eVGA 7900GT OC CO Superclock with NV Silencer installed

[RedBeard]

Okay I just got in my brand new eVGA 7900GT Superclock today. The stock cooling isn't all that bad but my NV silencer is sitting around and my system is VERY quiet so the stock cooler is the loudest thing is the video card.

Remember, by default this card runs at CPU 550/ RAM 790.

Inital results on stock cooling
idle 44c
load 69c

Keep in mind (as other threads have noted) that the NV Silencer 5 rev. 3 will NOT fit properly onto a 7900gt (installed in a case). I had to hack off the last 1.5 to 2 inches of the cooler so I could install the cooler and it would fit in my case.

With NV Silencer installed using artic silver 5
idle 40c
load 55c

Overall it was definately work it. My card is much cooler at load and quieter too. It was not hard at all to mod the silencer and the stock cooler can be removed in less than a minute.

Feel free to ask any questions.

 

[bighubris]

Did it help your overclock?

 

[1Dark1Sharigan1]

Originally posted by: RedBeardWith NV Silencer installed using artic silver 5
idle 40c
load 55c

That's very good. I have the NV silencer mounted on it as well and I'm getting 47C idle and 62C load with the card @ 588/1760 . . . I'm thinking I need to remount the silencer . . .

 

[RedBeard]

Originally posted by: bighubris
Did it help your overclock?

I did a quick "detect optimal frequency" and it wasn't much higher. I did it more for quiet then additional OC. I bumped the memory to 800 or 1600 because the odd number bothered me

 

[bighubris]

Hey did you notice a decrease in your case temps?

 

[RedBeard]

Originally posted by: 1Dark1Sharigan1

Originally posted by: RedBeardWith NV Silencer installed using artic silver 5
idle 40c
load 55c

That's very good. I have the NV silencer mounted on it as well and I'm getting 47C idle and 62C load with the card @ 588/1760 . . . I'm thinking I need to remount the silencer . . .

I have a Antec sonata II and I have 2x 120mm fans installed (tricool set to low). The one that is towards the front of the case is sitting right by the card so I know that helps my temps. I used rthdribl and let it run for 15 minutes to test load temps.

 

[RedBeard]

Originally posted by: bighubris
Hey did you notice a decrease in your case temps?

I am sure they are pretty close to the same. I don't have any other cards installed so my airflow is pretty good. I don't THINK it makes that big of a difference, maybe 2-3c..

 

[igowerf]

Does "detect optimal frequency" actually work? I told it to detect and it set my 7900GT to some ungodly high clock speeds that caused glitches in Oblivion. Maybe I just need better cooling.

 

[1Dark1Sharigan1]

Originally posted by: RedBeard
I have a Antec sonata II and I have 2x 120mm fans installed (tricool set to low). The one that is towards the front of the case is sitting right by the card so I know that helps my temps. I used rthdribl and let it run for 15 minutes to test load temps.

Yeah I have 3x120mm fans (1 exhaust, 1 intake, 1 blowing across the PCI-slots including my GPU) and a 92mm fan (side intake) so I don't think it's an airflow issue. I'll find out tomorrow . . .

 

[Continuity28]

The stock cooler is too loud. I installed the Zalman VF700-Cu on my 7900GT (500/1500), and the temperature is now 38-40C idle, 50-55C load.

 

[RedBeard]

Originally posted by: igowerf
Does "detect optimal frequency" actually work? I told it to detect and it set my 7900GT to some ungodly high clock speeds that caused glitches in Oblivion. Maybe I just need better cooling.

Meh, since I had to get to bed it was a quick and dirty way to test it. I am not sure if it is accurate or not. What ever settings it detects as "stable" usually works for me though.

 

[Bobthelost]

It's fine, but as the card heats up you get more artifacting, so the "detect optimal settings" should be run just after you've been torturing it with RTHDRBL or 3dmark etc.

 

[samusaraniv]

Question: Does anyone have an Abit AN8 32x with two of these 7900GT SEs? The PCI Express ports on this board are closer to eachother than both the Asus and MSI counterparts, unfortunately. When I used two 7800GT OCs with two VF700s, my load temps were actually HIGHER than using the stock fan and heatsink. I guess it's because the airflow between the cards with the VF700s installed was very poor because of the proximity of the cards to eachother. I tested the VF700 against the stock HSF in a non-SLI setup and the VF700 dropped both idle/load temps substantially. For this reason, I have abstained from instaling the VF700 on my first Step-up 7900GT SE as of yet.

BTW, I did test load temps for my first 7900GT SE last night using RTHDRIBL and after about 30 minutes saw my card get up to 74C (!!), even after removing the HSF for enough time to install Arctic Silver 5 (and yes I used it correctly, by spreading a very thin layer completely over the core). I have my 7900GT SE clocked at 581/1742. In Oblivion, however, I have not seen my card go above 63C (this is at 11x8, 2x AA, Bloom, 16AF, high quality IQ, and all of those dev. INI tweaks applied).

