NV Silencer 5 Review/Guide (56k = no no)

Nacht · Sep 10, 2004, 04:23 AM

I received my NV Silencer 5 almost a week ago, and decided to write a little review/guide for anybody thinking about doing the same thing to their card. First things first:

Full System Specs:
ASUS P4P800 All stock parts
P4 2.4Ghz 533fsb running @ 2.64Ghz 880fsb
1024MB Micron Tech ddr266 @ 146.7Mhz, 2.5, 4, 4, 8
eVGA 6800GT @ stock
Creative Audigy Gamer
WD Caviar 200GB 8MB Cache EIDE
Seagate 80GB 8MB Cache EIDE
NEC ND2501A
Cooler Master Centurion/ CM350W PSU

I did a full system wipe, installing XP Pro with slipstreamed sp2 on top. Installed Drivers, apps, and games, defragged, rebooted, and ran 3dmark03. The score with the above settings was 10240, a pretty decent score I think with such poor memory. Afterwards, it was time to take my comp down to the kitched table (AKA the chop block) where the operation would commence!

Here is the Arctic Cooling NV Silencer 5 in its retail packaging. It comes with the heatsink, pci slot grill, the thermal paste shown, and of course, the ubiquitous case badge.

Here is my computer before any modifications! you can see it in its full wire-nastiness glory. I wonder how much that screwed up my airflow?

Shot of the cables with the gfx card removed.

Here is my eVGA 6800GT. It is almost identicle to the NV reference 6800GT, the only difference being the VGA/DVI adapters on the back rather than the Dual DVI. It still has the same, ineffecient single slot cooler.

Nacht · Sep 10, 2004, 04:24 AM

Removing the screws from the retail heatsink can be like taking apart a puzzle (lol)...each peice fits in with the other, with tiny little screws holding them together. Be careful not to take it off in the wrong order, or you can create a mess for yourself (I speak from experience hahah!) The GPU core is coated with a thermal paste, and the memory is cooled with the passive heatsink at the top. there are heat pads underneath the memory cooler.

You need to clean all of the thermal paste and/or thermal pad chunks/residue from the memory and core. This can be done with a variety of things, from alchohol (which I used) to plain water (dries slower, and not as effective at cleaning). Once you get done, you should have a nice shiny little mirror looking up at you.

You simply apply a thin layer of the provided thermal paste on the gpu and ram, and spread it evenly over the surface of each using whatever instrument you wish. (preferably not something that will leave bits of itself in the paste.) Afterwards, you just place the 4 mounting poles through the holes in the graphics card, and press firmly. Then, you should hold it up to the light to make sure there are no gaps between the heatsink and gpu/memory. Then, all you need to do is plug in the cooler's fan.

Perspective shot of card.

Before putting the card back in, I made a few other adjustments. I cleaned up some wire mess, and moved the HDDs apart to allow better air flow from the front fan.

After starting up again, I checked the temps. It now idles at 56 degrees celsius. Then, I ran 3dmark03 with the new cooling just to make sure everything was running smoothly. I got a score of 10270, basically identical to previous score using stock cooling. That means, it's time to overclock!

Pushing the overclock a little beyond the 6800Ultra reference speeds to 415/1.11, I was able to attain a 3dmark03 score of 11496, around a 12% increase in performance. This, and it was still slightly under stock cooling temps, running 60 degrees celsius when idle.

While it wasnt the amazing drop in temps that I was dreaming of...It helps significantly, and is worth the investment. Now, I just gotta wait until I order my memory so I can get some arctic silver and re-apply it using the high grade stuff

I might be able to drop a few more degrees.

Nacht · Sep 10, 2004, 04:50 AM

sorry for the unintelligible parts, I was kind of mad when writing it. I got 3/4 through and hit "back" on my browser! doh!

