VGA cooler

  • Thread starter Thread starter Rookie
  • Start date Start date
Rookie said:
The factory cooler on my vga card tends to run noisy like a helicopter
from
time to time, and I was wondering about one of those zalman products:

http://www.zalman.co.kr/ENG/product/Product_Read.asp?idx=139

or this one:

http://www.zalman.co.kr/ENG/product/Product_Read.asp?idx=144

What do you think of them? The second looks better to me, but I see there
is also a difference in the way they are connected to power.
Click to expand...

Good coolers - and yes they both connect to a 3-pin fan socket on the
motherboard so make sure you have one available.

The VF900 is essential for a high end card like a 8800GT but for anything
else the VF700 would do.

I put a VF900 on my ATI 3850 and run it at half speed - still my card doesnt
go over 52 celsius when playing Crysis
and its quieter than the stock cooler.
 
Good coolers - and yes they both connect to a 3-pin fan socket on the
motherboard so make sure you have one available.

The VF900 is essential for a high end card like a 8800GT but for
anything else the VF700 would do.

I put a VF900 on my ATI 3850 and run it at half speed - still my card
doesnt go over 52 celsius when playing Crysis
and its quieter than the stock cooler.
Click to expand...

Well, I don't have any free 3-pin socket on the motherboard, maybe I could
use an adaptor?

I thought they connected on the adaptor of the card itself?
 
Rookie said:
Well, I don't have any free 3-pin socket on the motherboard, maybe I could
use an adaptor?

I thought they connected on the adaptor of the card itself?
Click to expand...

You can get 3-pin to molex adapters - graphics card have a variety of power
socket for fans
and never do they seem to use the standard 3-pin socket you find on a mobo.
 
Rookie said:
The factory cooler on my vga card tends to run noisy like a helicopter
from
time to time, and I was wondering about one of those zalman products:

http://www.zalman.co.kr/ENG/product/Product_Read.asp?idx=139

or this one:

http://www.zalman.co.kr/ENG/product/Product_Read.asp?idx=144

What do you think of them? The second looks better to me, but I see there
is also a difference in the way they are connected to power.
Click to expand...

You can get larger heatsink coolers for graphics cards and some don't even
require a fan, so you could use one of those with a large, slow, silent
120mm fan positioned over the card, however, you forgot to tell us what
graphics card you have, so we can't recommend the right one for you!
 
You can get larger heatsink coolers for graphics cards and some don't
even require a fan, so you could use one of those with a large, slow,
silent 120mm fan positioned over the card, however, you forgot to tell
us what graphics card you have, so we can't recommend the right one
for you!
Click to expand...

It's an albatron nvidia 7600gs.

The factory fan is a small flimsy one, and from time to time tends to give
this grinding noise. I guess it's near the end of its useful life.
 
On Mon, 10 Mar 2008 18:41:29 +0100 (CET), Rookie

It's an albatron nvidia 7600gs.

The factory fan is a small flimsy one, and from time to time tends to give
this grinding noise. I guess it's near the end of its useful life.
Click to expand...

7600GS is a (relatively) low power consumer, low heat
generator. IMO the Zalman 'sinks would both do fine but are
a bit overkill, you could use either and reduce the fan RPM
even more through your preferred method whether that be a
fan controller, voltage regulator or current limiter of your
choosing, BUT you should be able to cool it with a passive
heatsink if you have reasonable case ventilation, without
having to position another fan near it.

Something like one of the following might be a good option
without excessive expense (card itself being used isn't
worth more than about $35 total today, seems no good reason
to spend a lot for a 'sink when something new could be
bought for about that price after a rebate at Newegg.com et
al if you're in the US. For examples of replacement video
cards (some not so good for gaming but today a 7600GS is
looking a bit dated for gaming as well)... also we don't
know if you need a PCIe or AGP card.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010380048+4801+1295318921

A passive replacement heatsink at a better price-point than
many, Arctic Cooling Accelero S2:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835186017

If the relative prices at Newegg are an indicator then the
following active 'sink seems the better value among the
Zalmans, but it's cost is getting pretty close to the entire
value of the video card itself.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835118117
 
It's an albatron nvidia 7600gs.

The factory fan is a small flimsy one, and from time to time tends to give
this grinding noise. I guess it's near the end of its useful life.
Click to expand...

If it is a sleeve bearing fan you might try relubing it with
very thick oil, taking fan out and putting some in the
bearing behind the sticker or plug. If it has not worn down
the bearing too much yet you might find it responds well to
periodic relubrication.
 
On Mon, 10 Mar 2008 18:41:29 +0100 (CET), Rookie



7600GS is a (relatively) low power consumer, low heat
generator. IMO the Zalman 'sinks would both do fine but are
a bit overkill, you could use either and reduce the fan RPM
even more through your preferred method whether that be a
fan controller, voltage regulator or current limiter of your
choosing, BUT you should be able to cool it with a passive
heatsink if you have reasonable case ventilation, without
having to position another fan near it.

