ti4200 128MB RAM Sinks - DONE, check it out!

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Okay. I maxed my Albatron ti4200p (Non-Turbo) 128MB out at 580Mhz for the memory. Case cooling is good and I want to try to squeese a little more out of this card. I'm going to add ASII to the GPU (305 causes minor RTCW problems and 310 causes UT2003 stuttering) and RAM Sinks. Where can I find sinks for my video cards memory? I really like these RAM Sinks. Anyone know if these will work with my card or where to get them cheaper?

Thanks!
-JC

 

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Hello....

 

[CraigRT]

you can buy TT heatspreaders for your memory and they come with video card RAM sinks.
if you buy 2 sets, you get enough to do top and bottom of video card (if necessary) and 2 sticks of memory.
I did that with my stuff.

 

[Jeff7]

I just used 2 old Pentium heatsinks and cut them into pieces with a bandsaw. They each have 12 fins, and they seem to do a fine job of keeping the RAM from cooking itself, and it was quite cheap.

 

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I thought about making my own, but don't have no way of cutting the heat sink (3dfx V3 3000 GPU heat sink) in to 8 little pieces. I don't have a lot of tools, just the basic. Can anyone recommend something I can use to cut these and what to use to sand?

Edit:
*Memory at 590 case fans on low I get minor artifacts. Turn fans on high (80mm 28dBa, not to bad) gets rid of Artifacts.
*Memory at 600 case fans on high I get minor artifacts. Hoping ramsinks get me to 600.

 

[Jeff7]

Do you have access to a bandsaw? I just went to Sears Hardware and bought a metal cutting blade for it - get one with fine teeth, otherwise it might catch the heatsink and jam. That thing cuts right through the heatsinks; use a pliers or something to hold the heatsink though, cause it'll heat up real fast.
If you don't have a bandsaw...I really am not sure what to suggest; if you want to do it manually, maybe you can pick up a small saw for cutting metal; I got one at a hobby store - it was for cutting the tracks of model trains to make custom lengths. Something like that might work.
As for "will they work" - concerning the expensive nickel plated ones - I don't see why they wouldn't. If there's components near the memory, you might just have to attach the sinks a little bit off center.
Or, if there's LOTS of space around the memory chips, you could put active cooled heatsinks on them. I did that on a Geforce2 Pro board I had.

 

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Holly shoot Jeff7. Those are some big fans. How high were you able to overclock that?

I don't have a bandsaw. I found this article and followed suit. Here's how far I am now.

3dfx V3 3000 AGP Heatsink. I replaced it with a Stealth Cooler a long time ago. Chopped it up in to 8 little pieces. A friend it going to sand/grind them down.

Once I connect them I'm going to use AS2 (that's what I got) and a dab of super glue in the middle. I read this in an article. It should hold the sinks just fine and provide an easy way to take them off if I need to...just twist. Anyone else already tried this or have some thoughts?

 

[Jeff7]

I'd suggest superglue on the outer corners of the chip - the center is where the actual silicon is - that's where you'll want the Arctic Silver doing its job. If it's just temporary to see how they fit, then just one dab; if you want permanent, then a dab of glue in each corner, and maybe some more along the surface perimeter, and of course with the ASII in the middle - definitely not too much of that though; if it manages to gush out onto the memory pins, it could cause problems.
Wouldn't had thought of a hacksaw; the only hacksaw there is here is so dull that cardboard boxes will laugh at it.

Those ain't big fans - 40x40x7mm I believe they were; each heatsink assembly was less than 15mm thick; the heatsink on the core is 50x50mm; don't remember the thickness. I think the fans gave me some extra 20MHz if I remember right; not too bad I guess. These are the fans - unused 3dfx heatsink fan combo's. It probably was a bit of a waste back then; it might be better suited to some of the new really toasty RAM on new videocards.

 

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DONE!

At one point I thought I was hosed...it looked like the ASII got on the side. I let it run for about an hour with no problems. I'm now able to crank the card up to 300gpu/600mem without any artifacts. We'll see if I can go higher this weekend.

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I wouldn't recommend using a hacksaw unless your a pro. I got a couple slices in the side of the sinks that just will not come out without sanding them down to thin.

-JC