Looking for a good, cheap (of course) VGA coolers for an ATI AIW 9800 Pro

[computer]

Do any of you know any good, cheap (of course) VGA coolers for an ATI AIW 9800 Pro I'm thinking about getting the "ARCTIC COOLING VGA SILENCER REV. 3", it's only $9.99 on sale from SVC. http://store.yahoo.com/svcompucycle/vga-rev3.html . But it's 2-speed fan and according to reviews with it set on the low speed, temps are HIGHER and o'clock is SLOWER than without even using it!! It actually SLOWS down the card!! So that would seem to indicate its HS is not very good and its good cooling (on the higher speed) relies solely upon the fan.

I don't do any gaming, I just wanted something a bit better than the stock HSF unit.
Thanks.

 

[IlllI]

which reviews are you referring to?

 

[computer]

Originally posted by: IlllI
which reviews are you referring to?

The reviews I found on the net. I didn't keep them.

 

[nitro237]

If you're not gaming your stock hs/fan should be fine, running at stock speeds, IMO.

 

[computer]

Originally posted by: nitro237
If you're not gaming your stock hs/fan should be fine, running at stock speeds, IMO.

I figured that, but I still wanted something a little better so I'd never run into any heat issues if I were to do some games.

 

[IlllI]

Originally posted by: computer

The reviews I found on the net. I didn't keep them.

thats odd, b/c i seem to remember the reviews i read saying that it was a much better solution than the stock 9800 hsf

 

[computer]

Originally posted by: IlllI

Originally posted by: computer

The reviews I found on the net. I didn't keep them.

thats odd, b/c i seem to remember the reviews i read saying that it was a much better solution than the stock 9800 hsf

It is, but only with the fan on HIGH speed. Idle and load temps were higher with the AC VGA Silencer Rev. 3 set on low speed.

 

[CCityInstaller]

Originally posted by: computer

Originally posted by: clandren

Originally posted by: computer

The reviews I found on the net. I didn't keep them.

thats odd, b/c i seem to remember the reviews i read saying that it was a much better solution than the stock 9800 hsf

It is, but only with the fan on HIGH speed. Idle and load temps were higher with the AC VGA Silencer Rev. 3 set on low speed.

I beg to differ. I used the AC VGA Rev 3 on my AIW 9800 PRO @ XT speeds, and with the fan on low, the card was much cooler. I couldnt lay my hand on the back of the card with the stock HSF without allowing it to cool off for at least 5-10 minutes after gaming for a while. The AC unit allowed the card to be cool to the touch within 2 minutes. I was also able to reach a higher stable O/C with the AC unit. I ran the fan on high 24/7 after doing some noise experiments. The system I was using was very silent, and the AC unit on high couldn't be heard over the 2 low speed 120mm fans in my case.

 

[computer]

Originally posted by: CCityInstaller
I beg to differ. I used the AC VGA Rev 3 on my AIW 9800 PRO @ XT speeds, and with the fan on low, the card was much cooler. I couldnt lay my hand on the back of the card with the stock HSF without allowing it to cool off for at least 5-10 minutes after gaming for a while. The AC unit allowed the card to be cool to the touch within 2 minutes. I was also able to reach a higher stable O/C with the AC unit. I ran the fan on high 24/7 after doing some noise experiments. The system I was using was very silent, and the AC unit on high couldn't be heard over the 2 low speed 120mm fans in my case.

Well that's good to know, thanks.

Here's one article I found again and you can see what I'm talking about in the chart.
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ArcticCooling/VGASilencer_Rev3/2
They don't even say what card they're using! So I guess it could depend on the card. (I see in the article now they mentioned it's a 9800 Pro). Doesn't look very impressive in that article, only 2° cooler than stock with it set to high.

 

[IlllI]

Originally posted by: computer

It is, but only with the fan on HIGH speed. Idle and load temps were higher with the AC VGA Silencer Rev. 3 set on low speed.

but.. you do realize that even the fan being on HIGH speed, its still MUCH quitier than the stock fan's noise, right?

 

[computer]

Originally posted by: IlllI

Originally posted by: computer

It is, but only with the fan on HIGH speed. Idle and load temps were higher with the AC VGA Silencer Rev. 3 set on low speed.

but.. you do realize that even the fan being on HIGH speed, its still MUCH quitier than the stock fan's noise, right?

:roll: :laugh: HA!! I doubt if I could isolate the sound of the stock HSF unit on the card with an oscilloscope! I have a total of 23 fans in my case! Two of them are monsters, they sound like sirens. Vantec Tornado (80x80x38) and that Delta 60x60x38 8300rpm fan. So, noise from a video card cooler would be drowned out by the other fans and sound is not an issue. I was just pointing out what I did in my original post about the HS on this cooler apparently not being very good, and that the cooling is done by the fan alone since it has to be on high to do any cooling better than that of the stock HSF unit.

I really wanted the Cooler Master CoolViva VHC-L61. That thing is awesome and I even found it for the same price as the AC Silencer, but I don't have enough room between my AGP slot and the NB chipset.

Since no one had any suggestions for a cooler, I went ahead and got the "Arctic Cooling VGA Silencer Rev. 3" and will use on the high setting.

 

[IlllI]

i guess its situational then. in my case, it performed just as good as the stock hsf, but at greatly less noise...granted i didnt have 23 fans like you did though

 

[computer]

I think I'm going to go to water cooling one day. All this noise is getting old. I used some acoustic insulation on the insides of my case that helped a lot, but you can still hear those "sirens" from the air intake holes. It would be nice to actually be able to HEAR a VGA cooler for a change! :roll: