$5 Radeon 9700 passive cooling project... *More PICS added* *Update..OC Results**

[Insane3D]

Well, I was doing some parts switching due to a recent upgrade, and I decided to upgrade the cooling on the Radeon 9700NP that would be going into my living room A/V system. I really wanted to go passive if possible, and I didn't feel like spending the ~$30 for the Zalman heatpipe unit, so I did something a little different...

I had a couple of these 60mm Swifty MC370 clones laying around that I had used before in some passive NB cooling projects, so I wondered if they would fit. I really like these HS because they are big, cheap, and decently light. I prefer to stick to aluminum when doing passive cooling since copper is much heavier, and really should be actively cooled.

Well, on to the pics...

First, I took off the stock HSF unit, and cleaned up the 9700's core with some 91% isopropyl alcohol.

Sapphire 9700NP all ready to be modded

Hmmm....will it fit?

I prefit the HS, and it did indeed fit. The only problem was it did touch a couple of the surface mounted components of the card. Notably, it touched two capacitors in one corner, and touched another one in the other corner.

Tight fit...

Also a snug fit...

The HS only barely touched the components, and didn't push on them, so I figured I would just avoid any possible chance of something shorting to the HS with a little electrical tape.

Tape..

More tape...

And even a little more...

Once I had that all sorted out, I mixed up some Arctic Silver thermal epoxy, and got to work. I got everything all mounted, put some weight on it, and let it set.

After a few hours, the finished product looked good...

Finished project...

another...

and another...

one more for good measure...

All in all a nice mod, and cheap!

:beer:

**Update 1/10/04**

Well, tonight I thought I would do some playing around and see just how much o/c-ability the cooling mod gave me, if any. The memory on the NP tops out @ a measly ~290 or so (3.3ns Infineon), and the core used to only hit about 305mhz (from the 275mhz default).

Well, I kept cranking the speed, and running some loops of 3D Mark 2K1, and kept waiting for artifacts or crashes, but none came. I am using the Rage3D Tweak program to overclock, and this 9700 just kept going right up to the max the app would let me o/c...~374mhz!! :Q:Q:Q

O/C Results

I ran about 30 loops of the 3D Mark bench @ all speeds. Does anyone know of a way I can o/c the core any more that where it is? At this rate, I am thinking 400mhz might be attainable. :Q

:beer:

 

[Pudgygiant]

Did you get before and after benches? I'd like to see 'em if you did, as I'm thinking of doing something similar.

EDIT
And nice job fitting it, it looks massive on the card. You probably get better cooling with that than a crap stock hsf.

 

[Insane3D]

Originally posted by: Pudgygiant
Did you get before and after benches? I'd like to see 'em if you did, as I'm thinking of doing something similar.

EDIT
And nice job fitting it, it looks massive on the card. You probably get better cooling with that than a crap stock hsf.

Not yet, I wasn't really going for more of an overclock...the memory on the card kinda sucks and dies right around 300. I just wanted to go passive to avoid the noise, albeit very low, that the stock fan makes.

 

[Amorphus]

Do you have any extra of those? I've been trying to get a heatsink that would fit on my 9800np->p for some time.

btw, koo.

 

[onza]

why arent u putting on a 60mm fan on that?

!!!!!! GOGOOGOGo

 

[beatle]

Ahh, back to your old tricks with the MCW370 clone again, eh? Looks nice! I was going to go passive on my Ti4200, but I found a bracket w/fan to be less permanent and also free (I already had the materials).

Amorphus, you can still buy the heatsink he used from KD Computers. Just click his first link.

 

[bluemax]

I hope the epoxy you used can hold the weight of that big ol' sink! :Q

Looks good!

 

[Insane3D]

Originally posted by: Amorphus
Do you have any extra of those? I've been trying to get a heatsink that would fit on my 9800np->p for some time.

btw, koo.

Just order them from the KD Computers link. They are only $5, and KD has a flat rate charge of ~$6 on shipping.. I'm prolly going to pick up another four or so for future projects, I used my last two on my IS7 and the 9700, and I might want to mess around with my brand new 9800 Pro too.

 

[Insane3D]

Originally posted by: onza
why arent u putting on a 60mm fan on that?

!!!!!! GOGOOGOGo

The idea was to go with a passive, no noise solution. The 9700 will be in a Chieftech Dragon case with a 80mm side intake (Panaflo) blowing gently on it.

 

[Insane3D]

Originally posted by: beatle
Ahh, back to your old tricks with the MCW370 clone again, eh? Looks nice! I was going to go passive on my Ti4200, but I found a bracket w/fan to be less permanent and also free (I already had the materials).

Amorphus, you can still buy the heatsink he used from KD Computers. Just click his first link.

