ATI Radion 9700 Pro Cooling issue?? I need to upgrade!

[Idlewild]

I'm using a P3 866, 512 RD PC 600 ram, GeForce 2 Ultra, XP Pro, and it is perfect (no issues at all). I've been mapping with the UT 2003 editor and my rig handles all the game play etc. with most features maxed out. That is not really my interest though. I'm wanting to take advantage of all the UT engine has to offer with the Editor 2 and 3
Advances in the industry have finally caught up to me, but only because my Ultra GeForce can't "see" some of the newer features (projections etc.) I want to squeeze another year out of my system... and am hoping a new card will get me through the project I am on.

Today I was lucky enough to find an ATI Radion 9700Pro ( 3 mad dogs on the box) for much less than a 9600XT, but I have these concerns:

-On another website, a reviewer mentions that the cooling system on this card is not adequate and that custom fixes (removing thermo paste, installing a copper plate etc.) may be necessary. The test card apparently was ok.
Have you experienced any cooling problems with your 9700? What should I add to the card? Extra fan?

-I know an 866 ( 133) won't allow the 9700 to really perform, but I presume I will notice quite an improvement over the GeForce 2. Are there any compatibility issues? I presume there are more current drivers available.

-I was told that there are a few "versions" of the 9700 Pro, and that the later ones can be overclocked. How can I tell which version I have, and can I / should I overclock the card.

...quite new to all this.... any help is appreciated!!!!

Thanks!

Idlewild

 

[Dman877]

Owned a 9700 Pro since they came out (year and a half now?) and have never had a problem with cooling (no modding needed). It's easy enough to swap the crappy white thermal grease with some silver based stuff if you do have problems but you shouldn't. It's the new GeForce cards with the vaccum cleaners that have cooling problems.

EDIT: I highly doubt you'll see much improvement over a GF2 except at really high res (1600x1200 or higher I would guess). P3 866 is REALLY old at this point.

 

[BFG10K]

The cooling is 100% fine. I've been using mine for over a year and I've never had a single issue with heat. You will not need to modify the cooling solution at stock speeds.

As for your processor, you will find it'll really cripple that card. That processor is below the minimum specs for a lot of today's games and most of the card's power will be sitting idle.

 

[robcy]

Ive had mine for a 1 and half and while it runs EXTREMELLY hot to the touch it has always run perfectly.

While your CPU will be the bottleneck, you will also see quite an increase in performance.

 

[screw3d]

The only reason you'll want to change the HSF is the noise it makes. That fan makes a lot of noise!

 

[McArra]

My prophet 9700pro is really silent.... now I want to purchase a 9800pro with stock cooling. If it seems to me too noisy I'll buy a giant 3 cooling kit.

Edit: 9700Pro has a good cooling for normal overclocking if you have good case airflow. If you want xtreme overclock then you should change the cooling.

 

[BoomAM]

Originally posted by: Idlewild
-On another website, a reviewer mentions that the cooling system on this card is not adequate and that custom fixes (removing thermo paste, installing a copper plate etc.) may be necessary. The test card apparently was ok.
Have you experienced any cooling problems with your 9700? What should I add to the card? Extra fan?

Thats a load of bollocks. The 9700pro is fine with stock cooling. I think that he was getting at the fact that a better thermal transfer material, that`ll fill the gap will aid in OCing quite a bit. However. I have a Revision 3.0 9700pro, and the core surround was level with the core.

-I know an 866 ( 133) won't allow the 9700 to really perform, but I presume I will notice quite an improvement over the GeForce 2. Are there any compatibility issues? I presume there are more current drivers available.

You will notice quite a difference, but the 866 will really hold back the 9700pro by quite a bit. Lucky for you, the 9700pro scales pretty well. I remember seeing on THG a while ago, that the point that the 9700pro becomes the limiting factor in games, is when you have a P4 clocked at 4ghz.

-I was told that there are a few "versions" of the 9700 Pro, and that the later ones can be overclocked. How can I tell which version I have, and can I / should I overclock the card.

On the top of the card, theres a code, the last two digits indicate the revision number. A 01 indicates Revison 1, 11, revision 1.1, 03, revision 3, ect;
Also, if you imagine a line from the bottom of the cards S-Video socket, that goes between that and the HSF, if theres 2 "major" chips between the S-Video socket and the HSF, then its a revision 3.0 card. Or another way, is look where the bit where theres solder points for a daughter board, if there are two "major" chips to the left of that, then its a revision 3.0 card.

If you really want to improve the cooling of your 9700pro, then the best available is a Artic Cooling VGA Silencer. On low speed fan mode, its near silent, is is far better than the stock HS. Its also very easy to apply to the card, and is powered from the cards fan connector, and not the PSU, saving a molex connector.

