Quiet HSF for 4870

[Phantomaniac]

I am tired of hearing a jet engine take off every time I play a game. Software based fan speed controllers have done little to help. Someone reccommend me the quietest HSF possible. Temperature is not as big a concern. Thanks.

 

[Comdrpopnfresh]

The heatsink that comes on the asus 4870 dark knight edition does a fantastic job drawing away heat- enough that the fan rarely goes above 50%. I've seen aftermarket solutions that look identical. Grab a picture of the dark knight's hsf and run a line-up. Might consider software or bios modding to undervolt core/memory: I did it in my last configuration and the reduction in heat was significant.
You can always get creative with pci card placement, giving the stock solution more room to exchange air. Adding more ventilation/fans in the case could keep ambient temps down enough that the jet stays taxied. Aim to maintain positive pressure inside the case to the vga cooler exhausts better.

 

[Comdrpopnfresh]

sorry- double post

 

[Ayah]

Scythe Setsugen imo. It's really, really wide though. But it can cool my overclocked 5850 to <60C load, and I can't hear it (compared to stock vacuum cleaner blower-thing trying to cool this overclocked card)

 

[Binky]

Accelero S1 + very slow 120mm fan + Zalman VRM heatsink

I've got this on a 4890 and it's perfect...assuming you have no coil whine.

 

[rocketbubba]

Another vote for the Accelero + a 120 mm fan. Had it on my 4850 and now on my 4890. Dead silent and works great. Only problem is I had to take out the side fan on my Antec 900 case because of how much the Accelero sticks out. But it's worth it because it's oh so quiet now. No more jet engine!

 

[SZLiao214]

I have the dk edition 4870 listed above and the open air heatsink on it is quite a bit quieter then the normal hsf combo.

Before the winter i had a slow 120mm fan blowing across the graphics card and it dropped the temps 3-5C. I am not sure but i doubt this would work as well on the closed shroud stock version.

 

[Comdrpopnfresh]

I have the dk edition 4870 listed above and the open air heatsink on it is quite a bit quieter then the normal hsf combo.

Before the winter i had a slow 120mm fan blowing across the graphics card and it dropped the temps 3-5C. I am not sure but i doubt this would work as well on the closed shroud stock version.

I'd tend to agree with that. The design seems to rely on heatsink area to dissipate heat openly into the case rather than forced exhaust from the case. I think the results from this kind of heatsink are largely dependent on system cooling configuration and turnover.
++1 for another fan blowing on the card! Placing it in a pci-e slot my case's side panel is directed toward works wonders: The graphics card fan rarely revs, and the side panel fan never needs to be turned up- makes for a good setup. I specifically got the scythe ultra kaze for this purpose: having a 38mm deep 120mm fan makes for lots of air moved quietly, and coming out of the fan closer to the components it cools.