Best Memory and Mosfet heatsink for AC S1?

yensteel · Post by **yensteel** » Mon Apr 13, 2009 4:38 am

From I've read, the heat sinks from the Arctic Cooling Accelero S1 isn't really good, so I'm planning on buying a separate set of heat sinks that are better at low air-flow conditions. The graphics card is a Radeon HD 4870 or 4890. It will be either be cooled either by the side (Middle drive bay of a p182 case) or from the bottom (Ziptied on GPU heatsink) if the other option is not good enough.

The problem is that I don't know the maximum height for a heat sink to fit, and I also don't know which one has the biggest cooling performance. My choices are these in order of preference:

1. Enzotech Pure Forged Copper Ramsinks (14 mm tall)

http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/ ... s_id=21310

2. Thermalright 8800GT PWN-Heatsink (for HR-03)

http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/ ... s_id=23859

3. Zalman ZM-RHS1 Aluminum Passive VGA Memory Cooler

http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/ ... ts_id=2026

4. Evercool F117 NightHawk Pure Copper Heatsinks

http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/ ... ts_id=3988

5. Enzotech Pure Forged Copper Ramsinks - Low Profile

http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/ ... s_id=22612

6. Thermaltake Copper BGA Memory Heatsinks ( 8 Pack)

http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/ ... ts_id=2101

I also wanted to cool the mosfets as well. Is it a good idea to use the same large heat sinks to cool them? Or do I have to use another kind of smaller heat sinks instead?

edh · Post by **edh** » Mon Apr 13, 2009 5:34 am

The main problem with the memory heatsinks is the thermal tape. Some examples seem worse than others but they just don't seem to stick well.

For the mosfets, you could do what I did and cut the applicable parts off your stock cooler.

Tephras · Post by **Tephras** » Mon Apr 13, 2009 3:15 pm

If the card you are buying has the reference cooler you could remove only the GPU heatsink and leave the red cooling plate mounted on the card. It might be a tight fit, but it's a memory/VRM cooling solution that owners of the Radeon HD 4870 has done before.

Lawrence Lee · Post by **Lawrence Lee** » Mon Apr 13, 2009 5:42 pm

I use Zalmans on my 4850. They're low profile, and the adhesive is very resilient. I re-used the same set three times.

yensteel · Post by **yensteel** » Mon Apr 13, 2009 8:17 pm

Thanks.

How do I remove the GPU part of the stock cooler from the rest of the heats sink? Do I have to damage the stock heat sink, or can the parts be separated just by unscrewing?

Is it any good compared to the other heat sinks that I'm planning on buying?

I wouldn't mind replacing the thermal pads that came with the heat sink with a better one. I only want the best cooling on the memory and mosfets as long as I can still install the AC Accelero S1.

darkb · Post by **darkb** » Thu Apr 16, 2009 5:19 am

I have a 4870 with an accelero S1 fitted.. I found that using the ArctiClean kit on the chips before applying the mem and vrm heatsinks worked wonders for their adhesion. I did have some trouble 6months later with one of the vrm heatsinks coming loose, but the I couldn't get the mem heatsinks off for fear of damaging the chips, they were that well attached (I was trying to remove them to put the stock baseplate back on instead).

I've no idea exactly how long that vrm heatsink was hanging for, but my 4870 still works fine, even with all the vrm sinks currently removed. (I'm replacing it anyways, and it still has the 1200rpm slipstream blowing over them)

All I did to get the supplied mem sinks that well attached was use the ArctiClean kit and then press and hold the heatsinks in place firmly for about 30 seconds, one at a time.

Plekto · Post by **Plekto** » Mon Apr 27, 2009 3:42 pm

I got a sets of the Enzotech low profile ones. Works perfect, if a bit close. The 3m tape is the best out there and really sticks well.

The S1 kit has a long heat sink for the Radeon cards in the kit, though the OEM one works better if you can manage to make it fit/not have to remove it. I used a dremel and a combination paper and scotch tape mask for the metal dust. Just made a tiny score in the upper fins of the OEM one and snapped/wiggled them off gently one at a time. Yes, it took some time... heh.

yensteel · Post by **yensteel** » Wed Apr 29, 2009 7:31 am

Thanks. I've decided that I'll be using the original 4870/4890 heat sink after some stock paste cleaning and AC5 repasting,

as well as using the AC S1 heat sinks for the exposed parts right in the place where the stock fan originally was in.

That should lower the ram temperatures as much as possible.