Video Card Cooling

The Ender · Dec 16, 2003, 01:33 AM

I'm looking at getting a VGA cooler for my card (Radeon 9800 Pro 128 MB), but I've got no idea which would be the best for my buck. I'm looking at spending somewhere in the 30 to 40 dollar range on this, and any suggestions of what and where to get one would be most appreciated.

Chaos · Dec 16, 2003, 01:34 AM

Zalman Heatpipe

Vantec Iceberg 4

krazy1 · Dec 16, 2003, 01:43 AM

Zalman is the only one I will use. I have the first Gen. cooler and have had it for almost 1 year now and I love it.... works perfectly.

The Ender · Dec 16, 2003, 01:51 AM

Yeah I had been looking at the Zalman before. I read up on some reviews for the Vantec Iceberg 4 and someone who has a 9800 Pro noted some problems with the cooler not connecting to the core, and heatsink size problems.

Raider1 · Dec 16, 2003, 06:34 PM

I have the second gen of the Zalman heatpipe with the nouless fan witch i recomend getting. And it is one of the best cooling salutions i have even bought it's very quiet. and i got it all under $40. I recomede the Zalman ZM80C for sure

blade5545 · Dec 16, 2003, 06:44 PM

One more for the Zalman.

~~craig588~~ · Dec 16, 2003, 09:29 PM

Go zalman. Its rather oddly manufactured, but its still the best choice out there. (When you get it you will see the odd design desicions they made, but it still works well and it realitively easy to install)

DriveEuro · Dec 16, 2003, 10:20 PM

AMD stock heatsink. Simply put. Just need a drill, zip ties or bolts and spring. What's the point in the Zalman? I've used it. You can't Vmod your card with a Zalman.. But you can definetly Vmod a card with an AMD heatsink on it.

Raider1 · Dec 17, 2003, 12:32 AM

I don't need to Vmod my 9800 PRO it run flawlessly and eats everthing i throw at it. Zip ties huh

getto fab

I love it. But Ender if you plan on vmoding your 9800pro i wouldnt get the zalman. but if you plan on just soft overclocking it then the Zalman is it.

The_Neon_Cowboy · Dec 17, 2003, 12:49 AM

i vote zallman

ZzzombieBunny · Dec 17, 2003, 12:59 AM

is that additional fan necessary?

Edit: nevermind, the website says which cards needs it....

DriveEuro · Dec 17, 2003, 01:20 AM

Zalman heatsink will NOT get you as high mhz on the GPU as a CPU heatsink will.

~~craig588~~ · Dec 17, 2003, 01:24 AM

yes it will......

hows 438MHz sound? Thats with a 256M card too.

DriveEuro · Dec 17, 2003, 01:27 AM

Bro. Step out of your world. I swear dude. You are so keen on your experiences. People can pull just as high, and higher, on CPU heatsinks.

~~craig588~~ · Dec 17, 2003, 01:30 AM

huh?

I compared your results to mine. you go 430 out of the core, and I got 438 with much hotter ram. That does say something.

Acctually wait, your probably right, I have a giant fan blowing on the whole thing. Most other people dont, and you dont either.

DriveEuro · Dec 17, 2003, 07:03 AM

Dude, I have a stock cooler on my card. My STOCK heatsink pulls 430mhz. I haven't gotten around to putting the AMD heatsink on the card. My 9500np had the AMD heatsink and it was vmodded on the GPU and got 430/310. So you got a dud of an overclocker then. If I can pull 430mhz on the core with a stock heatsink and you just gained 8mhz with a humongous giant of a heatsink ...... man. I dunno.

Raider1 · Dec 17, 2003, 07:32 AM

Dude i know what ya can do. pull the cooling system right off the back of your frig and stap it right on you 9800 pro then . take a leaf blower (electric preferd) and some dryer vents and blow the shit out of it. then you could over clock that baby to 548 MHZ oooh ya

ooh ooh don't forget the zip ties and duck tape and some hot glue too. for the AMD heatsink you know

krazy1 · Dec 17, 2003, 11:53 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by DriveEuro
Zalman heatsink will NOT get you as high mhz on the GPU as a CPU heatsink will.

