Graphics Card Cooling

[Muhahahaha]

I am in the process of building a new pc, and i just bought an ATI RADEON X800 Pro PCIe OEM. This came with a passive heatsink, however, which takes up a lot of room (I have a micro ATX mobo and it covers up one of my two PCI slots) and supposedly is not as good as a fan (i think). I would like to get a good cooling system, not too expensive, so that I can overclock, but hopefully leave room for my PCI slots. If the coolers are too big, I would be ok with just one PCI slot, I guess, but maybe you guys could also tell me about the stock cooler too, I'm pretty sure that won't get in my way.

 

[NetGuru42]

One of the great things about ATI is that they make their cards as quiet, but as fast as they can. Your card is fine with the stock cooler as long as you don't overclock it. If you do any overclocking you'll need to replace it with an active heatsink. Generally overclocking the newest ATIs won't get you much, if any advantage, however, so I suggest that you just leave it alone. I believe (correct me if I'm wrong) that the new ATIs also automatically overclock themselves intelligently based on temperature, load, and some other factors.

I'm just guessing from what I've read, I could be wrong... someone that knows what they're talking about?!? :thumbs:

 

[Muhahahaha]

I've heard of this one program, "ATI Tool" I think, that finds the best overclock speed to use. I guess I should get the stock cooler then? Where can I find one? Also, the tower I bought did not come with any fans. It is a Pentium 4 case version 1.1, or whatever it was. Well, I mean that's the version number. There seems to be a spot on the side and a spot on the back for fans. What size and other stuff do you guys recommend?

 

[NetGuru42]

I've heard of this one program, "ATI Tool" I think, that finds the best overclock speed to use. I guess I should get the stock cooler then? Where can I find one? Also, the tower I bought did not come with any fans.

Don't bother with overclocking at all. And btw, "stock cooler" meaning the passive heatsink that came on your card when you got it. In other words, don't change a thing about it, just add a couple case fans and you should be fine.

I'm guessing that your tower probably has slots for 80mm fans. If so, just head over to newegg.com and order a couple cheap Speeze 80mm case fans, and it'll come with everything you'll need to get some cooling in your computer.

With the added case fans, you shouldn't have to worry about getting any active cooling for your ATI.

 

[Muhahahaha]

Oh, ok. Thanks. Well by "stock cooling" I meant a fan, like the stock fan that comes with the retail card. As I said in my first post, I would like to remove the passive heatsink and replace it with a thin fan because it is in the way of my PCI slot.

 

[NetGuru42]

If the coolers are too big, I would be ok with just one PCI slot, I guess, but maybe you guys could also tell me about the stock cooler too, I'm pretty sure that won't get in my way.

Sorry I misunderstood. There are some pretty good GPU cooling systems out there. go to newegg.com and search for one under the cooling section. Here's one that you might be interested in... http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=35-103-151&depa=0

It should work with your ATI just fine.

Cheers! :cheers:

 

[Muhahahaha]

Thanks man. What about this one http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=35-186-116&depa=1? It is slightly more, but maybe that one would be good. Also, my card came with a DVI cable, is digital better than analog for some reason? My 17" LCD has a DVI port, so I'll use that instead soon, if it is.

 

[NetGuru42]

Thanks man. What about this one http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=35-186-116&depa=1? It is slightly more, but maybe that one would be good. Also, my card came with a DVI cable, is digital better than analog for some reason? My 17" LCD has a DVI port, so I'll use that instead soon, if it is.

That one should work great... maybe more so than the one I had recommended.

DVI is generally regarded as a better picture quality, response time, etc. - so go for it.

Good luck! :thumbs:

 

[trizzm]

something that exists is this fan bracket, that you fix using your case expansion slot screws, and that you set up as to have two 80mm fans blowing laterally towards (or from) your video card. a single 92mm fan option also exists i believe. it's a good way to improve video cooling without modding the card itself

 

[NetGuru42]

something that exists is this fan bracket, that you fix using your case expansion slot screws, and that you set up as to have two 80mm fans blowing laterally towards (or from) your video card. a single 92mm fan option also exists i believe. it's a good way to improve video cooling without modding the card itself

He's trying to get his other PCI slots made available by removing the huge passive heatsink, however, so that wouldn't solve the problem.