Anyone know why my load temps are so high with RTHDRIBL?? Ambient case temp is about 36. I have the Cooler Master Centurion with one 120mm exhaust, one 80mm intake by HD, Zalman 7700CU and my proc never goes above 52C absolute full load via Prime95. Is there something I can work out w/ two VF700s in SLI with cramped PCI-Ex slots on my board? I really enjoy the benefit of a quieter computer, but not at the expense of higher GPU temps. Also, is there a single-slot aftermarket cooling solution that performs better than stock in existence??! If so, I would love to be enlightened!

 

[Munky]

RTHDRIBL stresses the video card more than most games, so it's normal for the temps to be higher.

 

[trexmgd]

Originally posted by: RedBeard
Okay I just got in my brand new eVGA 7900GT Superclock today. The stock cooling isn't all that bad but my NV silencer is sitting around and my system is VERY quiet so the stock cooler is the loudest thing is the video card.

Keep in mind (as other threads have noted) that the NV Silencer 5 rev. 3 will NOT fit properly onto a 7900gt (installed in a case). I had to hack off the last 1.5 to 2 inches of the cooler so I could install the cooler and it would fit in my case.

Overall it was definately work it. My card is much cooler at load and quieter too. It was not hard at all to mod the silencer and the stock cooler can be removed in less than a minute.

Feel free to ask any questions.

Originally posted by: Continuity28
The stock cooler is too loud. I installed the Zalman VF700-Cu on my 7900GT (500/1500), and the temperature is now 38-40C idle, 50-55C load.

How about some Pics?

 

[dug777]

Originally posted by: munky
RTHDRIBL stresses the video card more than most games, so it's normal for the temps to be higher.

i've never managed to get this happening myself. FEAR & HL2 Lost Coast have always topped out a degree or two higher than rthdrible...

AOE3 is excellent for maxing the temps out quickly too...

 

[firewolfsm]

FEAR does it for me. I heard you don't have to hack off the extra silencer goodness and that it doesn't really matter.

 

[RedBeard]

Originally posted by: firewolfsm
FEAR does it for me. I heard you don't have to hack off the extra silencer goodness and that it doesn't really matter.

you have to hack it off if you want the cooler to fit.

 

[samusaraniv]

Well, what can I say..

I went home for lunch and installed the VF700 w/ OCZ copper ramsinks and AS5 on my new eVGA 7900GT SE, and my load temps in RTHDRIBL didn't get above 52C after about 15 minutes!! This is compared to the 74C that I reported about earlier w/ the stock fan and heatsink in RTHDRIBL. QUITE a difference if I say so myself! Card is overclocked to 581/1742, too! I am thorougly impressed.

Now I hope the temps stay around the same once I add my second card for SLI. Before w/ SLI on 7800GT OCs w/ VF700s my temps were getting around 80, and were actually running HOTTER than using the stock HSFs in SLI.

 

[Ike0069]

What are you guys using to see peak load temps? Is is part of the RTHDRIBL program?

 

[GTaudiophile]

Which NV Silencer works on a 7900GT? Would that be a better option than the Zalman VF700-CU?

 

[dawza]

Originally posted by: Ike0069
What are you guys using to see peak load temps? Is is part of the RTHDRIBL program?

NV temp logger

Run RTHDRIBL in windowed mode and you can view the temperature in tandem; you can also have the temp monitor create an appendable log or a graph.

As far as the Silencer vs. the VF-700, it seems that if you do not mind doing some modifications, the Silencer will work. A properly installed VF-700 will do an excellent job as well though- keeps my 7800GT (470/550) at 40/63C idle/load (room temp 24C) @5V, 38/60@12V in single configuration- and this is in a case that is known to have poor airflow (Wavemaster). Put the VF-700 on a fan controller and you can easily adjust the speed as necessary.

I say "properly installed" because the first time I installed the VF-700, I treated it as if I were mounting an HSF on a processor with an IHS- that is, place a small drop of TIM on the center of the die and let the weight of the HSF spread the paste; after some more research, I realized that on exposed dies, the proper way to apply TIM is to spread a thin layer over the entire die. Noob mistake, and for a while the VF-700 was getting up to 80C even with the fan on full-blast, because only the center of the die had TIM. Goes to show that metal-to-metal contact is really less than ideal.

 

[Ike0069]

It's NV5 rev3, but it needs to be slightly modified.

I like the NV's better soley becasue they directly exhaust the hot air from the case.

 

[GTaudiophile]

The NV and Zalman solutions are about the same price.

How does the NV have to be modded?

 

[RedBeard]

Originally posted by: GTaudiophile
The NV and Zalman solutions are about the same price.

How does the NV have to be modded?

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