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Which cooler for 9800 pro?

M

Munky

Diamond Member
I have a 9800 pro 128mb, and I plan to overcklock it, so I'm looking to get an Arctic Silencer or something similar. I need to cool the gpu and the memory, but I see AS3 is designed only for 9800 xt ar 9800 pro 256mb. Will this work on my 128mb card? Which other coolers work well on these cards?
 
I have an arctic silencer rev3 on my 9800np (powercolor) works fine. Only problem I've seen with it, is that I have some BGA ramsinks for the ram, and the fan kinda blocks the last two ram chips, making it difficult for me to fit 'em on there.
 
Thanks, I'll look into those. From what I've read, the ATI Silencer3, for 9800xt, doesn't fit the 128mb 9800pro. 🙁
 
Originally posted by: munky
Thanks, I'll look into those. From what I've read, the ATI Silencer3, for 9800xt, doesn't fit the 128mb 9800pro. 🙁
Click to expand...

That's what I 've heard too.

There is a new cooler from Zalman (VF700) that is very quiet and has RAM sinks that are cooled by the same fan that cools the GPU. It is compatible with 128MB 9800 pro also. You may want to look into that too. Look for VF700 under "Coolers for Graphics cards".
http://www.zalman.co.kr/
 
Bit of naming confusion:

Arctic Cooling's ATI Silencer 3 DOES include ramsinks for mem, but only fits on R9800xt (and apparently some R9800pro 256mb).

Arctic Coolings VGA Silencer, rev3 DOES NOT include mem cooling, and fits on R9800pro/se/aiw. The earlier revisions fitted on older R9500/9700pro/se/aiw/xt units (apparently the rev3 will fit on them as well, but the height of the vpu shim can cause contact problems).

Most people are talking about the older VGA silencer, since 9800pros were more common than xts.

 
There is an ATi Silencer Rev 1 which DOES fit on the 9800Pro cards. It looks similar to the Rev3, but is for 9800Pro's rather than 9800XT's.
It was posted by Navid.

There are multiple versions of the ATi Silencer for various cards, so both Rev1 and the VGA Silencer Rev 3 will fit your card.
I have an ATi silencer Rev1 coming tomorrow for my 9800 non-pro (because the VGA silencer, while slightly cheaper for me, wasn't in stock).
 
Thanks for the advice guys. That Zalman cooler is starting to look like a good choice, since I want to cool the ram also. Anyone tried to see if it's better than Arctic Silencer? Or maybe I'll get the AS and then separate ram sinks. That memory gets hot real fast when doing 3D stuff.

Edit: btw, I flashed mine to xt bios, so I really need a good hsf.
 
Originally posted by: munky
Thanks for the advice guys. That Zalman cooler is starting to look like a good choice, since I want to cool the ram also. Anyone tried to see if it's better than Arctic Silencer? Or maybe I'll get the AS and then separate ram sinks. That memory gets hot real fast when doing 3D stuff.

Edit: btw, I flashed mine to xt bios, so I really need a good hsf.
Click to expand...

I don't think you can do that. I mean you can do it, but, you cannot cool the RAM since the silencer will not blow on the RAM. The silencer air moves through an enclosed channel. The Zalman blows air in the case towards the GPU sink as well as towards the RAM sinks.

The only disadvantage of the Zalman is that the RAM sinks use thermal tape. I don't like thermal tape, which is not as re-mountable as a sink with clips. But, since you do not have an option for a silencer that cools your RAM as well, the Zalam may be your best choice if you need RAM cooling.
 
Get the VGA Silencer Rev3 for your 9800 PRO 128mb. I installed mine a couple of days ago and I'm very happy with it.

My 9800 PRO was running very hot, my case temp when idle was around 36C, and the cpu fan was working too hard to keep the cpu temp low, when loaded case temps reached 42C. After I installed the silencer the case idles at 29C, and no more than 35C on load.

The best thing about the silencer is that it exhausts the heat generated by the GPU outside of the case. The Zalman VF700 won't do that, and in fact is more expensive.

