8800gt BFG HS change

[valo123]

I've searched many forums concerning changing the 8800GT's HS and they never seem to have what I'm looking for. For those of you who have moved to an after market cooler, when you took the stock HS off did most/all the compound come off on the HS or did it stick to the mem chips and such?

I'm worried that I'm going to purchase a cooler and not be able to install it do to my card having to much pre applied thermal : /

Thanks

 

[Syntax Error]

You'll probably have to clean off the remaining gunk...use lint-free cloths and Q-tips dipped in Isopropyl alcohol.

 

[angry hampster]

yea it left a nice bit of gunk on the GPU, and the ramsinks all had a sticky film left from the thermal tape. Just do what ^ said -- only takes a couple minutes.

 

[Tempered81]

aren't the stock sinks pretty effective? I haven't had issues, and it doesnt require 100% fan speed like my old 1950xt did just to stay below 80C. with my stock fan at 60 and a moderate oc it stays below 70 in cod4

 

[ja1484]

Originally posted by: jaredpace
aren't the stock sinks pretty effective? I haven't had issues, and it doesnt require 100% fan speed like my old 1950xt did just to stay below 80C. with my stock fan at 60 and a moderate oc it stays below 70 in cod4

The stock sinks may be fine, but the TIM they slap on over the RAM/VRMs are a crime against electronics. They also slather about 10x too much thermal compound on the GPU chip itself.

See here:

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And in this picture, when viewed at full resolution, you can see the white pads over the RAM/VRMs are actually fabric soaked in thermal grease, which is readily apparent if you've put aftermarket cooling on an 8800GT, but can easily be missed in photos:

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Don't worry about remaining gunk. Clean off all visible residue with isopropyl alcohol or a dedicated cleaning kit for this purpose at a minimum. Once all the *visible* residue is off, clean once more with a solvent, just to be sure.

Some people may tell you you need special cleaning kits to get this residue off. These people are wrong. 90% isoproply alcohol does fine, is cheap, and is easily found at your local RiteAid/CVS/Whatever.

Do NOT remove the stock thermal compound, then apply your own compound to the stock heatsink and reinstall the stock heatsink on the card. There will be no contact between the HS and RAM/VRMs without the thick stock thermal interface "tape". You will want to replace the cooling with an aftermarket kit.

 

[BlueAcolyte]

That stuff is nasty... It sticks to everything. What is it, plastic? Might explain the high temps. I ripped it all off and cleaned off the card with a coffee filter (works as well as q-tip) and 70% iso-alcohol. Don't put the stock heatsink back on.

 

[valo123]

That's a mess. Is it safe to use the isopropyl alcohol on the gpu as well as the ram or just the ram? Also, i noticed there is some residue around the gpu, should i bother trying to get that? I just purchased a zalman 900 which should be here monday, wish me luck...

 

[ja1484]

vf900 is a great choice, works very well.

Isopropyl works well on pretty much any surface. You can use it to clean everything. Ideally, use a coffee filter (since they're lint free) for the big work, and q-tips for detail areas. And yes, try to remove all thermal paste you can see. The chips should look clean n' shiny when they're ready, much like this:


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You should be able to clearly read the lettering on the chips when they're clean.

Follow the install instructions from Zalman on the vf900. Again, remove ALL the stock thermal paste - Zalman sends you a tube with the new HSF, so you can reapply an appropriate amount.


Regarding the ramsinks: CLEAN THE RAM THOROUGHLY before applying the ramsinks. The thermal tape on the back of them is very susceptible to contamination, and if there's residue between it and the ram chips, they won't stick.

Also, recognize that once you plug a RAMsink on there, if you remove it and try to adjust it, it will not stick as well, although if your chips are clean, it should still work. Try to get it right on the first try, regardless.

RAMsink tape adhesive reaches its peak, per Zalman, 24hrs after application, so there is a short cure time.

 

[valo123]

Excellent, thanks for the info.