Something like one of the following might be a good option
without excessive expense (card itself being used isn't
worth more than about $35 total today, seems no good reason
to spend a lot for a 'sink when something new could be
bought for about that price after a rebate at Newegg.com et
al if you're in the US. For examples of replacement video
cards (some not so good for gaming but today a 7600GS is
looking a bit dated for gaming as well)... also we don't
know if you need a PCIe or AGP card.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2010380048+
4801+1295318921

A passive replacement heatsink at a better price-point than
many, Arctic Cooling Accelero S2:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835186017

If the relative prices at Newegg are an indicator then the
following active 'sink seems the better value among the
Zalmans, but it's cost is getting pretty close to the entire
value of the video card itself.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835118117
Click to expand...

I am in europe and the card is an agp one. You are right though, the
price of a new card (even in europe where we don't have such good offers
and rebates) can be pretty close to the cost of a zalman active cooler.

I think I can keep the card for a while and maybe try to lubricate the
fan, then buy a new one and possibly much better card.
 
Rookie said:
It's an albatron nvidia 7600gs.
Click to expand...

My 7600gs actually came with a replacement passive (no fan) heatsink. The
heatsink is not very large, so you should easily find a reasonably priced
one, but why not consider a new graphics card - you can get decent ones
pre-installed with a passive heatsink for about the price you are going to
pay just for a heatsink! I don't know all the model numbers and power
outputs, but look at the new NVidia 8400s or 8500s. TomsHardware.com has
performance tables of graphics cards, so you can compare performance with
your 7600gs, which you could then sell on eBay!
 
kony said:
If it is a sleeve bearing fan you might try relubing it with
very thick oil, taking fan out and putting some in the
bearing behind the sticker or plug. If it has not worn down
the bearing too much yet you might find it responds well to
periodic relubrication.
Click to expand...

Or just remove the broken fan altogether and install an 80mm, 90mm or even
120mm fan next to or over the graphics card - just make sure it blows as
much air onto the card as the small fan used to. The larger the replacement
fan, the slower it can spin and quieter it would be.
 
Or just remove the broken fan altogether and install an 80mm, 90mm or even
120mm fan next to or over the graphics card - just make sure it blows as
much air onto the card as the small fan used to. The larger the replacement
fan, the slower it can spin and quieter it would be.
Click to expand...

A larger fan will certainly help cool the entire card, but
it cannot be assumed that removing the broken fan from the
sink and having a larger fan at a distance will provide as
much airflow upon the 'sink itself. Possibly it will if
there were a fan bracket such that the fan is directly under
the 'sink, but personally I would rather go ahead and lube
the fan to see how it responds, and if a backup cooling fan
is desired, also add the larger fan just in case the primary
were to go unnoticed if/when it were to fail.

It seems like a lot of extra work though on a video card not
worth much these days. Putting a drop of oil in takes a
minute or so while
finding/receiving/installing/tweaking-fan-speed on a
bracketed fan is a lot of work relative to the value and
very low heat level of a 7600GS. If that much time were to
be spent on the card, personally I would take the whole
stock 'sink off and put something passive on it - not
necessarily a high priced designer 'sink, probably just
taking some leftover Pentium 1 or socket 7/370 era passive
'sink and marking then drilling some holes in it to mount it
on the card with thin screws (or in some cases I've been
able to use the depth gauge on a drill press to bore out the
correct depth recess in a sink from the top so the original
push-pins could be used instead). A larger finned passive
'sink would do much much better with a bracketed fan at a
distance, and might not even require the fan on a bracket at
all if the case otherwise has reasonable airflow.

If the case has reasonable positive or negative
pressurization from inequal amounts of intake or exhaust
fans (which it should, ideally) then one way to produce more
airflow across a passive 'sink is to leave the adjacent PCI
slot or two empty and leave their rear case bracket covers
off, so the positive or negative case pressure will cause (a
lot more) passive airflow over the card.
 
My 7600gs actually came with a replacement passive (no fan) heatsink. The
heatsink is not very large, so you should easily find a reasonably priced
one, but why not consider a new graphics card - you can get decent ones
pre-installed with a passive heatsink for about the price you are going to
pay just for a heatsink!
Click to expand...

Maybe, or maybe not... depends on how creative one is at
drilling holes and mounting it. The following should work
fine if Rookie can mark and drill holes in the corresponding
spots to screw or pushpin it on.

http://www.goldmine-elec-products.com/prodinfo.asp?number=G13955

It also has 4-40 tapped holes which could be used with long
screws to put a 60mm fan on it, I used one like this for
overclocked FX5700 and TI4200, a few years ago. Can't beat
the price for an Alpha 'sink but it's a pity shipping is
such a large % of total cost unless other parts are needed
from same store.
 
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