3870 replacement

[blargman]

I just bout 4 3870's, and although they are pimp. The fans on them are erm, well ok at best. Rather large, and I can't imagine very efficient. The worst part being I can't fit the 4th card in there without removing the front audio/usb from my MSI k9a2 platinum board.

I'm curious if anyone would suggest an aftermarket cooler for these? Something smaller perhaps. Even fanless? I've got lian-li 2100 case that has a fan blowing on all 4. see pic.

http://www.lian-li.com/product/20070315034037.jpg

Just curious if anyone has any ideas. I'd like my front audio/usb back. And I'm thinking there's gotta be something more efficient out there. I am considering water cooling, but eh I dunno, water cooling all 4 of those cards is gonna be REALLY expensive and well I don't know if I can really fit anything in this case. I'd be happier with a decent air cooler and add a couple internal fans or something. As long as it cools decent enough.

I think i'd get better cooling just by getting a bit more separation between the cards. With all 4 of them in there. They sit RIGHT next to each other. That can't be good.

They are sapphire 3870's.

 

[Down8]

What mobo do you have with 4xPCI-e 16x slots?

The Accelero S1 cool nicely, but are still dual-slot solutions. A 120mm fan blowing onto them would be quite nice though.

 

[Mr. Stryker]

He said a MSI K9A2 Platinum in the fourth sentence.

 

[Dephcon]

the only 4 slot pci-e board that accommodates dual slot cards if I'm not mistaken

 

[Down8]

Ah, missed that.

 

[Zero82z]

You're not going to find any single-slot replacement coolers for that card. The best you can do is a dual-slot cooler that clears the headers you want access to. You could try the Accelero S1, and I think Zalman has a cooler for those cards as well. I don't know if they'll block the headers or not though.

 

[alg7_munif]

How can you get 4 when I can't hardly get 1 of those.Actually the fan on my HD3870 is quite good, at 60% fan speed, it is just as loud as my PS3 during intensive gaming and the load temp never reaches 65C, mind you my 360 is much louder than that. At 30% fan speed, the idle temp never reaches 50C.

 

[Zinn]

the fans on the 3870 are really not so bad at all. they're quiet and they do a good job cooling the card off. my roommate has a 3870 in his new q6600 box and it doesn't heat up much at all with the stock fan.

if you have a dremel handy, you could just cut away the part of the shroud that blocks your front audio / usb headers. i don't think you're going to find an air cooler that will adequately cool the card and not block the headers, although zalman might have something.

 

[blargman]

You're not going to find any single-slot replacement coolers for that card. The best you can do is a dual-slot cooler that clears the headers you want access to. You could try the Accelero S1, and I think Zalman has a cooler for those cards as well. I don't know if they'll block the headers or not though.

That's all i'm really for. Get the shroud up off the board a bit and perhaps add a bit of breathing room between the cards. :s

As for how i got them. umm i dunno i signed up for auto-notify on newegg and bought them when they were available

the default hsf is pretty quiet ya, judging by the design tho, i can't imagine they are meant to be butted up against the back of another card. I haven't tried all 4 yet though. I'm currently only running 2 as there's no point in 4 yet.

 

[alg7_munif]

What? You got 4 but only use two and left the other two just like that? You could at least make another two people happy with a their new HD3870 if they can get a hold of one of those.