6800GT results with stock cooling, NV5 Rev2 silencer, Zalman VF700

[jiffylube1024]

I recently picked up a eVGA 6800GT because I've never used one before and I was interested in testing one out.

The first thing I noticed is that with the stock cooler, temperatures were ridiculously high. Idle and load temperatures were through the roof; even putting my X800XL and X850XT PE to shame! As I do with any high-end GPU I plan on keeping, I decided to get aftermarket cooling to keep temperatures down and allow better overclocking as well.


Since I had an NV5 Silencer Rev2 doing a great job on my 7800GT, I tried that one on the 6800GT first. The results were shocking! The 6800GT was idling around 100C with loads at 122C - almost the shutdown temperatures! I was wondering why the heck temps were above the stock cooling, since the NV5 r2 did an AMAZING job cooling my 7800GT.

Removing the heatsink showed me the answer. The rubber 'heatspreaders' for the RAM chips were too fat for the 6800GT, and the thin layer of arctic silver 5 on the GPU was untouched, so the RAMsinks were actually keeping the cooler too far to make any contact with the GPU! I did some searching of reviews around the interenet, and found that some other people had this problem with the NV5 rev2 on the 6800GT; they found sanding down the part that makes contact with the RAMsinks is the solution.

Since I found this solution silly (the NV5 fits perfectly on the 7800GT and I wouldn't want to permanently alter the NV5 cooler), I just removed the RAM heatspreaders altogether and reinstalled the GPU cooler. This gave me ok contact with the GPU but a few mm of clearance between the RAM chips and the card. Load temps were about 78C, still too high for my tastes. Plus the cooler was no longer making any contact with the RAM chips, so I wouldnt recommend this solution long term!

So today I finally bought a Zalman VF700 Cu (I got the Fatal1ty version for the same price as the regular one from a local PC shop. The Fatal1ty VF700 has a slightly faster fan that can run between 2000-3500rpm). I run the fan at a near silent ~2800rpm using a Zalman fan controller I took from a Zalman CPU fan. My GPU temperatures have plummeted, idle and load are impressively low.

Here's my results with the various coolers:

eVGA 6800GT

Stock cooler @ 350/1000 (stock clockspeeds)

GPU idle: 59C
GPU load: 86C

NV5 rev2 cooler with rubber RAM heatspreaders installed, 6800GT @ 400/1100
-note: card doesn't make contact with the GPU!

GPU idle: 99C
GPU load: 122C

NV5 rev2 cooler with no RAM heatspreaders, 6800GT @ 400/1100
-note: card doesn't make contact with the RAM chips

GPU idle: 46C
GPU load: 78C

Zalman VF700 Fatal1ty @ ~2800rpm, 6800GT @ 400/1100

GPU idle: 49C
GPU load: 53C

Zalman VF700 Fatal1ty @ 2800rpm, 6800GT @430/1100

GPU idle: 51C
GPU load: 65C


In conclusion, I'd strongly recommend the Zalman VF700 Cu cooler for 6800GT owners. The NV5 rev2 does not fit properly on my 6800GT, and there are other reports of it not fitting on 6800GT's online such as NVNews' review. Unless you're willing to do some work sanding down your cooler, I'd stay away from the NV5 rev2 for the 6800GT.

However, the NV5 rev2 fits perfectly on the 7800GT, so I would recommend the NV5 for 7800GT owners. In general the 7800GT does not run as hot as the 6800GT, but it is still quite balmy (~75-80C load), and benefits from an aftermarket cooler as well.

 

[GOREGRINDER]

good stuff man :thumbsup:

is the nv5 rev 2 also for 7800GTX's?,..i ask cuz i know the GT's dont have the same backplate as the GTX's,..and ive thought about pickin it up (er 2 i guess in my case),but i really did wanna know what i was headed for ahead of time which is why i think this had perfect timing so i could ask how they would fit up on the back

 

[jiffylube1024]

Originally posted by: GOREGRINDER
good stuff man :thumbsup:

is the nv5 rev 2 also for 7800GTX's?,..i ask cuz i know the GT's dont have the same backplate as the GTX's,..and ive thought about pickin it up (er 2 i guess in my case),but i really did wanna know what i was headed for ahead of time which is why i think this had perfect timing so i could ask how they would fit up on the back

Nope, the NV5 rev2 doesn't work on the 7800GTX. Different fan connector on the 7800GTX vs previous cards and the NV5 rev 2 doesn't come with the backplate for the 7800GTX's back ram chips.

