How to cool the back of the graphics card?

[Lsux0rz]

Even with a waterblock (maze4 gpu) for my gf4 ti4600, the back of the core is still very hot and I have to place a silent 80mm fan behind it to remove artifacts! How should I cool the back?


ALso, my prime95 fails without a fan around the back of the card so the fan could be cooling something else too...

[Lsux0rz]

This is a pic of my setup http://www.wootitude.com/P10000861.JPG

[Lsux0rz]

can anyone help me?

[j813]

I think someone made a HSF for a TNT w/c he posted at Overclockers.com. Then you convert it to a H2O system.

o but playing w/ Zippos are very dangerous. LOL

While ur @ it, make a NorthBridge back cooler too, not sure if someone tryed it. It definitely wud help if ur running radical FSBs.

[Lsux0rz]

I use zippo to clean hsf and stuff, it removes stuff very well

[starbuck3733t]

That picture is freaking hilarious!

What do you have in your coolant that makes it that lurvlee bloo color?

[Lsux0rz]

It is Supercool by Shell, a ready made antifreeze mixture

[Caeberos]

Pretty much what you already have, and I imagine you were looking for somthing water cooled, but this might help:

http://www.metku.net/index.html?sect...llin/index_eng

[Dieter@be]

just place a heatsink on it, using the same holes as the waterblock, in fact I'ld just remove the springs on the back, put the heatsink on the back and put the springs back on. But use a thin layer of thermal tape to protect from shorting anything
If that's not enough let a fan blow...

just be creative

[redleader]

Originally posted by Dieter@be
just place a heatsink on it, using the same holes as the waterblock, in fact I'ld just remove the springs on the back, put the heatsink on the back and put the springs back on. But use a thin layer of thermal tape to protect from shorting anything
If that's not enough let a fan blow...

just be creative

Those are capacitors and microsolder points on the back. If you clamp something there you'll either short it out and kill it or crush the caps and kill it I think.

[Dieter@be]

That's why I said one needs to be a little creative.
You can mount a big heatsink on without a problem, just make sure you don't short anything (by using some thermal tape like I said). If you will lose pressure because of the solder points, then cut a bit in the thermal tape for the perfect fit.

I'm not gonna write a step-by-step guide here to cool the backside of a card. I'm sure everyone is able to do it, only use your brains and be creative to handle the "problems" you encounter.

[kusojiji]

That's very strange. The waterblock should be providing enough cooling for the gpu. I think your problem is with the memory chips. I noticed that you don't have any heat sinks on them. Try putting some on and see what happens.

Your ddr ram could use some also.

[MMZ_TimeLord]

Kusojiji,

Actually the problem is that in a tower type configuration the AGP card is upside-down compared to PCI and ISA cards. This makes all the heat sinks and fans work AGAINST gravity.

Heat travels up, so it soaks through the GPU and the IC board. It has NOTHING to do with RAM. Most RAM, excluding the GeForce FX cards do not get that hot.

The main problem in this configuration is "Heat Soak" through the card.

There are compounds that will allow a heat sink to be attached without shorting out the surface mount components on the back. You should be able to machine a heatsink to mount to the central area on the back of the GPU without touching the surface mount area. It would be a small contact area, but at least it would take the heat off the card.

My two cents...

[zoson]

The problem lies not with your waterblock, but the amount of pressure applied by your waterblock. I have a ti4600 watercooled as well. The fact became that when I applied the proper amount of force to the block, the PCB would flex, and the core would no longer be flat against the base of the waterblock.
So here's what I did. I took a spring clip from and old 486, and stuck a thick layer of neoprene to the back of the card, and then drilled two holes into the clip matching up to the holes for mounting the block. Then, just mount the clip on the back, so you can control the flex of the card.

The really funny thing is that I spoke over email SEVERAL times with DangerDen on this EXACT problem, yet they paid no heed.
edit:
You can see a prototype of what I'm talking about:
http://pictures.zoson.net/GF4-gclamp-s.jpg
I used two paperclips and twisted them together and into the shape of a spring clip. Worked fairly well too. Just make sure that they don't come to a point behind the core...
-Zoson

[Sandman001]

Just take a peice of metal, put a rubber/foam square on it to match up with the spot directly behind the core, and put your mounting hardware through that.

Like the backplate that came with my slk-900U

[kusojiji]

MMZ_TimeLord,

His problem is not that as his computer is not mounted in anything. Also with water, the heat should be getting removed from the card.

I'm starting to wonder if his cooler is properly seated. Mine doesn't get hot at all and mine is in a tower case.

LsuxOrz,

Have you tried reseating the waterblock? Check the AS3 pattern to see if you get a contact.

[MMZ_TimeLord]

kusojiji,

His problem is not that as his computer is not mounted in anything.