WEll with my Zalman I got my 9500 Pro to 380/305 with out any problems......

I have a temp probe on the back of the card right over the VPU and temps when I have NFSU running with everything turned up are 35-39C....... sooo yea.... my Zalman works great.... I don't know where you get the idea that the Zalman does not work.......

~~craig588~~ · Dec 17, 2003, 12:24 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by DriveEuro
Dude, I have a stock cooler on my card. My STOCK heatsink pulls 430mhz. I haven't gotten around to putting the AMD heatsink on the card. My 9500np had the AMD heatsink and it was vmodded on the GPU and got 430/310. So you got a dud of an overclocker then. If I can pull 430mhz on the core with a stock heatsink and you just gained 8mhz with a humongous giant of a heatsink ...... man. I dunno.

this is with a r9800 256, remember? The much hotter ram and all that?

My r9800np 128 pulled 450 stock.

craigmci · Dec 17, 2003, 08:52 PM

wheres a good starting point for OC with a stock tower 9800 pro 128 p4 2.53,1 G ram bus

~~craig588~~ · Dec 17, 2003, 08:55 PM

with stock cooling a r9800pro should pull 410/350 no problem.

craigmci · Dec 17, 2003, 09:13 PM

ill try that,what about a non pro 9700,anyone know where i should oc it,so if i get a aluminum case with more fans should you still mod your video card cooling?on the 9800 that is also if my card wont OC to 410/350 could it be not enough power supply,its a dell dimension 8250 came with p4 2.5 and the 9700,i cant see anywhere on the powersupply what the watts are,stupid dells,im in the process of building a new pc just cant decide what to go with intell or amd???!!!???all I know is im getting a thermaltake case 450 wtt PWS ,i want the ultimate gamer just dont know enough on what my best choices would be

~~craig588~~ · Dec 17, 2003, 09:43 PM

If your building a completely new PC (IE: starting with nothing) I would go intel.

The only reason I'm using amd is because its cheaper and I already had amd parts before so I wouldn't need to get all new stuff.

I would get a decent pc power and cooling PSU, the thermal take ones are really bad.

craigmci · Dec 17, 2003, 09:55 PM

oh no now im really screwed up,so i shouldnt get a thermaltake tower and power supply then,or just the power supply,do you mean a thermal with another type of powersupply then?i am glad i asked question s before i ran out and bought something,better keep asking!!

Raider1 · Dec 17, 2003, 11:50 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by craigmci
ill try that,what about a non pro 9700,anyone know where i should oc it,so if i get a aluminum case with more fans should you still mod your video card cooling?on the 9800 that is also if my card wont OC to 410/350 could it be not enough power supply,its a dell dimension 8250 came with p4 2.5 and the 9700,i cant see anywhere on the powersupply what the watts are,stupid dells,im in the process of building a new pc just cant decide what to go with intell or amd???!!!???all I know is im getting a thermaltake case 450 wtt PWS ,i want the ultimate gamer just dont know enough on what my best choices would be

there power supplys for there p4 computer are uslly 300w i should know i orderd 13 2.8ghz for my company and they all came with 300w psu's

craigmci · Dec 17, 2003, 11:54 PM

will this affect my oc capabilities?

Raider1 · Dec 18, 2003, 06:56 PM

It never hurts to have a good power supply. Trust me i had to learn the hard way. You want aleast a 400w PSU and a good name brnad one not some cheap ass gineric one. Just ask the guys around here thell let you know whatr PSU you should get. If you want a good PSU for less $moola$ Antec a good way to go.

blade5545 · Dec 18, 2003, 07:03 PM

Sparkle is another good brand and propobly the least expensive. I have one 350 watts and i run everything that you see in my sig with no problems.

Raider1 · Dec 18, 2003, 07:16 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by blade5545
Sparkle is another good brand and propobly the least expensive. I have one 350 watts and i run everything that you see in my sig with no
problems.