ReV smokey255 · Sep 19, 2004, 06:21 PM

how much you get it for
i want to get one are they easy to install and does it void the warrenty nm the warrenty i already oc it but does it work good i get relative hot temps on my 6800gt like 60 ideal 70 s full load

Sep 10, 2004, 04:23 AM	#1
Nacht ein Krieger Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Clemson Uni Posts: 3,127 Rep Power: 0	NV Silencer 5 Review/Guide (56k = no no) I received my NV Silencer 5 almost a week ago, and decided to write a little review/guide for anybody thinking about doing the same thing to their card. First things first: Full System Specs: ASUS P4P800 All stock parts P4 2.4Ghz 533fsb running @ 2.64Ghz 880fsb 1024MB Micron Tech ddr266 @ 146.7Mhz, 2.5, 4, 4, 8 eVGA 6800GT @ stock Creative Audigy Gamer WD Caviar 200GB 8MB Cache EIDE Seagate 80GB 8MB Cache EIDE NEC ND2501A Cooler Master Centurion/ CM350W PSU I did a full system wipe, installing XP Pro with slipstreamed sp2 on top. Installed Drivers, apps, and games, defragged, rebooted, and ran 3dmark03. The score with the above settings was 10240, a pretty decent score I think with such poor memory. Afterwards, it was time to take my comp down to the kitched table (AKA the chop block) where the operation would commence! Here is the Arctic Cooling NV Silencer 5 in its retail packaging. It comes with the heatsink, pci slot grill, the thermal paste shown, and of course, the ubiquitous case badge. Here is my computer before any modifications! you can see it in its full wire-nastiness glory. I wonder how much that screwed up my airflow? Shot of the cables with the gfx card removed. Here is my eVGA 6800GT. It is almost identicle to the NV reference 6800GT, the only difference being the VGA/DVI adapters on the back rather than the Dual DVI. It still has the same, ineffecient single slot cooler.

Sep 10, 2004, 04:24 AM	Thread Starter #2
Nacht ein Krieger Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Clemson Uni Posts: 3,127 Rep Power: 0	Removing the screws from the retail heatsink can be like taking apart a puzzle (lol)...each peice fits in with the other, with tiny little screws holding them together. Be careful not to take it off in the wrong order, or you can create a mess for yourself (I speak from experience hahah!) The GPU core is coated with a thermal paste, and the memory is cooled with the passive heatsink at the top. there are heat pads underneath the memory cooler. You need to clean all of the thermal paste and/or thermal pad chunks/residue from the memory and core. This can be done with a variety of things, from alchohol (which I used) to plain water (dries slower, and not as effective at cleaning). Once you get done, you should have a nice shiny little mirror looking up at you. You simply apply a thin layer of the provided thermal paste on the gpu and ram, and spread it evenly over the surface of each using whatever instrument you wish. (preferably not something that will leave bits of itself in the paste.) Afterwards, you just place the 4 mounting poles through the holes in the graphics card, and press firmly. Then, you should hold it up to the light to make sure there are no gaps between the heatsink and gpu/memory. Then, all you need to do is plug in the cooler's fan. Perspective shot of card. Before putting the card back in, I made a few other adjustments. I cleaned up some wire mess, and moved the HDDs apart to allow better air flow from the front fan. After starting up again, I checked the temps. It now idles at 56 degrees celsius. Then, I ran 3dmark03 with the new cooling just to make sure everything was running smoothly. I got a score of 10270, basically identical to previous score using stock cooling. That means, it's time to overclock! Pushing the overclock a little beyond the 6800Ultra reference speeds to 415/1.11, I was able to attain a 3dmark03 score of 11496, around a 12% increase in performance. This, and it was still slightly under stock cooling temps, running 60 degrees celsius when idle. While it wasnt the amazing drop in temps that I was dreaming of...It helps significantly, and is worth the investment. Now, I just gotta wait until I order my memory so I can get some arctic silver and re-apply it using the high grade stuff I might be able to drop a few more degrees.

Sep 10, 2004, 04:50 AM	Thread Starter #3
Nacht ein Krieger Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Clemson Uni Posts: 3,127 Rep Power: 0	sorry for the unintelligible parts, I was kind of mad when writing it. I got 3/4 through and hit "back" on my browser! doh!

Sep 19, 2004, 06:21 PM	#4
ReV smokey255 John Kerry of video cards Join Date: Aug 2004 Posts: 574 Rep Power: 0	how much you get it for i want to get one are they easy to install and does it void the warrenty nm the warrenty i already oc it but does it work good i get relative hot temps on my 6800gt like 60 ideal 70 s full load