Passive video card cooling?

[ShadowDJ]

What would be enough to cool a GeForce 2 GTS?
I'm looking to make my PC a lot quieter. Is there a way to attatch a CPU hs to the card?
Looking for suggestions.

 

[Brian48]

Sure, just mount the heatsink using some sort of thermal epoxy or adhesive. I recommend the adhesives over thermal tape as it they are more effective and has a more secure hold. The only advantage of using tape is that it's a non-permanant solution. Did this with my old Prophet DDR some years ago with thermal epoxy from CircuitWorks and an old P200MMX heatsink.

 

[Brian48]

I have a pic of it here: http://users.rcn.com/chinmonster

 

[Phunktion]

I believe the term passive cooling denotes cooling using no fan.. active cooling is with a fan..

If you want passive video card cooling.. this will work beautifully with no fan..

If you want active do something like Brian48 suggested..

 

[ShadowDJ]

Thanks Phunktion, I was looking for a no-fan system for my video card.
But the fan system does look interesting. Thanks for the advice. What would the cooling be like with that passive set? I would only be worried that you couldn't take it off. Keep 'em coming guys.

 

[DrVos]

WOW. This is exactly the topic I have been looking for. I love these forums!
I too have a Geforce 2 GTS that I'm trying to quiet. I need to come up with something quick too, because my fan is dying on me. I'd ideally prefer a passive cooling solution, but am concerned about getting enough heat dissipation. I'm looking at the vantec chispet cooler from newegg right now, I'm hoping that it will be quiet enough to make do. The cooler should arrive tonight, I''ll post with the results.

 

[chiggachu]

DrVos>>> I was looking for a thread like this too! My GTS fan is whining like a baby, and I just want to kill it sometimes. If anyone finds something like the Zalman or even cheaper than post it!!

 

[DrVos]

HUM

Well I installed the Vantec chipset fan this evening and I was really happy because the card was so quiet...until I started getting random lockups....
BAH! Well back to square one. Im really considering that huge heatsink, but I'm not sure if I will have the same heat dissipation issues. Oh I tried out the BLORB, a bit too loud for my taste. Anyone have any other ideas?

Dr. Vos

 

[DrVos]

The problem doesnt seem to be the videocard. I took it out and I am still having problems. Seems to be the dreaded Nvidia/XP "infinite loop" error. Im gonna have to figure that one out before i fiddle with quieting the videocard anymore..... *sigh*

 

[keyeye]

Stuck this heatsink on a GTS-V with artic alumina adhesive (6.50 shipped at SVC). Get's pretty warm, but no crashes.
The stock fan was way to loud. I tried an undervolted crystal orb (fan mate 1) but it was still too loud. Does take up 2 PCI slots though.

http://www.allelectronics.com/cgi-bin/category.cgi?category=270&item=HS-70&type=store
$6 S/H min I think. They do have panaflo 80 mm L1As for 4.50 (not too bad).

 

[Zap]

I've done the same thing as keyeye (same heatsink from All Electronics with Arctic Alumina adhesive) on my eVGA Geforce2 GTS 64MB. It's clocked at the default 200/333. No RAMsinks, no fan, just the large heatsink blocking the AMR slot and the first PCI slot. The heatsink fit without touching anything it shouldn't. Though it is huge, the fin density is on the light side, but I haven't had any problems. Besides the power supply and CPU fans, the only other fan inside my case is an 80mm Enermax speed-adjustable (set somewhere in the middle).

 

[lordbob99]

<< The problem doesnt seem to be the videocard. I took it out and I am still having problems. Seems to be the dreaded Nvidia/XP "infinite loop" error. Im gonna have to figure that one out before i fiddle with quieting the videocard anymore..... *sigh* >>



hey dr. vos,

if ur having the infinite loop error, first make sure u got the latest drivers from nvidia. if u still have the problems, try downloading and installing nvmax. in it there's an checkbox that supposedly deals with it... i never personally had an infinite loop problem, but this solution mite work for u.

good luck!

lordbob99

 

[Jhhnn]

Although I haven't personally tried one, this will probably do the job very well while sacrificing only 1 pci slot. Really big, so make sure it will fit your card before you buy.... not cheap, either....

Zalman ZM17-cu

 

[GryphonsClaw]

I would use an artic silver adhesive or an arctic alumina adhesive to attach a heatsink to your card... have sold these on our site and they work the best.

 

[DrVos]

Hi thanks for the tip. It seems that it was my new power supply that was giving me grief. My 350w Enermax PSU seems to be giving just enough power because when I only really started having issues after I installed a new Antec 330 power supply (much quieter). The Antec is nice, but I may have to invest in a 430w or so....

Anyway, back to the card....
I installed the vantec chipset fan on the card and found it to be about half as loud as the stock cooler used be before it started dying on me. It works fine though I can still hear the fan with the case open.

 

[HarryBeanbag]

I noticed many people were recomending the Zalman heat sinks, and I would agree but DO NOT use the epoxy that comes with it. I put this epoxy on my northbridge, gpu and ramchips, THEY ALL FELL OFF IN 2 WEEKS.

Note: Yes, I have used various epoxies before.

 

[DrVos]

Harry,

Would you recommend artic silver's epoxy, have you had much experience with it?

 

[DrVos]

As a side note, ANY heatsink or HSF would be an improvment over the stock HSF combo that comes with most vid cards. After I took off my Geforce2 GTS's HSF, I took it apart to examine it. It was a puny little fan on what I wouldnt even consider to be heatsink.... more of a metal plate with itty bitty 2mm high fins.

 

[HarryBeanbag]

DrVos

I now use Arctic Alumina epoxy, the non-conductive cousin of Arctic silver, it has been working just fine for 2 months now.

 

[Salvador]

Would this large HS be adequate for a GF3 Ti200 card? I'm not crazy about the idea of removing the old adhesive with carb cleaner. Anyone got any other solutions?

Sal

 

[DrVos]

I dont know if the same for you, but I found that no adhesive was left on my chip after I popped the HSF off. Whatever is left over on yours is nothing a little razor and nail polish remover couldnt probably take care of.

 

[DrVos]

The Vantec chipset fan is pretty good.... but still too much noise for my taste
I think I will invest in one of those big fat heatsinks... I'll keep ya'll posted

Edited for stoopid spelling

 

[Electro]

A few days ago I came across a site with massive heatsinks for GPU and CPU. Have a look at http://www.zalman.co.kr/english/intro.htm. I haven't yet found a store in the USA that sales Zalman products.

 

[Jhhnn]

Electro- not to be rude or put too fine a point on it, but read the whole thread before you post. There are 2 links to Zalman vendors in this one, and you're just a few clicks away from more.... Google "Zalman USA".... a few clicks later, you'll be here-

Sharka, Zalman USA Distributor

 

[Electro]

Jhhnn, no you were not rude. You are just helping. I forgot to use find text feature in my web browser. Thanks for the link. Now I can stop searching.

ShadowDJ, you can buy the Ion Generator at Ramsley Electronics. This will move and clean the air like the unit on TV. However, I don't know what ozone (O3) does to electronics. The up side is no more dust in the computer.