Sparkle 400W $63.80 total

Antec 400W $44 total

Sparkle is a good brand i recomended it too but if you have a buget like most of us do, then Antec is not a bad choice nether are it's all up to you bud.

cypher_138 · Dec 19, 2003, 02:30 AM

I have a Maze4 on mine with some Ram sinks.

Dec 16, 2003, 01:33 AM	#1
The Ender The Last of the Eld Join Date: Jun 2003 Posts: 62 Rep Power: 0	Video Card Cooling I'm looking at getting a VGA cooler for my card (Radeon 9800 Pro 128 MB), but I've got no idea which would be the best for my buck. I'm looking at spending somewhere in the 30 to 40 dollar range on this, and any suggestions of what and where to get one would be most appreciated. __________________ "I'm not chaotic evil, I'm chaotic practical." -Asus K8V SE Deluxe K8T800 Mobo -AMD 3200+ 64-bit Processor -1024 MB Kingston HyperX RAM (PC4000) -ATI 256MB X800XL AGP 8x -Western Digital 300GB HD 7200 RPM -Western Digital 250GB HD 7200 RPM -SoundBlaster Audigy2 ZS -Lite-On 16x DVDROM -Norcent 52x24x52 CD-RW -Antec True 550 Power Supply -Windows XP Home

Dec 16, 2003, 01:34 AM	#2
Chaos Number Nine Join Date: May 2002 Location: Nova Scotia Posts: 5,269 Rep Power: 167 System Specs	Zalman Heatpipe Vantec Iceberg 4 __________________ Last edited by Chaos; Dec 16, 2003 at 01:40 AM.

Dec 16, 2003, 01:43 AM	#3
krazy1 Live from the Dungeon Join Date: May 2003 Location: Between the SubWoofers Posts: 1,395 Rep Power: 0	Zalman is the only one I will use. I have the first Gen. cooler and have had it for almost 1 year now and I love it.... works perfectly. __________________

Dec 16, 2003, 01:51 AM	Thread Starter #4
The Ender The Last of the Eld Join Date: Jun 2003 Posts: 62 Rep Power: 0	Yeah I had been looking at the Zalman before. I read up on some reviews for the Vantec Iceberg 4 and someone who has a 9800 Pro noted some problems with the cooler not connecting to the core, and heatsink size problems. __________________ "I'm not chaotic evil, I'm chaotic practical." -Asus K8V SE Deluxe K8T800 Mobo -AMD 3200+ 64-bit Processor -1024 MB Kingston HyperX RAM (PC4000) -ATI 256MB X800XL AGP 8x -Western Digital 300GB HD 7200 RPM -Western Digital 250GB HD 7200 RPM -SoundBlaster Audigy2 ZS -Lite-On 16x DVDROM -Norcent 52x24x52 CD-RW -Antec True 550 Power Supply -Windows XP Home

Dec 16, 2003, 06:34 PM	#5
Raider1 There is always next year Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Oregon Posts: 601 Rep Power: 0	I have the second gen of the Zalman heatpipe with the nouless fan witch i recomend getting. And it is one of the best cooling salutions i have even bought it's very quiet. and i got it all under $40. I recomede the Zalman ZM80C for sure __________________ The Autumn Wind is a pirate. Blustering in from sea With a rollicking song he sweeps along swaggering boisterously. His face is weather beaten. He wears a hooded sash. With his silver hat about his head And a bristly black moustache. He growls as he storms the country. A villain big and bold. And the trees all shake and quiver and quake. As he robs them of their gold. The Autumn wind is a Raider. Pillaging just for fun. He'll knock you 'round and upside down. And laugh when he's conquered and won. My Rig

