How hard is it to chance stock cooler on gfx card?

[Steen]

Hi everyone

I have a Club 3D HD6990 in my computer. I am still happy with the performance even though its over a year since I build my rig.

However the noise that card makes when it performs - jesus.

So I was looking to buy something like this and replace the stock cooler.

http://www.amazon.com/Arctic-Cooling...eywords=HD6990

I've never changed the cooler of a graphics card, but i can put together a computer without any problems.

What are your experience with changing coolers on cards? anything i should look out for or worry about?

I couldnt decide if I should put this here or in cases & cooling, so hope i picked the right one.

Thanks
Steen

 

[Eureka]

If you can change a CPU cooler, you can change a GPU cooler.

That being said, it might not be worth it. Add $80 to the price that you can sell your 6990 for, you could be getting a non-reference 7970 Ghz, and overclock that (which would still be quieter than the 6990).

 

[tulx]

Pretty easy, although it might take a while. Definitely easier than installing a huge tower-cooler for your CPU, which might be near impossible to achieve on your own, at times.
I have two 5870'ies in my system, both have Accelero coolers. It's just a matter of unscrewing a few scews, cleaning the board, and installing the new cooler with yet another couple of screws.

 

[Steen]

I have two 5870'ies in my system, both have Accelero coolers.

How are they working out for you? Are you satisfied?

 

[tulx]

How are they working out for you? Are you satisfied?

Yes - they're great. The reference XFX coolers couldn't sustain good temparatures for too long - one of the fans dropped to 20% and became unresponsive to any speed adjustments. After changing to the Accelero coolers, I've been very satisfied. Though they are 3(!) slots wide. At least they're near silent and keep the cards well under the critical 86-90 degrees. And they weren't too expensive either. About 25€ each, if I remember correctly.

 

[SlitheryDee]

It's possible, but you need to be a lot more careful than when you change a CPU cooler. All the graphics cards that I changed the cooler on had the HSF sitting directly on the die, which means that if you put too much pressure on the wrong place you could damage it. I actually chipped the corner off of a 6600GT die trying to take the HSF off, which ruined it.