X800XL- Need better cooling

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Frodo

So far I've overclocked my X800XL from 400GPU/500Mem to 500/580.
Want to replace the stock cooling with something better.
What can people recommend?
 
Frodo said:
So far I've overclocked my X800XL from 400GPU/500Mem to 500/580.
Want to replace the stock cooling with something better.
What can people recommend?
Click to expand...

Arctic Cooling ATI Silencer 5.

I had an X850 XT that ran too hot and I swapped for an HIS x1600 XT
that came with the Arctic cooling solution. It made a big difference -
much cooler.

James
 
Just picked up the Arctic Cooling ATI Silencer 5 Rev. 2 a few minutes ago.
$19.99 at a local computer store.
 
That's very much a high-performance cooler, provided you can get it to
coexist with your hard drive cage.

Please post your new clock speeds after the mod. It'll be interesting to see
how much the extra cooling helped.
 
I have the Artic Cooler 5, rev 2 on my XL and makes a heck of a difference.
Was easy to install, about 10 minutes with no problems. Under load does not
go over 50C, running at 424/529, can't go higher without artifacts (on my
system).
 
Zalman GPU Cooler .. Awesome ...
http://techreport.com/reviews/2005q2/zalman-vf700s/index.x?pg=1
Click to expand...
I recently bought a used X850 XT that came with Zalman VGA cooler. It keeps
the card cool OK but could be better. The Zalman does not hook to the speed
controlled fan power plug on the card so temperature controlled fan speed is
not possible. This means the fan is spinning at the same speed idle as in 3D
games making it louder than needed at idle. The second issue is that it does
not expel the hot air out side of the case like the stock fan or the Arctic
Cooler.
 
With stock cooling was able to get 500 GPU & 580 memory.
with ATI Silencer 5 Rev. 2, 525GPU & 600 memory.
The GPU started to fail at around 545MHz, the memory started to get
artifacts around 611MHz

When I removed the stock cooler, it had way to much thermal compound.
Did found out my GPU is the R480
The memory is Samsung, rated for 600MHZ.
Guess that is why my X800XL is such a good overclocker.

If I had know before what I know now about the card.
I might have just kept the stocking cooling, but remove the old thermal
paste and used Arctic Silver 5.
With the ATI Silencer 5, I have to use the thermal pads for the memory.
With the stock cooling, I could have used the Arctic Silver 5 for the
memory.

With the ATI Silencer I can at least use the Arctic Silver 5 for the GPU.
 
Frodo said:
With the ATI Silencer 5, I have to use the thermal pads for the memory.
With the stock cooling, I could have used the Arctic Silver 5 for the
memory.
Click to expand...

I don't think thermal paste will work on the memory. The BGA chips usually
don't end up at the same height after the solder hardens. The flexible
thermal pads are needed to absorb the dimensional tolerances.

In any case, the type of thermal interface material won't make much of a
difference, not when the heat has to go through the plastic chip package
first :-) The memory doesn't have an exposed die, so most of the heat is
actually directed *into* the PCB copper layers.
 
The stock cooling used direct contact between the memory and the heatsink
(with thermal paste)
The Zalman cooling kits come with those little heatsink that stick to the
memory with double side tape.
So next time I might try a Zalman setup.
 
To get a better thermal interface than double-sided tape, and still get
something removable, you are gonna have to mix your own. 50/50 mix of Arctic
Ceramique thermal paste and Ceramique thermal adhesive reportedly works
well.
 
When I removed the stock cooler, it had way to much thermal compound.
Did found out my GPU is the R480
The memory is Samsung, rated for 600MHZ.
Guess that is why my X800XL is such a good overclocker.
Click to expand...
I had occasion ro remove the stock cooler from my X800XT AIW and must
agree. There was more thermal compound than I would have used. It was
well placed and not messy. I replace the compound with some Zalman
grease and found no temp variation.

Sam
 
Frodo said:
So far I've overclocked my X800XL from 400GPU/500Mem to 500/580.
Want to replace the stock cooling with something better.
What can people recommend?
Click to expand...

I just installed a Zalman 700 AL/CU. Temps are now 49C at load, down
from 66~67. Idle temps are ~35, compared to low 40's before. Used
Arctic Silver goop.

Haven't done any OC yet.

One caveat. ATI's stock heatsink goop leaves an oily, (silicone?)
residue on the RAM. You'll need some solvent to clean the memory, else
the 'ramsinks' won't stick well/at all.

-Greg
 
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