X1950 Pro plus what cooler in a SOLO???

syncmaster33 · Post by **syncmaster33** » Mon Aug 20, 2007 12:38 pm

I just picked up a used ATI Radeon x1950 Pro for a 100 bucks to replace my aging 9800 with a nearly silent Arctic Cooler on it. The X1950 has the stock cooler on it which I hear is just slightly quieter then a lawnmower. (Got it off ebay so I don't have it yet). Anyway, I'm looking to replace that with something a bit quieter. It has to fit into an Antec SOLO. The only fans I in the case is the one in the 520 Corsair and the Antec fan running at low. My 6400 is fanless with a Ninja sitting on top.
Here are some of the ones I was considering.

Thermaltake CL-G0076 Enter VGA Cooler - I like this one because it vents the hot air outside the case and it's cheap. I don't know how quiet it is though.

ARCTIC COOLING Accelero S1 - This would be silent but it's SO big. It also is a bit more expensive then some of the others. I don't even know if it will fit in my case as that diagram on the website means nothing to me. I also have 3 drives in my case and I imagine that will make things even worse. It also looks like it will cover both PCIe x1 slots and a couple SATA ports on the GIGABYTE GA-P35C-DS3R I plan to upgrade to in the future. I can't think of a reason I would need those PCIe slots though....

ARCTIC COOLING Accelero X2 - This doesn't vent outside the case but is cheaper and not quite as big as the S1. I would imagine it would fit in my case but I don't know its acoustics.

Thermalright HR-03 - Well, I'm considering since some people really seem to like it but it's a little expensive if you ask me.

Ok. There are my thoughts. Did I forget any that I should be considering? What do you think I should go with? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

thejamppa · Post by **thejamppa** » Mon Aug 20, 2007 1:04 pm

one with Accelero S1 would be best IMHO. Its silent, effective and you don't need to void warranty just to silent it.

Matija · Post by **Matija** » Mon Aug 20, 2007 1:49 pm

If your X1950 Pro has the old flawed design with three tiny VRMs that heat up like crazy and are a total bitch to cool, forget about changing the cooler, or you will end up in a world of trouble, just like I did.

If it's the new design, with classic voltage regulation circuitry, either the HR-03 or the S1 will be a very good choice.

angelkiller · Post by **angelkiller** » Mon Aug 20, 2007 2:31 pm

Matija wrote:If it's the new design, with classic voltage regulation circuitry

How can one tell the difference between the two designs?

syncmaster33 · Post by **syncmaster33** » Mon Aug 20, 2007 3:01 pm

angelkiller wrote:
Matija wrote:If it's the new design, with classic voltage regulation circuitry
How can one tell the difference between the two designs?

I was wondering the same thing but didn't want to get off topic as I was still hoping for more comments from people

But I guess I will need to know how to tell eventually.......

thejamppa · Post by **thejamppa** » Mon Aug 20, 2007 3:13 pm

If you buy PowerColours or Club 3D's Ati X1950 pro silent (some other has them too, but those two I know has that model ), it has Accelero S1 already as stock cooler. That means it has factory installed VRM and all other cooling things and you don't need to go thru what Matija did. If it fails, then there is makers warranty.

syncmaster33 · Post by **syncmaster33** » Mon Aug 20, 2007 9:25 pm

Well....I found the thread where Matija had all the problems and looked at the pictures of his/your card and it doesn't look like the one I'm getting. Mine looks like this http://www.3dnews.ru/_imgdata/img/2006/11/24/33864.jpg so I hope that means I won't have the same problem.

Ok. Now back to the questions!

Will a S1 fit in a SOLO?
Will a X2 fin in one as well and is it quiet?
Does anyone have any experience with the Thermaltake?
Is the HR-03 that much better then the rest that the price is worth it?
Are there any coolers other coolers I should be considering?

Matija · Post by **Matija** » Mon Aug 20, 2007 11:23 pm

If that is how your card looks, then you won't have any problems

The HR-03 and the S1 are more or less equal. The HR-03 is a bit smaller, and possibly more powerful with a fan or strong airflow in the case.

IMHO, you should go passive. If the S1 fits, go for it.

syncmaster33 · Post by **syncmaster33** » Wed Aug 22, 2007 10:09 am

Matija wrote:If the S1 fits, go for it.

That's the question. What are the dimensions of the beast? That guide thing they have at their website useless. I can't figure it out.

I think I'm leaning to the X2 or the Hr-03 but the price difference sucks. I do like the idea of passive cooling with the S1 at a cheap price though.

Anyone have any experience with the X2? Just how quiet or loud is it? Does it cool well?

thejamppa · Post by **thejamppa** » Wed Aug 22, 2007 11:00 am

X2 is quieter than 3/4 of the active coolers in VGA cards. But its still is way too loud for SPCR-terms. But indeed better choice than a reference cooler.

syncmaster33 · Post by **syncmaster33** » Thu Aug 23, 2007 9:58 am

Ok.....so it looks like I'm either going to get the S1 or bit the bullet and get the HR-03. The X2 is too loud and no one has even mentioned or talked about the thermaltake so I'll toss it out as well. If the S1 will fit in my case that and doesn't cover everything up then how can i not get it. If it won't or covers everything up, then i'll have to get the HR-03.

