Aftermarket Video Card Coolers Why Bother?

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DasFox

Limp Gawd
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My question and thoughts are geared at the high-end market of cards that come with lifetime warranties.


Of course a card with a one year warranty I can see the point, cards with these lifetime warranties I don't really see anything especially if companies are saying the cards performance is going to be just fine.

Many people I see that are buying higher end vid cards that even carry a lifetime warranty are still buying aftermarket coolers like Zalmans and Artic cooling.

According to Evga they're telling me temps on cards with stock coolers are fine.

Ok so they'll be fine, then why are people wasting their money buying after market coolers if they're going to be fine, run fine etc...?

We all know heat robs performance, and Evga is telling me anything under 90c is ok, then what is Evga saying here, that from either the 60s, 70s, or 80s there is not going to be any difference in performance? Any of those temps, card performance will be the same all the way across the board, and if so, then getting back to my original question, then why are people wasting money here on aftermarket coolers?

It makes no sense...

ALOHA

P.S. I forgot to address these issues as why most people will use them then:

Overclocking
Quieter fans

Anything else?
 
LOL, I was talking the mod/cool factor, I'm trying to be more realistic here to this approach, rather then something like this.

I have a very cool box, but even with it's nice clear laser etched panel of the Nvidia logo, you're hardly going to see these fans in the case in a SLI configuration, if at all, so from a standpoint of mod for me it would be a waste of money.

I personally don't find cool, or kick ass throwing away money, and I don't know to many PC geeks that like just throwing their money away either.

That notion only flys so far. ;)

But my post was more about performance, life span, etc...

Not coolness ;)

ALOHA
 
I have to agree.

I had a Thermalright cooler on my 9800pro, and I honestly noticed no difference, at all, from a performance standpoint. But it looked really cool. :D

Oh, and also, because people buy them....

EDIT... you snuck your post in while I was typing. As for lifespan, I do partially suspect that cooler as being ultimately responsible for the death of my card, as my wife still has her 9800, and we got them at the same time, use our machines roughly the same etc. She still has the stock cooler on her card.... Who knows.
 
Well I edited the post:

I personally don't find cool, or kick ass throwing away money, and I don't know to many PC geeks that like just throwing their money away either.


ALOHA
 
Ahh I didn't take this into account either;

Users get aftermarket coolers are overclocking, or silence.
 
keeping it cooler lets you overclock your card more. ;)

also, it's a good way to heat a room up for those who can't afford heat :p
 
Least said:
keeping it cooler lets you overclock your card more. ;)

also, it's a good way to heat a room up for those who can't afford heat :p


Oh yeah that's right CHEAP room heaters, LOL ;)

ALOHA
 
DasFox said:
I personally don't find cool, or kick ass throwing away money, and I don't know to many PC geeks that like just throwing their money away either.
Would you like some ketchup to go with your foot? Or is everything in the computer in your sig necessary? Those blue keyboard lights sure are pretty.
 
BarneyGumble said:
Would you like some ketchup to go with your foot? Or is everything in the computer in your sig necessary? Those blue keyboard lights sure are pretty.

I bought the keyboard not to be cool all though I think it does have a coolness to it, I needed something to game at night with and that was the REAL purpose here, not coolness.

It was the only decent keyboard I know of for the price and lighting that can't be beat.

I don't have anything in my box modded to any extreme, all normal parts, that just came stock with a mod look to them.

Would you like some ketchup on your arse so your foot can go up?

LMAO, j/k ;)

And what do you mean is everything in the computer in your sig necessary?

ALOHA
 
DasFox said:
I bought the keyboard not to be cool all though I think it does have a coolness to it, I needed something to game at night with and that was the REAL purpose here, not coolness.

It was the only decent keyboard I know of for the price and lighting that can't be beat.

I don't have anything in my box modded to any extreme, all normal parts, that just came stock with a mod look to them.

Would you like some ketchup on your arse so your foot can go up?

LMAO, j/k ;)

And what do you mean is everything in the computer in your sig necessary?

ALOHA

He's talking about the saitek keyboard.
 
I know he's talking about the keyboard, but what I didn't get was the reply afterwards about everything in the computer in the sig necessary.

Ok my bad, yes everything in my box is stock there is no overkill, or added in mods. ;)

ALOHA
 
reducing temps on video card may not directly affect performance, but it keeps the temps inside your case lower which in turn keeps all of your other components a little cooler. 1c shaved off the gpu affects more than just one component inside the pc, since they all share the same air inside the case.
 
hofan41 said:
reducing temps on video card may not directly affect performance, but it keeps the temps inside your case lower which in turn keeps all of your other components a little cooler. 1c shaved off the gpu affects more than just one component inside the pc, since they all share the same air inside the case.

Yes of course, so that is why I'm just planning on getting a little tornado fan and have it blow into the case and cool it even more, now that's what I call an easy cooling solution, then who needs case fans, after that, LOL ;)

Actually this is what I've always done in the past rather then ripping cards apart and putting on aftermarket coolers or buying more case fans, I'd just take the side cover off and put a fan in the floor. It's never failed me, and I guess it's what I'm going to do again.

For the cost and ease of cooling you can't beat it! :)

ALOHA
 
DasFox said:
I know he's talking about the keyboard, but what I didn't get was the reply afterwards about everything in the computer in the sig necessary.

Ok my bad, yes everything in my box is stock there is no overkill, or added in mods. ;)

ALOHA
Please stop signing your posts, it's extremely annoying, and is now against the rules.