Dec 16, 2003, 06:44 PM	#6
blade5545 Shoots first ask's questions later Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Austin,TX Posts: 330 Rep Power: 0	One more for the Zalman. __________________ Dell Inspiron 700m 2 ghz Intel Mobile 2mb L2 cache 12.1 Ultrabrite 1.25 gig ram 80gig hdd 8x DVD-RW 4.5lbs 1.5" thick 5 hours battery DFI NF4 Ultra - D AMD Winchester 64 3200+ @4125+ 2.62ghz sold Swiftech H20-120-BB REV. 3 LIQUID COOLING KIT 2x512 OCZ EL DDR PC-3200 Dual Channel sold Platinum Rev 2 OCZ POWERSTREAM 520W sold ATI X700 PRO SEAGATE 160GIG SATA Windows XP PRO SP2 / PearPC - Apple OS X 10.2 Unknown "The problem with America is stupidity. I'm not saying there should be a capital punishment for stupidity, but why don't we just take the safety labels off of everything and let the problem solve itself."

Dec 16, 2003, 09:29 PM	#7
~~craig588~~ Banned Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: In clothing Posts: 3,510 Rep Power: 0	Go zalman. Its rather oddly manufactured, but its still the best choice out there. (When you get it you will see the odd design desicions they made, but it still works well and it realitively easy to install)

Dec 16, 2003, 10:20 PM	#8
DriveEuro HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Gurnee Illinois Posts: 4,677 Rep Power: 0	AMD stock heatsink. Simply put. Just need a drill, zip ties or bolts and spring. What's the point in the Zalman? I've used it. You can't Vmod your card with a Zalman.. But you can definetly Vmod a card with an AMD heatsink on it. __________________ [color=orange]ASUS P4P800 Deluxe [color=black]-[/color] 2.4C --> 3300mhz [color=black]-[/color] Mushkin PC3200 at 220 5-2-2-2 (cpu limited) [color=black]-[/color] BBAti 9800Pro at 430/375 [/color] [color=black]3[/color][color=gray]D[/color]M[color=black]a[/color][color=gray]r[/color]k[color=yellow]01[/color] [color=black]3[/color][color=gray]D[/color]M[color=black]a[/color][color=gray]r[/color]k[color=yellow]03[/color] 16001200 12801024

Dec 17, 2003, 12:32 AM	#9
Raider1 There is always next year Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Oregon Posts: 601 Rep Power: 0	I don't need to Vmod my 9800 PRO it run flawlessly and eats everthing i throw at it. Zip ties huh getto fab I love it. But Ender if you plan on vmoding your 9800pro i wouldnt get the zalman. but if you plan on just soft overclocking it then the Zalman is it. __________________ The Autumn Wind is a pirate. Blustering in from sea With a rollicking song he sweeps along swaggering boisterously. His face is weather beaten. He wears a hooded sash. With his silver hat about his head And a bristly black moustache. He growls as he storms the country. A villain big and bold. And the trees all shake and quiver and quake. As he robs them of their gold. The Autumn wind is a Raider. Pillaging just for fun. He'll knock you 'round and upside down. And laugh when he's conquered and won. My Rig

Dec 17, 2003, 12:49 AM	#10
The_Neon_Cowboy HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: U.S.A. Posts: 16,009 Rep Power: 92 System Specs	i vote zallman __________________

Dec 17, 2003, 12:59 AM	#11
ZzzombieBunny Cake or Death? Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Sweden Posts: 259 Rep Power: 0	is that additional fan necessary? Edit: nevermind, the website says which cards needs it.... Last edited by ZzzombieBunny; Dec 17, 2003 at 01:06 AM.

Dec 17, 2003, 01:20 AM	#12
DriveEuro HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Gurnee Illinois Posts: 4,677 Rep Power: 0	Zalman heatsink will NOT get you as high mhz on the GPU as a CPU heatsink will. __________________ [color=orange]ASUS P4P800 Deluxe [color=black]-[/color] 2.4C --> 3300mhz [color=black]-[/color] Mushkin PC3200 at 220 5-2-2-2 (cpu limited) [color=black]-[/color] BBAti 9800Pro at 430/375 [/color] [color=black]3[/color][color=gray]D[/color]M[color=black]a[/color][color=gray]r[/color]k[color=yellow]01[/color] [color=black]3[/color][color=gray]D[/color]M[color=black]a[/color][color=gray]r[/color]k[color=yellow]03[/color] 16001200 12801024

Dec 17, 2003, 01:24 AM	#13
~~craig588~~ Banned Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: In clothing Posts: 3,510 Rep Power: 0	yes it will...... hows 438MHz sound? Thats with a 256M card too.