Anyone know or have a S1 in a Antec Solo? Are their issues with the hard drives either hard mounted or suspended?

bob548 · Post by **bob548** » Thu Aug 23, 2007 11:56 am

I have an S1 on a 7900GS in my Solo, fits fine with my 2 suspended hard drives.

syncmaster33 · Post by **syncmaster33** » Thu Aug 23, 2007 9:47 pm

bob548 wrote:I have an S1 on a 7900GS in my Solo, fits fine with my 2 suspended hard drives.

Is it a tight fit or is there some room to play with at the end?

bob548 · Post by **bob548** » Thu Aug 23, 2007 10:00 pm

I would say that there's at least 2 inches between the end of the S1 and the hard drive "cage".

JLee · Post by **JLee** » Fri Aug 24, 2007 11:43 am

with 4 harddrives in my antec solo, it's a really tight fit because of the placement of the pci-e power connector on my BBA x1950pro

granted, an S1 or S2 would fit easily but it might be tight if you have all your hdd bays full and cables are going everywhere

syncmaster33 · Post by **syncmaster33** » Sat Aug 25, 2007 9:39 am

JLee wrote:with 4 harddrives in my antec solo, it's a really tight fit because of the placement of the pci-e power connector on my BBA x1950pro

granted, an S1 or S2 would fit easily but it might be tight if you have all your hdd bays full and cables are going everywhere

I have 3 drives now and the card which i just got and put in doesn't have much room at all. There is some but i do have a fair amount of cables as the drives are IDE and those cables (although mine are the round ones) always seem to be in the way.

I have to get something though as this card is so loud i'm going to have to limp along with my old quiet one till I get this thing figured out.

syncmaster33 · Post by **syncmaster33** » Thu Aug 30, 2007 5:11 pm

Just to tidy up this thread and maybe help someone who finds themselves in similar shoes, here's what I did.

I got the S1 and installed it. It was pretty easy to put on and really isn't as big as I was thinking it was going to be.

My card doesn't have a temp sensor so I don't know what the temps are, but i have had no problem running Folding at home GPU client for hours.

For what it is worth, I'm quite happy with my purchase and would recommend it to anyone who wants a passive cooler.

JoeWPgh · Post by **JoeWPgh** » Thu Aug 30, 2007 6:17 pm

syncmaster33 wrote:My card doesn't have a temp sensor so I don't know what the temps are, but i have had no problem running Folding at home GPU client for hours.

That's odd. Did you check in the Overdrive section of Catalyst Control Center?

But I agree. I'm very pleased with with the S1 on my 1950 Pro. It idles/light use at 15 ~ 17c over room temp.

syncmaster33 · Post by **syncmaster33** » Fri Aug 31, 2007 7:43 am

I don't have an Over drive section. It just ends with VPU Recover.

Matija · Post by **Matija** » Fri Aug 31, 2007 9:29 am

Some cards (ASUS?) don't have temperature monitoring, as stupid as it may sound.

Try Ati Tray Tools: http://www.guru3d.com/article/atitraytools/189/

I don't even have the stupid CCC installed.

nstarz · Post by **nstarz** » Mon Sep 03, 2007 11:36 am

Hey syncmaster33, may I ask what is all the parts you use for your PC?

I have been reading this because I also want a SOLO with 1950 Pro (and a silent heatsink)

I was wondering what power supply, motherboard, CPU, you use. And did you add/replace any fans on your SOLO.

syncmaster33 · Post by **syncmaster33** » Tue Sep 04, 2007 9:50 am

nstarz wrote:Hey syncmaster33, may I ask what is all the parts you use for your PC?

I have been reading this because I also want a SOLO with 1950 Pro (and a silent heatsink)

I was wondering what power supply, motherboard, CPU, you use. And did you add/replace any fans on your SOLO.

Absolutely you can ask!

I have the Antec Solo case....obviously. I love the case. Thoughtful design, great construction and subtle styling. I didn't want windows or lights or funky grills. The finish on the case is fantastic as well. I kept it's "Tri-cool" fan as the main exhaust fan and set on low I have no complaints with it. Very quiet.

I have the Corsair 520 PS and am happy with that as well. Very well built, efficient, modular design and quiet as well. Not dead silent, but pretty close.
I also have a nexus real silent 92mm fan in front to cool the drives and provide a little more cooling to the graphics card.

The drives are just a mishmash of drives from previous builds...nothing special there. They are suspended in the supports that the Solo has...works very nicely.

The graphics card is a GeCube 1950 Pro with the Arctic cooling S1 on it. It doesn't have a temp gauge on it so I don't know how cool it is runs but that is one reason why i put the nexus fan on the front of the case. I don't do much gaming but do run folding at home and the card has never had an issue.