 

[CraigRT]

no probs with my stock 9700 pro cooling hsf..
never any problems due to heat at all. (I just hope the OEM fan doesn't fail, that would be a problem 😛)

 

[Idlewild]

 

[BoomAM]

Originally posted by: Idlewild

Good post there Idlewild.
Good to see that you`ve migrated successfully from basic speech to keyboard usage. The challenges of hand/eye coordination can be quite difficult!

😀 🙂
Just Joking.

 

[Idlewild]

Thanks everyone!!
I'm going to press ahead and upgrade my power supply from 200 watts to 350 (Top Silent), and install the card. I may look into the Artic Cooling VGA first....(thanks for that tip)!
I have downloaded the Catalyst 3.10 driver as well as the Display Panel Control.
I hope those are the correct ones.

...again...super help offered on this site...much appreciated!!!!!

Idlewild

 

[BoomAM]

The 3.10 drivers are good.
But you`d be far better off going for the Catalyst 4.1 drivers/CP.
If your migrating from a nVidia card, then DL driver cleaner from driver heaven, and use that as follows;
With nvidia card in;
1) Uninstall Driver.
2) Reboot into safe mode.
3) Run driver cleaner & Cab cleaner. The latter takes a while to do.
4) Switch off PC.
5) Remove nVidia card, put 9700pro in.
6) startup, install drivers.
7) Enjoy. & play some games!.

 

[Pete]

-On another website, a reviewer mentions that the cooling system on this card is not adequate and that custom fixes (removing thermo paste, installing a copper plate etc.) may be necessary. The test card apparently was ok.
Have you experienced any cooling problems with your 9700? What should I add to the card? Extra fan?
BS. The stock cooling is fine, and removing it will void your warranty.

-I know an 866 ( 133) won't allow the 9700 to really perform, but I presume I will notice quite an improvement over the GeForce 2. Are there any compatibility issues? I presume there are more current drivers available.
I doubt you'll see much if any improvement in minimum framerates, but your max framerates should go through the roof. 😉 Still, you'll probably be able to game at 1280x960 w/4xAA 16xAF at the same framerate as you do at 8x6 no AA/AF with your GF2, so that's definitely progress.

-I was told that there are a few "versions" of the 9700 Pro, and that the later ones can be overclocked. How can I tell which version I have, and can I / should I overclock the card.
Forget about OC'ing, especially with a system as slow as yours. If you migrate your 9700P onto a decently fast CPU+MB, then consider OC'ing. If your HSF is the regular black one, then you have an R300 that probably can't be overclocked too outrageously. If your HSF is covered and aluminum-colored, then you may have lucked out and gotten an R360, which should OC like the dickens. The latter case is very rare, though, and probably only happens with the odd 9800 Pro, not 9700 Pro, so don't get your hopes up. Besides, the 9700P should be plenty fast for your current system.

I see you're upgrading your PSU. If your old one is a good brand (Sparkle, Fortron, Antec, etc.), consider seeing if the 9700P will work with it. After all, your P3 isn't drawing much power at all (maybe 20W? compared to the 40+W of current CPUs). If you do upgrade, consider one of the brands I just mentioned to ensure a solid PSU. You probably don't need more than 300W if the PSU will just sit in your current system; if you plan on using the PSU in a new PC, then go for 350W.

 

[Idlewild]

Migrated from basic speech? Boom, I'm flattered! lol
Racking my noodle does not in any way help in decoding the meaning of HSF! ...Heat Sink fffsssss!
Looking at the card is worse. I do herby proclaim an almost total lack of experience with such hardware, although I think I see some capacitors and some tubes! 🙂

I do see a code PN-109-94200-11 ...revision 1 ??
On the bottom of the card near the blue CRT connector is a large rectangular cover, an aluminum coloured one. Is that where the HSF is? ...revision 3???

The local shop here had only one Power Supply in stock, a Top Power/Top Silent ATX12v 300, (350) Watts. Is this unit ok or should I track down one of the brands you mentioned. Your suggestion of checking the posibility of running the card on 200 watts is a possibility, although I did purchase the Top Silent unit.

I'll get the Catalyst 4.1 drivers and with luck (and keyboard practise), I'll be able to thrash a few more slow-pokes than I usually do, and more important...be able to utilize some Editor features I can't use now.

...hoping to become a lot more literate, and with all the excellent responses/help, that's sure to happen.

Idlewild

:wine:

 

[PCTweaker5]

You like mushrooms? I like mushrooms but its been a while!

 

[BoomAM]

Idlewind.
I`d say, from the code, that its a Revision 1.1 card.
Which is quite a bit better than the Revision 1.0, as it fixed many mobo incompatibilites.