I use aftermarket coolers because my cards are cooler, quieter, oc'ed more, and most importantly of all- evga said I could. :D
 
I like aftermarket coolers because they're quieter. The ATI Silencer 5 that I have on my X850XT is like 10 times quieter than the stock one.
 
DasFox said:
Aftermarket Video Card Coolers Why Bother?

Because sometimes listening to the teeny fan on my 6600GT while it hits 80C during a game, gets someone annoying. I havent bought an aftermarket heatsink, because im cheap... but the stock heatsink on this thing, its smaller than what I have on my amd K6 and makes more noise. If I wanted to overclock with this stock heatsink/fan, id better shove my PC out my window, since its getting down to 10-15F outside. I also dont like this :
wafflemaster.JPG


The thing doesnt throttle itself till its damn near 300F, even if it doesnt break at that temp... I dont like the idea of being at bacon-frying temperature. The highest ive seen is 85 when I alt-tab out of older games, I dare not think what it would see during something new and demanding.

85C=185F. Awesome stock cooler for the win.
 
I installed a cooler on my 7800 gtx because it looks cool.granted I will gain performance out of it because it will run cooler but for the most part,because it looks cool.
 
MatDef said:
Please stop signing your posts, it's extremely annoying, and is now against the rules.

I use aftermarket coolers because my cards are cooler, quieter, oc'ed more, and most importantly of all- evga said I could. :D

Excuse me, are you talking to me about my signing? I'm sorry if having courtesy is annoying.

-------> GROW UP! ;)

You certainly know nothing about Hawaiian life and now you're telling me not to show my respect to others here in the forum, I don't think so. I've never known of being disrespectful the proper thing to do in a forum.

So why don't you go learn what ALOHA means, and then come back and show me some respect as I've shown you otherwise don't bother with the flames.

Are you also going to tell me that the nice Hawaiian way of life is annoying too?

My Alohas are my THANKS to people for replying and thanking them, now you are telling me not to thank people, sorry I thank people each and everyone time they reply.

ALOHA :)
 
because of this reason

Zalman VF700-AlCu low 32.6 dB Quiet
Zalman VF700-AlCu LED low 32.9 dB
Zalman VF900-Cu low 33.5 dB
Zalman VF900-Cu high 42.0 dB
Zalman VF700-AlCu high 43.1 dB
Zalman VF700-AlCu LED high 43.3 dB
Albatron Stock FX5900 Heatsink 48.0 dB Loud

and this

Zalman VF900-Cu high 3.8 12.0 42.0
Zalman VF900-Cu low 8.6 15.2 33.5
Zalman VF700-AlCu high 6.4 15.5 43.1
Zalman VF700-AlCu LED high 8.9 15.8 43.3
Zalman VF700-AlCu LED low 11.9 20.5 32.9
Zalman VF700-AlCu low 10.8 21.3 32.6
Albatron Stock FX5900 GPU HSF 13.6 25.7 48.0

(it explains it all)
first off, about 30-40% decrease in noise in temp, and with the newer, whinnier, 6600/7600/7900 series cards, its even a bigger bonus, alby not as much of a temp drop
 
coolxboxgamer said:
because of this reason

Zalman VF700-AlCu low 32.6 dB Quiet
Zalman VF700-AlCu LED low 32.9 dB
Zalman VF900-Cu low 33.5 dB
Zalman VF900-Cu high 42.0 dB
Zalman VF700-AlCu high 43.1 dB
Zalman VF700-AlCu LED high 43.3 dB
Albatron Stock FX5900 Heatsink 48.0 dB Loud

and this

Zalman VF900-Cu high 3.8 12.0 42.0
Zalman VF900-Cu low 8.6 15.2 33.5
Zalman VF700-AlCu high 6.4 15.5 43.1
Zalman VF700-AlCu LED high 8.9 15.8 43.3
Zalman VF700-AlCu LED low 11.9 20.5 32.9
Zalman VF700-AlCu low 10.8 21.3 32.6
Albatron Stock FX5900 GPU HSF 13.6 25.7 48.0

(it explains it all)
first off, about 30-40% decrease in noise in temp, and with the newer, whinnier, 6600/7600/7900 series cards, its even a bigger bonus, alby not as much of a temp drop


Well you are correct about one thing the 7900 cards spin up, and get a bit noisy, but I play with headphones on, so I don't ever hear them.

ALOHA
 
DasFox said:
P.S. I forgot to address these issues as why most people will use them then:

Overclocking
Quieter fans

lol...you forgot to address the point of the damn things.

You can add overvolting to that list as well. I think all three of those are more than reason enough to be interested in an aftermarket cooling setup.

The same reasons apply to aftermarket CPU coolers.
 
MatDef said:
Please stop signing your posts, it's extremely annoying, and is now against the rules.

LOL, I never knew that was a rule, but yeah, it's annoying.

(25) You are allowed one signature per post. A signature section is supplied for that usage. No one wants to see your name on your posts multiple times as it is annoying.
 
Oh we're suppose to UNCHECK our SIG each time?

Boy this has to the pickiest forum I've ever been on, LOL.

ALOHA
 
DasFox said:
Oh we're suppose to UNCHECK our SIG each time?

Boy this has to the pickiest forum I've ever been on, LOL.

ALOHA

If you don't like the forum, don't post here. Follow the rules. You have a signature section of your posts for this very reason.
 
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