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Simple, quiet GPU configuration

TeeJayHoward

TeeJayHoward

Limpness Supreme
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Feb 8, 2005
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I'm not looking to over clock. I just want my XFX 6970 to run cool and quiet. Right now, I'm at 100% fan speed, 100% usage, and 75*C. It idles at 50% fan speed, 0% usage, and 62*C. Without MSI Afterburner running, it tries to cook itself, artifacting at 95*C, and crashing shortly after. Even in a "quiet" case, this thing is loud. What would it cost to get a small, simple, just-the-GPU water cooling setup? I was debating just strapping an H60 to the card, but I am not sure it could handle the heat output, and I'd have to find a way to actively cool the memory too...
 
Why not just use an after market air cooler?

If you really want to do water cooling, though, you could probably put together a simple loop for $200-$250. If you looked for used parts, you could of course save some money that way.

I know I have seen threads wherein people have somehow modded an H50-esque cooler to a GPU. You could most likely just find something through Google.
 
Cruiza said:
Why not just use an after market air cooler?
Click to expand...
It has crossed my mind, but does an aftermarket air cooler exist that is as quiet as a watercooling setup?
edit: I went looking... I wonder if the Shaman can fit in my Fractal Design Define Mini R2?
 
TeeJayHoward said:
Even in a "quiet" case, this thing is loud.
Click to expand...

Are you sure you have enough airflow? Quiet cases are often oriented toward midrange gaming, and their low-speed fans are no match for a high-powered card like the 6970. If the video card can't get enough cool air it's going to run at max fan speed and overheat.

What case do you have, how many fans at front/rear, and what are the RPMs?
 
There is no aftermarket air cooling solution that can match a proper watercooling solution. However, for a proper watercooling solution, you're looking to spend at least $200-300, whereas with air (like the arctic accelero series), it would cost less than $100. Not to mention proper watercooling requires much more maintenance.
 
Which ever way that you go is going to depend on the type of 6970 that you have. Is it a reference design or not?

I have a 6950. I had originally wanted to use my Arctic Cooling Accelero S1 Rev.2 cooler on it. This doesn't work on the reference design because the plate for the stock cooler also cools the voltage regulators, ect. I had instability problems with the card and found that the factory applied TIM pad was folded on the core. Long story short, it got RMA'd and I was sent a non-reference design. This new card had a separate cooler for the voltage regulators. With a little fiddling my Accelero fit just fine. The card idles at 35c and maxes out at 55c during testing. During gaming it doesn't go above 49c.

I wouldn't go wasting money on a water setup just for a video card. There are air cooling options out there that are far cheaper & require less maintenance.
 
defaultluser said:
What case do you have, how many fans at front/rear, and what are the RPMs?
Click to expand...
Fractal Design Define Mini R2
3 120mm fans (came with the case) - Two front, one back. Hell if I know their speed. Faster than the 700RPM "quiet" fans, slower than the 5KRPM Deltas in my Supermicro case.

I spent a long time reading up on reference designs last night. Looks to me like AMD changed their reference a few months after they released the 69x0 series cards, and all the manufacturers updated accordingly? My card is a revision 1.2 of the XFX card, which, if I were using an EK waterblock, would be a V2 block, from what I read.

It doesn't look like the Thermalright Shaman is available anymore. If I were to go with air over water, how loud would the Arctic Cooling Accelero Xtreme PLUS II be? I'm fine with the card sitting at 80*C, I just want the damned thing to be under 30dB when it's doing it.
 
There is a second 6970 revision, which slightly changed the VRM layout on 6970s, enough to make it incompatible. The first 6970s and the 6950s reference used the same layout.

Air vs water noise is extremely hard to compare, but water will almost be definitely lower. This is because you can attach an infinite number of radiators to improve cooling at lower noise levels. However, the accelero extreme would probably be adequate for you, at less than half the cost.

The fans you have in your case are 1200 RPM. 3 fans is enough for basic airflow, but not enough for good airflow. You have room for 6 fans. I would put 3 additional fans in before doing anything else. You can get same speed fans, but make sure to get good quality ones, not the cheap sleeve fans. Gentle Typhoons are my recommendation.
 
You learn something new everyday. Thanks for the heads up Tsumi.

Tsumi's right about the case fans. I always fill cases with all the fans that they can hold, except for my HTPC's. That doesn't mean that they have to be loud though.
 
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