Quieting a Workstation level card

sthayashi · Post by **sthayashi** » Sun Dec 07, 2003 8:24 pm

After giving it lots and lots and lots of thought, I'm seriously considering getting an ATI X2-256, mostly due to the 3d capabilities as well as dual-DVI (which I'm slowly moving towards).

Unfortunately, if I were to get this, it would be by far the noisest thing in my computer. What's the best way to make this card run quietly? Should I get an artic VGA silencer and attempt to modify the plate? or should I write off silencing as a bad idea for this card?

Thanks,

sthayashi · Post by **sthayashi** » Wed Dec 10, 2003 9:43 am

*bump*
Wow, not even a "That's a really bad idea with an $800 card."

Let me ask a different question. It looks like the Arctic Cooling VGA Silencer will physically mount on the board, since it's virtually identical to a Radeon 9800Pro. However, the back slot mounting bracket won't accept a dual-DVI card. Is this mounting bracket necessary for the VGA silencer?

Thanks again,

Post by **MikeC** » Wed Dec 10, 2003 11:27 am

sthayashi - I bet you're not getting any response because noone knows anything about the ATI X2-256. But to answer your 2nd question, yes, the back slot mounting bracket is absolutely necessary: It + the 2 screws are the only things that clamp the VGA & HS together.

Links to some photos of the ATI X2-256 might help people who have the VGA Silencer answer your question about fit.

Joe DeFuria · Post by **Joe DeFuria** » Wed Dec 10, 2003 1:02 pm

You can find a pic here:

http://www20.tomshardware.com/graphic/2 ... n_sprinter

It looks like it's based on the Radeon 9800 Pro 256 MB DDR-II board.

Lots of pics of the 9800 Pro/256 on this page:

http://www.beyond3d.com/reviews/ati/980 ... ex.php?p=2

And here's a comparison of the Radeon 9800 256 to other Radeon products:

(9700 Pro on the left, 9800 Pro in the middle, and 9800/256 on the right.)

I'm not sure if the VGA Silencer is compatible with the 9800/256 card (having trouble pulling up the compaibility list from their site.)

Joe DeFuria · Post by **Joe DeFuria** » Wed Dec 10, 2003 1:10 pm

sthayashi wrote:However, the back slot mounting bracket won't accept a dual-DVI card.

I don't know what you mean by this....the X2-256 is a single slot solution. (The older X1-256 was dual slot...) I think the issue for you is going to be that "daughter card" that is used to provide the second DVI port that the standard Radeon 9800's lack. It's not clear to me if that would interfere or not...

Joe DeFuria · Post by **Joe DeFuria** » Wed Dec 10, 2003 1:21 pm

Well, the "compatibility" PDF lists the "9800 (pro)" as compatibile, so no real indication about the 256 MB model.

However, they give measurements in the compatibility PDF. I would say that you should e-mail ATI and ask them how high that daughter-card is above the main PCB. The compatibility guide requires that nothing in that area be higher than 15mm.

Good luck!

sthayashi · Post by **sthayashi** » Thu Dec 11, 2003 6:07 am

ATI FireGL X2-256, arguably the best dual-DVI card money can buy:
http://www.ati.com/designpartners/media ... ard_lg.jpg
http://www.ati.com/designpartners/media ... d_lg02.jpg

Like Joe mentioned, it is virtually identical to the 9800Pro/256MB:
http://www.beyond3d.com/reviews/ati/980 ... _front.jpg
There are two areas where it differs enough to be of concern:

The X2 is dual DVI - If you go from left to right on the other boards, it's [VGA] [S-Video] [DVI]. On the X2, it's [DVI] [DVI]. That means that right off the bat, the Arctic Cooling VGA Silencer won't work without some modding to the faceplate. This concerns me slightly since I'm not that great with cutting tool.
The X2 has a daughterboard card of unknown height - This may also interfere with the ACVS. It's not as high as the mounting bracket, but it may be higher than the original heatsink.

#2 concerns me less than #1 for some reason.
Anyways, is there anything anyone can tell me about quieting this card down. If and when I do get this card, I can do more accurate measurements.