replacing GF3ti200 hsf with a Pentium 200 one?

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Davegod

Platinum Member
Nov 26, 2001
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Hmm, considering going a little extreme with overclocking my GF3ti200 (a "creative" one, actually made by MSI) by swapping out the stock gpu cooler and sticking on one from my old P200mmx (yes, thats a Pentium mmx :p), hacksawing the current gpu cooler to leave the ramsinks.

The heatsink is 40x40mm, i think painted aluminium, and theres a 4pin 40mm fan to go with it - which as i remember was pretty quiet - piccy. I'd stick it on with Artic Silver adheisive or something. Would this be something fairly easy and worth doing? I'm planning on upgrading to something like a r9700 around April/May for doom3 anyway, but dont want to pernamently annihilate the GF3 in the meantime. Also how easy is it to lift off the current gpu cooler?

ATM I've used rivatuner to overclock to 200/470, i had it on 220/515 or so which was pretty stable, but I prefer very stable (no fun when everything crashes in middle of a clanwar) so turned it down :)

One downside is I'd then have no way to use the P200mmx system (a complete box unit missing only a monitor), but otoh cant find anything to do with it now anyway, and even if i found a use for it as a linux fileserver, router or something, i have everything but a spare hdd and mobo for a amd1600+ setup anyway.
 
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Davegod

Platinum Member
Nov 26, 2001
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anyone?

would a crystal orb be better? i thought they were meant to be tiny but read it has a 50mm fan... I'm hoping to reach 250/550
 
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Davegod

Platinum Member
Nov 26, 2001
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well said :D

and lol at those pics, i guess mine will look somewhat like that :D

maybe a problem im not sure, the hsf im using has a 4pin adapter so ill have to plug into the psu, i take it the gf3 doesnt have any protections about not working if there is no fan connected?

saw this thread on removing the heatsink, bit worried now since i cant see pins holding mine so its probably epoxied, and the guy at the bottom says "Either method has a high chance of wrecking your card so don't try it unless you know what you are doing... " hmm... My card doesnt have the passive cooling though, this is a pic of my card (edit: which seems to show quite clearly the two plastic pins holding the heatsink on, LOL! will check my card when the epoxy arrives)
 
sash1

sash1

Diamond Member
Jul 20, 2001
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Just a note on the crystal orb: it's big. I have one and it takes up a PCI slot. Just FYI

~Aunix
 
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ElDubya

Junior Member
Feb 25, 2003
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Davegod, I actually just did this mod to my MSI GF3 Ti200. The heat sink and fan I used look very similar to your piccy. Look on your card and see if there are four small mounting holes at the four corners of a square around the GPU, they should be about 40mm apart. My MSI card had these and all I had to do was drill 2-3/32" holes in diagonal corners of the heatsink and mount to the card with some tiny 2mm machine bolts that I bought at Revy.

As far as removing the old HS, I had to break the MSI push pins to get them out and I found that the GPU/HS interface was filled with a white silicone based thermal paste and the HS came free with just a minor amount of twisting back and forth.

I think the mod is worthwhile as the new HS has a much thinner base and lots of fins and air circulation directly over the actual GPU chip which should make for much more efficient cooling. The old unit had a much thicker base, fins only on the edges and little or no direct air flow onto the center of the HS.

 
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Johneverd

Senior member
Sep 18, 2002
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One thing about those old Pentium heatsinks is that they are almost always concave (the center warps in away from the chip that it is mounted onto). You may want to lap it first if you are into the mod thing (like I am). Be sure to use an ultra-fine paper (like 800 grit) at the end to get it smooth as silk.

EDIT: HERE is a an article on it.
 
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Davegod

Platinum Member
Nov 26, 2001
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finally remembered pics :eek:

this is what it started out as
here's the p200 HSF i had to stick on it
HS removed (was loads of goop, also i took off a ram heatsink which was not attatched properly)
modded & installed
close up
closer
another

soz for poor quality, angle etc but pain in the rear to take the card right out and the case is a heavy steel job in a none-too accessible place :/
 
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CurtCold

Golden Member
Aug 15, 2002
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Nice pics, looks like the mod turned out great! Are you able to overclock the card decently now?

Looks like a nice professional install you did there. Good work!
 
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Davegod

Platinum Member
Nov 26, 2001
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right now im on 225/500 with no problems, yesterday was FPS gaming for several hours and no issues at all, going to increase core 5 or 10mz every few days
 
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Smilin

Diamond Member
Mar 4, 2002
7,357
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Originally posted by: Davegod
right now im on 225/500 with no problems, yesterday was FPS gaming for several hours and no issues at all, going to increase core 5 or 10mz every few days
Click to expand...

When you're ready look around for an article on changing the voltage on that thing. It requires just a minimal amount of soldering but it's necessary if you want to try much more beyond 225/500. Good Job at that speed by the way.
 
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Davegod

Platinum Member
Nov 26, 2001
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i have to start upping voltages? damn :( just been cranking it up slowly with rivatuner to see where it goes...


ps. anyone feel like pointing me out a GOOD & simple guide to this voltage increasing ? :)
 
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TheCorm

Diamond Member
Nov 5, 2000
4,326
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Originally posted by: AunixM3
Just a note on the crystal orb: it's big. I have one and it takes up a PCI slot. Just FYI

~Aunix
Click to expand...

CurtCold's has gotta be taking up 2 PCI Slots! ;)

Nice Mod!...looks really professional!

This Appears to have some information

Corm
 
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Smilin

Diamond Member
Mar 4, 2002
7,357
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Originally posted by: Davegod
i have to start upping voltages? damn :( just been cranking it up slowly with rivatuner to see where it goes...


ps. anyone feel like pointing me out a GOOD & simple guide to this voltage increasing ? :)
Click to expand...

"Be careful what you ask for" as the saying goes. Overclocking is generally harmless - worst you get is a lockup, but once you start tweaking voltage it gets dangerous to the hardware.

I'll dig around a bit and see if I can find the link.
 
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Davegod

Platinum Member
Nov 26, 2001
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cheers for link, if 2 ppl post same link the article must be good :)

I wont be too fussed about damaging the card by the time i get around to upping voltages, its worth practically nothing second hand so i'll wait till 9700pro gets close to price I'll pay then crank up this card and see what it'll do & hence how long it will last before getting a new card. If i destroy this card it just means paying more for 9700pro (and getting it earlier ;)) but worst having a few days with no card while it arrives :Q Dont want anything damaging mobo though! Next step is trying to get the ram off 2.5-3-3 timings...
 
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