Dec 17, 2003, 01:27 AM	#14
DriveEuro HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Gurnee Illinois Posts: 4,677 Rep Power: 0	Bro. Step out of your world. I swear dude. You are so keen on your experiences. People can pull just as high, and higher, on CPU heatsinks. __________________ [color=orange]ASUS P4P800 Deluxe [color=black]-[/color] 2.4C --> 3300mhz [color=black]-[/color] Mushkin PC3200 at 220 5-2-2-2 (cpu limited) [color=black]-[/color] BBAti 9800Pro at 430/375 [/color] [color=black]3[/color][color=gray]D[/color]M[color=black]a[/color][color=gray]r[/color]k[color=yellow]01[/color] [color=black]3[/color][color=gray]D[/color]M[color=black]a[/color][color=gray]r[/color]k[color=yellow]03[/color] 16001200 12801024

Dec 17, 2003, 01:30 AM	#15
~~craig588~~ Banned Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: In clothing Posts: 3,510 Rep Power: 0	huh? I compared your results to mine. you go 430 out of the core, and I got 438 with much hotter ram. That does say something. Acctually wait, your probably right, I have a giant fan blowing on the whole thing. Most other people dont, and you dont either.

Dec 17, 2003, 07:03 AM	#16
DriveEuro HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Gurnee Illinois Posts: 4,677 Rep Power: 0	Dude, I have a stock cooler on my card. My STOCK heatsink pulls 430mhz. I haven't gotten around to putting the AMD heatsink on the card. My 9500np had the AMD heatsink and it was vmodded on the GPU and got 430/310. So you got a dud of an overclocker then. If I can pull 430mhz on the core with a stock heatsink and you just gained 8mhz with a humongous giant of a heatsink ...... man. I dunno. __________________ [color=orange]ASUS P4P800 Deluxe [color=black]-[/color] 2.4C --> 3300mhz [color=black]-[/color] Mushkin PC3200 at 220 5-2-2-2 (cpu limited) [color=black]-[/color] BBAti 9800Pro at 430/375 [/color] [color=black]3[/color][color=gray]D[/color]M[color=black]a[/color][color=gray]r[/color]k[color=yellow]01[/color] [color=black]3[/color][color=gray]D[/color]M[color=black]a[/color][color=gray]r[/color]k[color=yellow]03[/color] 16001200 12801024

Dec 17, 2003, 07:32 AM	#17
Raider1 There is always next year Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Oregon Posts: 601 Rep Power: 0	Dude i know what ya can do. pull the cooling system right off the back of your frig and stap it right on you 9800 pro then . take a leaf blower (electric preferd) and some dryer vents and blow the shit out of it. then you could over clock that baby to 548 MHZ oooh ya ooh ooh don't forget the zip ties and duck tape and some hot glue too. for the AMD heatsink you know __________________ The Autumn Wind is a pirate. Blustering in from sea With a rollicking song he sweeps along swaggering boisterously. His face is weather beaten. He wears a hooded sash. With his silver hat about his head And a bristly black moustache. He growls as he storms the country. A villain big and bold. And the trees all shake and quiver and quake. As he robs them of their gold. The Autumn wind is a Raider. Pillaging just for fun. He'll knock you 'round and upside down. And laugh when he's conquered and won. My Rig

Dec 17, 2003, 08:52 PM	#20
craigmci DriverHeaven Junior Member Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: canada Posts: 95 Rep Power: 0	wheres a good starting point for OC with a stock tower 9800 pro 128 p4 2.53,1 G ram bus

Dec 17, 2003, 08:55 PM	#21
~~craig588~~ Banned Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: In clothing Posts: 3,510 Rep Power: 0	with stock cooling a r9800pro should pull 410/350 no problem.

