 10, 2007 1:50 pm

I think it was just a problem that the newer cards don't have anymore. Maybe the VRM's getting hot was a problem which every card had, except some manufacturers were smart enough to see this problem and placed heatsinks which were able to cool them. Some manufacturers didn't, and were confronted by a flood of RMA's (I've come across this topic many times while searching about VRM issues).

What I've also read, as I said above, is that the newer cards have the problem fixed, where the problem of VRMs overheating was overcome or that some adequate cooling was mounted. Either way, chances are now not very large to buy a X1950 Pro where the problem still persists.

If it does, you're just unlucky because you just bought an older card. I will find out for myself as I have just ordered this card, and will receive it at the end of this week.

Matija · Post by **Matija** » Tue Jul 10, 2007 8:40 pm

The funniest thing is that the X1950 PCB has holes for mounting the VRM heatsink even in the referent design. They are unused with the stock cooler... You don't just leave random holes in the PCB with a white line marking the VRM heatsink area if you don't expect problems, damn it.

I personally have no idea what to do with my card. Whenever I think of something, I find two cons for one pro, and just *thinking* about doing something frustrates me to no end.

The problem is probably fixable if I void the warranty, and I guess I'll be doing that - I currently can't use the card, as the RAM heatsinks again fell off the VRMs a couple of days ago, and I haven't had much playtime in the last month and a half, anyway. I can't return the card and ask for another one, since it works with the stock cooler and the fan at 100%, so it's technically okay. I'd have to break it somehow to get it replaced, and I don't like that idea, especially since I don't know for sure if I'm going to get a non-VRM version as a replacement.

Funky D, what if you used the S1 VRM heatsink, and glued a bunch of VGA ramsinks on top of it, using thermal adhesive? It would massively increase the cooling area without a big increase in height, so it could fit below the S1 itself. I'd do that if I had a VRM heatsink extra (but I don't - if someone here has it, we could risk having it sent over by mail, I'd be eternally grateful).

lazygun · Post by **lazygun** » Wed Jul 11, 2007 6:18 am

On another forum which I frequent, there were many people having the VRM issues. They just RMA'ed their cards, and got newer revision cards. Maybe your shop will do the same, if they are sympathetic enough. This is the new version from Sapphire. Compare that with the old one. The manufacturers have been revising their hardware.

Anyways, others have also fixed the problem themselves. Seeing as you have tried cooling these pesky VRM's, here are some pictures of modded VRM cooling.
http://img87.imageshack.us/img87/9459/img0589wc9.jpg
http://img157.imageshack.us/img157/4350 ... 003nz1.jpg
http://img91.imageshack.us/img91/9163/pict0008zi5.jpg
http://img103.imageshack.us/img103/4764 ... ighyg3.jpg
http://tweakers.net/ext/f/eaeb2160aabb4 ... 8/full.jpg

I hope you find a way to cool them the f*ck down. Otherwise I'd really send Sapphire an email explaining the whole mess, and hope for the best.

Matija · Post by **Matija** » Wed Jul 11, 2007 7:16 am

I really doubt I can accomplish anything. I've already voided the warranty by removing the stock cooler - with it, my card works and there's nothing wrong with it. I cannot just say "hey, I removed the stock cooler and replaced it, now you replace my card". RMA is out of the question where I live, and the shop where I bought the card definitely won't bite.

Funny - the "old" version isn't even what I have. Mine's different! Oh, how I'd be happy with that "old" card...

BTW, this is exactly what I had in mind - it's the Accelero S1 VRM heatsink with extra ramsinks glued on top of it. If I could get my hands on one of those, it'd be perfect.

Have any of you had experience contacting Sapphire about anything? What are the odds of having them send me the giant golden VRM heatsink from the Ultimate model?

lazygun · Post by **lazygun** » Wed Jul 11, 2007 1:10 pm

Send them the links to these two topics. You got nothing to lose

.

ryboto · Post by **ryboto** » Wed Jul 11, 2007 2:19 pm

I've got the X1950pro running passive with an HR-03. Pics in my sig. Idles at 48-50C, loads around 70C. It's never given me artifacts or anything. And that's with no VRM cooling. Maybe I got lucky.

zavaras · Post by **zavaras** » Fri Jul 13, 2007 8:38 am

Which has more cooling power, Accelero S1 or HR-3?

lazygun · Post by **lazygun** » Wed Jul 18, 2007 10:57 am

I think the HR-03 has more cooling power...

...but I just installed an S1 on my card! After a few hours worth of Oblivion with all the settings on full, my temps read 45 degrees!

Nice. No noise, and a quiet cooling solution. I definitely recommend this heatsink to others who have this card. And have adequate airflow (I have an Antec P182 with three fans).