I used Arctic Silver 5 instead of the silicone paste that came with the Silencer.

Regarding memory ramsinks, I've read a couple of articles that say that cooling the ram on the 9800 PRO is more decorative than performance wise, anyway the silencer will allow you to install most low-medium profile ramsinks.
 
Originally posted by: DJQuanta
Regarding memory ramsinks, I've read a couple of articles that say that cooling the ram on the 9800 PRO is more decorative than performance wise, anyway the silencer will allow you to install most low-medium profile ramsinks.
Click to expand...

A heat sink without cool air around it is only going to make things worse! You are better off not having the heat sink if you are not going to have an air flow around it.
 
Just to let you guys know, I already ordered the Zalman yesterday, and it got pretty good reviews too. I wish I had something like the Ati Silencer 3 available for 9800p 128mb, but those ram chips get scary hot, so I'd like to cool them too. Next, I'll see how good this thing overcklocks.
 
Before putting the RAM sinks on, clean the RAM chips as well as you can with 90% Isopropyl alcohol. The same with the GPU.
 
Ah, thanks. I was about to ask you if you meant clean the chips or the sinks, but you fixed the post just in time. 🙂
 
Yeah, sorry about that; rushed typing.
Don't touch the thermal tape on the sinks. Clean the RAMs first. Then, remove the plastic covering from the RAM sink and apply right away. Hold in place for a while for the adhesive to make good contact.
 
If I were you, I would first find the maximum core frequency with your current cooler. Then, I would install the new cooler on the GPU only and find the max. core again.
Then, I would find the max. RAM frequency with no RAM sinks added.
Then, I would apply RAM sinks to the GPU side only and find the max. RAM frequency again.
Then, I would apply the RAM sinks to the other side as well and measure the max. RAM frequency again.

I am very curious to find out the difference between the last two steps. I wonder if the RAM sinks on the other side, with no air flow, make any improvement at all.
 
Would I use atitool for that? Also, I don't want to damage the gpu or the ram, since this is my primary video card.
 
Originally posted by: munky
Would I use atitool for that? Also, I don't want to damage the gpu or the ram, since this is my primary video card.
Click to expand...

Your first post in this thread says that you wanted to overclock! Now, you say you do not want to damage the GPU or the RAM! I am not sure what you are getting at!

To overclock an ATI card, ATItool seems to be the best.
 
I do plan to overcklock, but seeing how hot the ram gets right now, I'm kinda reluctant to push it without installing some ramsinks first.
 
Originally posted by: munky
I do plan to overcklock, but seeing how hot the ram gets right now, I'm kinda reluctant to push it without installing some ramsinks first.
Click to expand...

OK, that is a fair concern.

What I am concerned about is that the RAM sink may actually make it worse for the RAM temperature! At least, for the side of the card that will not have a fan pointed at.

Let's do this:
Install ATItool now. Set the maximum clock frequency for the GPU and the RAM to the default values. Now, you will never overclock. Click on scan for artifacts. This will open a 3D window and look for artifacts. if it finds any, it will reduce the clock frequency. If that happens, we will know that your RAM or GPU is generating too much heat.
 
Alright, thanks for the idea. I did overcklock my older cards, but only to a small degree, not like I'm about to do (hopefully).

I'm gonna try it when I get home, and post results later. My Zalman is still in transit, though. Also, funny thing - I remember atitool showing temps on my old radeon 9000p, but I cant get it to show the temps on the 9800.
 
You cannot see temperatures for any 9800 pro; only 9800 XT.

The only time you may be able to see temperatures for a 9800 pro is if it has an R360 core instead of the R350 and the card has the necessary chip for sensing the temperature and you flash the BIOS to that of XT!

It has nothing to do with ATItool. Regardless of which utility you use to see the temperature, you need those conditions mentioned in the previous paragraph satisfied. Only then, can you expect to see temperatures for your 9800 pro.
 
WARNING:
I should have mentioned this right off the bat!

Replacing your stock heat sink, or overclocking will void your warranty!
 
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