This is a very unclear statement to me... :shrug: I never suggested that his computer wasn't in a case. I said that TOWER cases do NOT permit the AGP cards to properly get rid of heat with stock fan/heatsinks because of their physical orientation.

Also with water, the heat should be getting removed from the card.

Yes, it should be getting removed from the bottom of the card more so than with a fan/heatsink. However, unless your water tempreture is near ambient tempreture, you still have "heat soak" through the board directly opposite of the GPU core.

I'm starting to wonder if his cooler is properly seated.

This is quite possible, mine is only strapped on so I don't expect any high heat removal. That's why I have a small fan on the back of the GPU area. Keeps it near ambient tempreture.

Mine doesn't get hot at all and mine is in a tower case.

Then I suspect your water block is properly mounted and you have a very cool system (near ambient room tempreture) to achieve this. I would suspect that the backside of your GPU area is actually warm, but not hot.

[Dieter@be]

I think its time for the topic-starter to reply to all this

[kusojiji]

I'm sorry, my mistake, but I thought we were talking about LsuxOrz's problem.

From what I see in his picture, that system looks like it should work well enough. I made a mistake the first time I looked at it and thought that the rad had 120 mm fans on it. It looks like 80's now. Am I correct?

It also looks like he's using 3/8 inch hose instead of 1/2 inch. Is this also correct, LsuxOrz?

If so, I'd go 1/2 inch all the way unless that rad can't handle it. I don't know what fittings are on it and don't know what kind of back pressure it has.

But still, with only two waterblocks, it should work well enough. Unless, as you say, MMZ_Timelord, that the space is too warm, then it would have a hard time dissipating the heat.

[guandi]

I had to sort out a massivly overheating Kryo-2 once, and i sorted it quite easily. all you need is a old stock hsf combo from a cpu, 4 big cable ties, (lots of) cheapo *non conductive* thermal paste, some mineral oil and some fine muslin cloth.

(disclaimer : its not my fault if you do this and it blows up, it worked for me and cooled the card by about 10'C (btw.. yes, any warrenty will be void... whats that mean you ask? i dont know. i have never been able to use a warrenty in my life :P .))

first, get your muslin, and fold it into quarters, and cut it to the shape of the bottom of the heatsink, then cut along the folds so you have 4 peices of muslin. mix the thermal paste about 10/1 with thin mineral oil (hydrolic oil for a skip truck is ideal) and then soak the muslin it it, then line up the squares and place them on the heatsink. you need to compress them slightly, put a peice of paper or two on them and then stack about 5-6 floppy disks on top.

while they are setting up, you need to get two big cable ties and find a way to get them around the card so they dont interfere with anything else, but pass either side of the main hotspot on the back of the card (back of gpu usually) about the same width of the heatsink.

now, with the heatsink on the card, so the fins run the other direction to the cable ties, you need to pass each cable tie around the other 2 on the card and either side of one of the fins. do the same the other side, and pull them tight (Not too tight!!!)

now, fire that ghetto monster up and see what happens.

[Lsux0rz]

Originally posted by kusojiji
I'm sorry, my mistake, but I thought we were talking about LsuxOrz's problem.

From what I see in his picture, that system looks like it should work well enough. I made a mistake the first time I looked at it and thought that the rad had 120 mm fans on it. It looks like 80's now. Am I correct?

It also looks like he's using 3/8 inch hose instead of 1/2 inch. Is this also correct, LsuxOrz?

If so, I'd go 1/2 inch all the way unless that rad can't handle it. I don't know what fittings are on it and don't know what kind of back pressure it has.

But still, with only two waterblocks, it should work well enough. Unless, as you say, MMZ_Timelord, that the space is too warm, then it would have a hard time dissipating the heat.

its 120mm fans on a thermochill 120.3
1/2 inch all the way

anyway, i just stuck a fan onto the back of the card, cooling both the back of the car and the nb and mosfets now

[Goksly]

Originally posted by MMZ_TimeLord
Most RAM, excluding the GeForce FX cards do not get that hot.

Joking yes? BGA ram on the radeons gets VERY hot. During a game, i can only touch my ramsinks for a few seconds cos it burns my finger.
Also you have to remember there are 8 of them (on my car at least, not sure about the ti's) - so its 8 heatsources on the card....they will make the whole card hot.

[kusojiji]

No kidding?? Wow, I need new glasses or start wearing some!!

In that case, I'd definitely look into reseating the waterblock and getting some ramsinks.

The neat thing about ramsinks is that they also fit on mosfets.

[MMZ_TimeLord]

Goksly, my bad... I have no experience with the newest Radeons... my Radeon is the older original (i.e.- no number, just the name Radeon). I guess the FXs and the Radeons both have hot running RAM then...

[Goksly]

yep - seems to be the price of performance...
i didnt realise, but as soon as i started to use AA/AF...they go mental - tis like central heating for my pc