Killing the noise on a Radion 9000 AIW

dooferlad · Post by **dooferlad** » Wed Jun 15, 2005 11:43 pm

My Shuttle SK41G isn't what it once was - it has a 120mm Panaflow fan stuck to the back and a Nexus PSU sitting beside it. Having just swapped out the hard disk for a quiet one I am down to the graphics card. In there is a Radion 9000 AIW (listed as a 9000 Pro chip) with a very small fan cooling it.

I use the machine as a digital video recorder and have disabled memory tiling, so I am not going to play any 3D games on it because performance will be shocking. All I want to do is watch videos and maybe get MAME set up on it at some point. Unfortunately the PCI slot is right next to the AGP slot and is in use - there is no space between them for a nice big heat pipe solution. There isn't much space between the card and the side of the case either. I do have a ZM17-CU stuck to another card and it looks like it will fit in the case. I can try getting some measurements if required.

I currently don't use the video in, but I sometimes use the video out when Windows screws up and Powerstrip doesn't start, making my VGA -> SCART cable is useless. For this reason I could swap it for a passively cooled card and eBay it if this is the best option. I would rather just stick a huge hunk of copper to it and have done, but a ZM17-CU isn't up to the job (apparently).

Do we think it is worth risking a ZM17-CU? What about if I drop the core clock speed down to a non-pro rate? Any other ideas?

Gxcad · Post by **Gxcad** » Wed Jun 15, 2005 11:57 pm

I do know that the radeon 9000 runs very cool. I have a 9000pro and I just unplug the stock fan. No additional cooling on the sink either. I don't do anything to stress it though, and after a while it is pretty warm. I think just unplugging the stock fan and getting some air on it can be a very quick and effective fix. Point being, it isn't that hard to cool.

-Ken

dooferlad · Post by **dooferlad** » Thu Jun 16, 2005 12:41 am

I am quite surprised to hear that. Is the cooler on yours the 4cm fan with the fins around the outside? If so I am going to try pulling the power on mine tonight and see what happens.

My only worry is that the air flow in that little case isn't great - it does get quite warm. I am sure I can drill out a few more holes around the card to encourage more in-flow around it though.

I am using VMR9 for video, so pixel shaders are being used - if you aren't doing such things I may be in trouble if I pull the power

the_smell · Post by **the_smell** » Thu Jun 16, 2005 2:26 am

Hi Dooferlad

First the most important thing

Welcome to SPCR

I would think the ZM17-CU might be worth a try, (although a cooked a Geforce 4200 with one of those while back, but they run pretty hot). Maybe stick a 80mm nexus fan close by if things in that shuttle box are a bit hot, I doubt drilling holes should be necessary, but it might help.
It might be worth searching the forums here if you haven't already as I'm sure someone will have posted before about replacing a 9000 AIW cooler.

dooferlad · Post by **dooferlad** » Thu Jun 16, 2005 2:55 am

Thanks for the welcome

I had a look around, but didn't find anything about an AIW, but I am sure I can spend a little more time on it.

I am not sure if there is any room to put another fan in the Shuttle, which is the problem. I will have a poke around tonight and see what I can come up with...