My CPU is a C2D 6400 that I overclock from time to time. I have a Ninja on there and the included fan but that only runs when it gets too hot....and it hasn't run yet.
My motherboard is a ASROCK 775DUAL-VSTA with 2 gigs of Balstix 800 DDR2 RAM. The motherboard is ok. I got it because I wanted to go to a C2D from my AMD 3200 but didn't want to fork out the money for a new graphics card and memory. I had some DDR 3200 memory and a AGP Ati Radeon Pro with an Arctic silencer on it. The motherboard has been great in that it has allowed me to use the older stuff and also has slots for DDR2 and a PCI Express card that allowed me to upgrade when I had the money. It doesn't overclock very well but is rock stable when at stock settings. Now that I have newer components, I'm thinking of the GA-P35C-DS3R.
I have a Samusng 203b DVD writer that I just love. It is fairly quiet but how it compares to others i have no idea. It just gives me great burns and when I'm burning something, I can stand the noise.
Overall, I'm quite happy with things. It isn't a completely silent system, but it is VERY quiet. My ceiling fan is louder and when my central air is on, I can't hear it. If i can help in any way, let me know as I'd be happy to.

thijs · Post by **thijs** » Tue Sep 04, 2007 2:06 pm

Bit off-topic, but does the passive (PowerColor) X1950 Pro need the extra power connector hooked up?

syncmaster33 · Post by **syncmaster33** » Tue Sep 04, 2007 9:08 pm

thijs wrote:Bit off-topic, but does the passive (PowerColor) X1950 Pro need the extra power connector hooked up?

I have no idea. I have mine plugged in, but what would happen if I unplugged it I have no clue.

nstarz · Post by **nstarz** » Wed Sep 05, 2007 5:00 pm

Is there an x1950 Pro that has a temp gauge? I play games everyday. I also run Folding @ Home too.

Yah, I know a silent pc will just run hot and look like skyscrapers of heatsinks. I have a very small room, and keep my computer on over night, but I turn it off when I want a good nite sleep. That's how I found this site/forum.

What do you mean "ninja" do you mean this one: http://www.silentpcreview.com/article251-page1.html

If so..that looks HUGE.

If possible, can you provide pics of the inside of your builds?

Thankz

angelkiller · Post by **angelkiller** » Wed Sep 05, 2007 5:11 pm

nstarz wrote:Is there an x1950 Pro that has a temp gauge? I play games everyday. I also run Folding @ Home too.

I would think that every X1950 would have a temp sensor.... Well they should.

Anyways, my Sapphire X1950 Pro card has a temp sensor. (great for gaming btw.)

syncmaster33 · Post by **syncmaster33** » Thu Sep 06, 2007 6:14 am

nstarz wrote:Is there an x1950 Pro that has a temp gauge? I play games everyday. I also run Folding @ Home too.

Yah, I know a silent pc will just run hot and look like skyscrapers of heatsinks. I have a very small room, and keep my computer on over night, but I turn it off when I want a good nite sleep. That's how I found this site/forum.

What do you mean "ninja" do you mean this one: http://www.silentpcreview.com/article251-page1.html

If so..that looks HUGE.

If possible, can you provide pics of the inside of your builds?

Thankz

There are some that do have sensors, and some that don't. I found that out after I got mine and read some about it. I think the easiest way to find out, if it doesn't mention it, would be to just read through some forums. I would also imagine if it talks about being able to use the "overdrive" part of the drivers, it would have a sensor....but I can't guarantee that.

When I said ninja I did mean the Scythe Ninja (http://www.scythe-usa.com/product/cpu/0 ... 1100p.html) is the one I have. It is big but works quite well. There is also the Thermalright Ultra 120 which is well liked but it is also rather large. If you want quiet, you will need large.

As far as pictures of my build....I have an old one that has the Ninja in the SOLO, but the graphics card in the picture was an old one I was testing to see if it still worked.

desert0mirage · Post by **desert0mirage** » Thu Sep 06, 2007 8:41 am

Hey guys. Will the S1 work as well on an x1800 XT in an Antec p182? I was thinking about adding the turbo module http://www.arctic-cooling.com/vga2.php?idx=139 for added cooling. My main concern is my card overheating, and weather the card w/ S1 will clear the small fan on my mobo http://us.dfi.com.tw/Upload/Product_Pic ... SLI-D1.jpg Sorry if this is off-topic, but I felt that the only difference was the card. Thanks everyone!

syncmaster33 · Post by **syncmaster33** » Thu Sep 06, 2007 1:32 pm

From what I've read, the S1 should work fine on a x1800 XT and you might not even need the turbo module. I did read good things about the turbo addition so if you do get it you should be happy. I can't say whether or not it will fit in your mobo. It doesn't hang down below the card so if the card will not hit the fan, I wouldn't expect the S1 cooler to. As far as the P182 case, if it fits in my SOLO, it should have no problem in that thing....its a beast!

desert0mirage · Post by **desert0mirage** » Fri Sep 07, 2007 8:02 am

Thanks man! I appreciate it.