Nice job man. I just finished putting one on the northbridge of my new Abit IS7....it's a bit tricky working with such a small contact patch.

:beer:

 

[Insane3D]

Originally posted by: bluemax
I hope the epoxy you used can hold the weight of that big ol' sink! :Q

Looks good!

Actually, the reason I chose it is because it is the lightest 60mm HS I have ever seen. The card does not even bow with only the support of the expansion slot screw.

And as for the epoxy...Arctic Silver epoxy hasn't failed me yet...

:beer:

 

[Insane3D]

Bump for the interested...

 

[ojai00]

How many slots does that heatsink take up? It looks like 2 or 3 to me. Nice job!

 

[Lyfer]

sweet looking card you got there.

 

[jonesthewine]

yeah, how many slots does it block?

Thanks for sharing the story...I'm gonna try it on my 9800 pro.

 

[b4417]

Originally posted by: Amorphus
Do you have any extra of those? I've been trying to get a heatsink that would fit on my 9800np->p for some time.

btw, koo.

The Zalman heatsink, although a bit more expensive, fits perfectly (bottom center in the photo).

Zalman on 9600 Pro

Best,
Bill

 

[NokiaDude]

Originally posted by: b4417

Originally posted by: Amorphus
Do you have any extra of those? I've been trying to get a heatsink that would fit on my 9800np->p for some time.

btw, koo.

The Zalman heatsink, although a bit more expensive, fits perfectly (bottom center in the photo).

Zalman on 9600 Pro

Best,
Bill

How are those Cooler Master exhaust blowers? I think I want some, or I'll stick to getting Panaflo's.

 

[txxxx]

What temperatures did you get before and after ?

 

[yhelothar]

any pics of the card in your system?

 

[JBT]

that looks pretty sweet nice job.

 

[GreatDaleness]

You can put a 18db fan on it and still be silent....

WHat do you think about putting this on a MSI gf4mx 440 to OC it? I thought I would put one on my Shuttle Nf2 MB, and while it fit, it only fit with a side mounted CPU HSF, and my swiftech was already installed, so I got one of these sitting around. You are right about the weight, it is 100% pure aluminum and weighs next to nothing. Is it worthwhile to OC a gf4mx 440? Not $$ wise, but performance wise, the card won't be replaced for at least 6 months so if I can get, say 20% more out of it.......

 

[Insane3D]

How many slots does that heatsink take up? It looks like 2 or 3 to me. Nice job!

I lose one slot on my NF7-S, but that is because Abit puts a space between the AGP and the first PCI slot. On a normal board, you would lose two slots.

Thanks for sharing the story...I'm gonna try it on my 9800 pro.

No problem. I may do the same with my 9800 Pro in the main system down the line.

What temperatures did you get before and after ?

I didn't do any temperature monitoring, but the whole heatsink get's hot enough to be hard to touch while the system is just idle with no air blowing on it. The side intake, a 21CFM Panaflo L1A, should give it just enough airflow to cool it down without noise. I'm currently running it @ 310mhz core with no problems.

 

[Insane3D]

Originally posted by: b4417

Originally posted by: Amorphus
Do you have any extra of those? I've been trying to get a heatsink that would fit on my 9800np->p for some time.

btw, koo.

The Zalman heatsink, although a bit more expensive, fits perfectly (bottom center in the photo).

Zalman on 9600 Pro

Best,
Bill

That will prolly work ok with a fan blowing on it, like in your setup, but those Zalman chipset HS's are just to small to handle the job of true passive cooling on a 9700/9800 IMO. The 9600's are on the .13um process, and run much cooler than the .15um 9700/9800 cores. The heatsink I am using on mine is meant for a socket A CPU, it's much bigger, and the entire thing get's almost hot enough to burn when the system is just idle, and there is no airflow on it.

Very nice job on your case BTW. :beer:

 

[Insane3D]

Originally posted by: GreatDaleness
You can put a 18db fan on it and still be silent....

WHat do you think about putting this on a MSI gf4mx 440 to OC it? I thought I would put one on my Shuttle Nf2 MB, and while it fit, it only fit with a side mounted CPU HSF, and my swiftech was already installed, so I got one of these sitting around. You are right about the weight, it is 100% pure aluminum and weighs next to nothing. Is it worthwhile to OC a gf4mx 440? Not $$ wise, but performance wise, the card won't be replaced for at least 6 months so if I can get, say 20% more out of it.......

I have installed these HS's on the NB's of my NF7-S, IS7, and an Epox 8RDA+. It does a terrific job.

 

[Insane3D]

Originally posted by: virtualgames0
any pics of the card in your system?

Ask and ye shall receive..

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