having Trouble cooling my 4870 change cooler now even hotter.

alphaqforever247

Junior Member
Oct 17, 2007
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I just recently bought a shapphire 4870 1gb this one to be exact http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-849-_-Product

I was idle at about 75 deg c. with an outside temp of over 100 deg southern california heat. I was ok with this temp cause i came from a 4870 512 and it idled around the same. but the problem with this card i have now is that the fan is very loud. So i went out and got an artic cooling s1 rev 2. just got done installing it and now im hitting 98 deg c idle then i played som sf4 and it loaded up to 116 deg !!! I am in a lan box lite but added stronger 60 mm fans throughout the case i woudl say i have decent air flow in the box. i dunno what to do im pretty bumbed feel like i wasted my money
 

MrK6

Diamond Member
Aug 9, 2004
4,458
4
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I think the 4870 is way too hot for an AC S1 Rev. 2. Try using some fans to get some airflow going over it. I know that on my overclocked 4870, it still didn't cool it properly. Also, make sure you use the stock memory/VRM plate as the included VRM heatsink is garbage (unless they changed that).
 

error8

Diamond Member
Nov 28, 2007
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1) For this type of videocard you need very good airflow in your case, something that is probably impossible to attain in a little lan box, with a couple of 60mm fans, which move way to little air.
2) You need air conditioning. It's one thing to move hot air in and out of your case and it's another to cool that air before pushing it in.
3) I have the impression that you've installed the S1 incorrectly. Did you cleaned the thermal paste with alcohol before applying the new one?
Also, the ultra known issue with this cooler is that it's unable to cool down your VRMs, when you use those little ram sinks that the S1 comes with. You would also need something like this. So right from the start, because of the very high ambient temp, you should have not installed the S1 on your 4870., because the VRMs would boil to death.
 

alphaqforever247

Junior Member
Oct 17, 2007
5
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Originally posted by: error8
1) For this type of videocard you need very good airflow in your case, something that is probably impossible to attain in a little lan box, with a couple of 60mm fans, which move way to little air.
2) You need air conditioning. It's one thing to move hot air in and out of your case and it's another to cool that air before pushing it in.
3) I have the impression that you've installed the S1 incorrectly. Did you cleaned the thermal paste with alcohol before applying the new one?
Also, the ultra known issue with this cooler is that it's unable to cool down your VRMs, when you use those little ram sinks that the S1 comes with. You would also need something like this. So right from the start, because of the very high ambient temp, you should have not installed the S1 on your 4870., because the VRMs would boil to death.

Yeah it is very hard for me cause its so hot outside and in my house the AC is rarely on rents are anal about electricity bill typical asain immagrant parents here. As for the installation i cleaned the thermal paste from the gpu and cleaned off the stock thermal pad on the s1 with alchol pads. and replaced it with artic silver 5. as for the ram and vram i put the ram sinks on those and left the stock vram sink on. would mounting a 120mm fan make a good difference? i was thinking of getting the artic cooling twin turbo would that be a better option? its just hard cause i need a pci slot for my xfi card. but my video card is more important then the x-fi card so if getting a fan or getting the twin turbo will work i will remove my x-fi card. I just cannot stand the stock hs/f is soooo loud, even at idle.
 

error8

Diamond Member
Nov 28, 2007
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Your link doesn't work. What is the exact model of card you own? I reckon it's not the reference stock cooler card!?
Oh and from what I understand, you are running the S1 passive????
 

error8

Diamond Member
Nov 28, 2007
3,204
0
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Originally posted by: Cookie Monster
Go get yourself a 120mm fan and strap it on the s1.

This. That cooler it's unable to dissipate the heat that a 4870 generates,fast enough in passive mode. Even an 1000 rpm dead silent 120mm fan is more then enough to cool the card down. You are lucky that it didn't die.
 

v8envy

Platinum Member
Sep 7, 2002
2,720
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I have that cooler factory installed on an 8800GT. Here are the temperatures I was seeing:

Idle/Load
70/90 - Completely passive
58/75 - turbo module
48/65 - 80mm fan strapped to outside of PCI slots (no slot covers)
43/58 - 120mm fan strapped to outside of the PCI slots + turbo module

Ambients are 22-25C. The turbo module is two 40mm low speed fans clipped between the heatpipes on the heatsink. Case is a full tower with excellent cable management and fair ventillation (non-gpu temperature reading from the card is 30C or lower, hard drives at 30C and so on).

I am completely unsurprised the S1 it can't passively cool a 4870, especially in a SFF case. This is a great heatsink, but requires lots of air flow for best effect.
 

error8

Diamond Member
Nov 28, 2007
3,204
0
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Originally posted by: v8envy

I am completely unsurprised the S1 it can't passively cool a 4870, especially in a SFF case. This is a great heatsink, but requires lots of air flow for best effect.

It's not surprising at all. Your card has 110 W TDP while 4870 has 160 Watts. Those extra 50 W are something.
And anyway you take it, running a performance videocard passive is not the smartest thing to do. There are several components on the PCB that also generates heat. People tend to forget this aspect and concentrate purely on keeping the GPU cool. But in 95% of the dead or damaged videocards, the GPU is not the culprit. Video memory, capacitors, voltage regulators, all have temperature thresholds for functioning properly and every time you exceed those thresholds ( and you do it while passive ) you shorten their life and sometimes, immediate damage occurs.
 

v8envy

Platinum Member
Sep 7, 2002
2,720
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Read again, I said I was completely unsurprised. Exactly for the reasons you stated.
 

error8

Diamond Member
Nov 28, 2007
3,204
0
76
Originally posted by: v8envy
Read again, I said I was completely unsurprised. Exactly for the reasons you stated.

Amazing how I managed to see "unsurprised" as "surprised". Maybe I need glasses, big ones. :laugh:
And I even quoted you on that. Fantastic. :eek:
 

thilanliyan

Lifer
Jun 21, 2005
11,848
2,051
126
As others have mentioned...running a 4870 passively is not a good idea. Strap a 120mm (or 2) fan onto the cooler and you'll be fine. Also, make sure you put heatsinks on the VRMs as they absolutely need it.