Dec 17, 2003, 09:13 PM	#22
craigmci DriverHeaven Junior Member Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: canada Posts: 95 Rep Power: 0	ill try that,what about a non pro 9700,anyone know where i should oc it,so if i get a aluminum case with more fans should you still mod your video card cooling?on the 9800 that is also if my card wont OC to 410/350 could it be not enough power supply,its a dell dimension 8250 came with p4 2.5 and the 9700,i cant see anywhere on the powersupply what the watts are,stupid dells,im in the process of building a new pc just cant decide what to go with intell or amd???!!!???all I know is im getting a thermaltake case 450 wtt PWS ,i want the ultimate gamer just dont know enough on what my best choices would be Last edited by craigmci; Dec 17, 2003 at 09:18 PM.

Dec 17, 2003, 09:43 PM	#23
~~craig588~~ Banned Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: In clothing Posts: 3,510 Rep Power: 0	If your building a completely new PC (IE: starting with nothing) I would go intel. The only reason I'm using amd is because its cheaper and I already had amd parts before so I wouldn't need to get all new stuff. I would get a decent pc power and cooling PSU, the thermal take ones are really bad.

Dec 17, 2003, 09:55 PM	#24
craigmci DriverHeaven Junior Member Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: canada Posts: 95 Rep Power: 0	oh no now im really screwed up,so i shouldnt get a thermaltake tower and power supply then,or just the power supply,do you mean a thermal with another type of powersupply then?i am glad i asked question s before i ran out and bought something,better keep asking!!

Dec 17, 2003, 11:54 PM	#26
craigmci DriverHeaven Junior Member Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: canada Posts: 95 Rep Power: 0	will this affect my oc capabilities?

Dec 18, 2003, 06:56 PM	#27
Raider1 There is always next year Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Oregon Posts: 601 Rep Power: 0	It never hurts to have a good power supply. Trust me i had to learn the hard way. You want aleast a 400w PSU and a good name brnad one not some cheap ass gineric one. Just ask the guys around here thell let you know whatr PSU you should get. If you want a good PSU for less $moola$ Antec a good way to go. __________________ The Autumn Wind is a pirate. Blustering in from sea With a rollicking song he sweeps along swaggering boisterously. His face is weather beaten. He wears a hooded sash. With his silver hat about his head And a bristly black moustache. He growls as he storms the country. A villain big and bold. And the trees all shake and quiver and quake. As he robs them of their gold. The Autumn wind is a Raider. Pillaging just for fun. He'll knock you 'round and upside down. And laugh when he's conquered and won. My Rig

Dec 18, 2003, 07:03 PM	#28
blade5545 Shoots first ask's questions later Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Austin,TX Posts: 330 Rep Power: 0	Sparkle is another good brand and propobly the least expensive. I have one 350 watts and i run everything that you see in my sig with no problems. __________________ Dell Inspiron 700m 2 ghz Intel Mobile 2mb L2 cache 12.1 Ultrabrite 1.25 gig ram 80gig hdd 8x DVD-RW 4.5lbs 1.5" thick 5 hours battery DFI NF4 Ultra - D AMD Winchester 64 3200+ @4125+ 2.62ghz sold Swiftech H20-120-BB REV. 3 LIQUID COOLING KIT 2x512 OCZ EL DDR PC-3200 Dual Channel sold Platinum Rev 2 OCZ POWERSTREAM 520W sold ATI X700 PRO SEAGATE 160GIG SATA Windows XP PRO SP2 / PearPC - Apple OS X 10.2 Unknown "The problem with America is stupidity. I'm not saying there should be a capital punishment for stupidity, but why don't we just take the safety labels off of everything and let the problem solve itself."

Dec 19, 2003, 02:30 AM	#30
cypher_138 Watching 1984 unfold Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Locked in a cage in some warehouse called NJ Posts: 235 Rep Power: 0	I have a Maze4 on mine with some Ram sinks. __________________ This is my "sig". There are many like them but this one is mine.