You need the NV5 rev3 for the 7800GTX. From my experience the NV5 rev3 is tougher to find than the rev2, but not impossible to get ahold of.

 

[Goi]

Personally I'm using the stock cooler, except I cleaned it up after almost a year of using it, and applied some AS3 on it. My temps dropped significantly. With winter approaching, I'm idling at 49C and loading at 75C. This is at 416/1130MHz too 🙂

 

[jiffylube1024]

Originally posted by: Goi
Personally I'm using the stock cooler, except I cleaned it up after almost a year of using it, and applied some AS3 on it. My temps dropped significantly. With winter approaching, I'm idling at 49C and loading at 75C. This is at 416/1130MHz too 🙂

That's not bad. Temps definitely vary from card to card (mine had been cleaned up and had arctic silver Ceramique installed by the previous user, albeit a bit too much). A Zalman would help your temps, but at 75C load it's not too bad.

 

[Goi]

Yup, I'm not too concerned with the temps. In fact, I'm very happy since before I cleaned it up and applied AS3, the same rthdribl load that I was giving my 6800GT caused temps to rise all the way up to ~100C. I wasn't even able to run anything above 400/1050 stable before this.

 

[TraumaRN]

Originally posted by: jiffylube1024


However, the NV5 rev2 fits perfectly on the 7800GT, so I would recommend the NV5 for 7800GT owners. In general the 7800GT does not run as hot as the 6800GT, but it is still quite balmy (~75-80C load), and benefits from an aftermarket cooler as well.

My question is how in the hell is your 7800GT running at 75-80C load....what were the clocks and how well ventilated was your case??

Cuz my 7800GT with clock speeds as advertised in sig with STOCK cooling idles at 42C after heavy gaming and 39C when I leave it idle for more than an hour or two, highest I've ever seen on load was 65C....usually it hits about 62C tho...however my case is very well ventilated as well so perhaps my results are skewed a little....but your 6800GT temps are dead on....crazy hot beast she was!

 

[jiffylube1024]

Yeah, I just retested the 7800GT, it loads at 72C (stock cooler). Try loading up FEAR and play it for 20 minutes and LMK what temperature it gets to. It starts off low (temps get up to about 62C) but it picks up another degree or two per minute until low 70's. I have pretty decent case ventillation too (but not the greatest around the card area since it's so low).

 

[TraumaRN]

Thats probably the thing...my case is extremely well ventilated, 2 fans pulling air into the case and 3 blowing air out of the case, i also removed the slot covers above and below my card, and placed my sound card in the lowest PCI slot.....i dont own fear i refuse to buy it however with HL:Lost Coast, Far Cry, Quake 4, Civ 4, UT2004, Warhammer 40K Dawn of War it never gets above 62C, AOE3 is the game that will put it up to about 65C....I just woke up this morning and she's idling at 39C again

I think it's a matter of your mileage may vary depending on your case and even the card itself

 

[otispunkmeyer]

i bought a Zalman for my (just sold) 6800GT........it was awesome, so much quieter than the stock cooling Leadtek provided, they too had huges chunky thermal pads that did jack sh!t.

dropped load temps about 20degrees.....never loaded past 60degrees. plus i think its a more elegant solution that the bulky silencer, and its prone to clogging with dust like the silencer. and people can moan about it dumping heat in the case, but if you have good air flow then i thinks its a moot point

 

[vanvock]

Originally posted by: jiffylube1024

Originally posted by: GOREGRINDER
good stuff man :thumbsup:

is the nv5 rev 2 also for 7800GTX's?,..i ask cuz i know the GT's dont have the same backplate as the GTX's,..and ive thought about pickin it up (er 2 i guess in my case),but i really did wanna know what i was headed for ahead of time which is why i think this had perfect timing so i could ask how they would fit up on the back

Nope, the NV5 rev2 doesn't work on the 7800GTX. Different fan connector on the 7800GTX vs previous cards and the NV5 rev 2 doesn't come with the backplate for the 7800GTX's back ram chips.

You need the NV5 rev3 for the 7800GTX. From my experience the NV5 rev3 is tougher to find than the rev2, but not impossible to get ahold of.

I posted about this on cases & cooling but didn't get much response. I've got a r2 on a 6800gt & wondering if it could be made to work on the 7800gtx. If I could get around the fan connector prob & get some heatsinks for the ram on backside is there any other reason why it wouldn't work? It would be nice if AC would provide a kit to make them compatable.