7 Volt Mod\ThermalTake GF4 too loud

[MDE]

I have one of those hideously loud Thermaltake GeForce4 copper cooler things. I finally got fed up with the noise, and want to know the procedure for the 7 volt mod. 5 volts is easy enough (switch red with yellow wire), but how do you get 7 volts? I do know some intermediate electronics, so don't give it to me like a n00b, but keep it simple, cuz I'm dumb. Thanks

 

[HiTek21]

7 Volt Mod Guide

 

[MDE]

Thanks for the link. I just checked the connector on the fan and it seems that it's already running off of 5 volts (the red wire on the fan is connected to the yellow wire on the molex connector). Can anyone else confirm this?

 

[VisableAssassin]

to get 7v you run the 5v as the ground and your done. however i have heard this wrecks havoc on your PSU.......i run mine thru my rheobus

 

[MDE]

The heatsink has a clear plastic shroud on the top, is it safe to take this off without compromising stability? Also, will I need to back off my overclock if I take the shroud off? The card is a Visiontek GeForce4 Ti4600 running at 317\720, default is 300/650 I believe. Pic of HSF

 

[saber800]

I had the same problem with my GF4 Ti4200. The stock HSF was the Thermaltake Blue Orb and that thing was loud. What I did to quiet it down was to remove the fan/motor from the blue orb (keeping Heatsink on GF4) and install a Zalman FB123 (bracket and fan) that blows over the GF4. The bracket comes with a 92mm fan and a noise reducer adapter. I found that it works pretty well and very quiet (I'm using the noise reducer adapter).

With your setup, I would take off that plastic cover along with the fan so you would have a bare heatsink. Then install the Zalman FB123 so it blows over your card. It should provide adequate cooling, even if overclocking.

Here's the link to the Zalman bracket: Zalman FB123

You can either install it so it blows from top of the card down to the mb or have it parallel with your vid card. I have mine blowing top down and the fan is big enough to blow some air on my Northbridge heatsink.

Hope this helps.

 

[MDE]

It helps, but my cheap self wants a free solution . If I actually do spend some money (and do some real work) I'll probably cut a hole in the side of the case and mount a fan there, but if anyone has a cheaper\easier solution I'll take it.

 

[saber800]

Originally posted by: MonkeyDriveExpress
It helps, but my cheap self wants a free solution . If I actually do spend some money (and do some real work) I'll probably cut a hole in the side of the case and mount a fan there, but if anyone has a cheaper\easier solution I'll take it.

That will work or if you have any extra small elbows, brackets, etc, you can make a crude bracket to attach a fan (any extras lying around?) over your vid card and undervolt it or something. I would definatley use a bigger fan than whats on that HSF. Those small fans are too noisy.

 

[Cerb]

Originally posted by: MonkeyDriveExpress
Thanks for the link. I just checked the connector on the fan and it seems that it's already running off of 5 volts (the red wire on the fan is connected to the yellow wire on the molex connector). Can anyone else confirm this?

That's 12v.
Fan color (not always red) to molex yellow and fan black to molex black next to the yellow = 12v.
Fan color to molex yellow and fan black to molex red = 7v
Fan color to molex red and fan black to molex black next to the red = 5v.

So, the 4-pin converter should look like so:
M = molex from PSU, F = converter attaching to fan tail.
Y = yellow, B = black, R = red.

M F
-----
Y R
B B
B
R

If so, that's 12 volts.
Y R
B
B
R B
is 7 volts, and
Y
B
B B
R R
is 5 volts.

 

[MDE]

This is why we need standardized colors for everything .