Which cooler for a modded 6950?

[swaaye]

It's a shame your card doesn't show VRM temps, as that seems to be the most problematic part of the card to keep cool. The GPU temps seem OK, but without testing with the card overclocked and Powertuned, it's impossible to know whether the cooler is up to the task.

I'll certainly not try the S1 on my 6950 though!

I was mistaken about the VRM temp. It looks like the current version of GPU-Z reports it. It wasn't there with older versions. So there are 3 GPU die sensors and 1 VRM sensor. Anyway it looks like my lopped off baseplate keeps the VRMs quite cool even in Furmark. I saw upper 60s temps.

There is no doubt that the TRad2 is much more capable than the S1. With the two included fans at only 7v (maybe 1000RPM) it blows away every S1 configuration I tried. An overclocked 6970 would almost certainly need the fans at 12v though because I think that may be a ~50W power increase. I do like how the TRad2 is slimmer than the S1 and yet outperforms it! But it does cost $20 more and is getting hard to find. BTW, not all of them come with the Thermalright fans.

[doveman]

Well VRM temps in the 60s sound fine, so your hack is obviously working quite well. I'm not sure I'd be too keen on having to hack up the stock cooler myself though, and as you say the Trad2 is rather hard to find anywhere anyway.

[Ryan Norton]

@swaaye:

Is that an original Accelero S1 or a Rev. 2? I'm planning on a cheap 6950 at stock clocks and I've been using my S1 on video cards for 4-5 years now.

Just to make sure I'm reading your posts right, an Accelero S1 with a capable 120mm fan (like the Yate Loon D12SL-12 softmounted to my S1 now) can cool a 6950 for general 3D gaming? But not in folding or anything that stresses the card 100% for extended time?

Thanks!

[swaaye]

Well VRM temps in the 60s sound fine, so your hack is obviously working quite well. I'm not sure I'd be too keen on having to hack up the stock cooler myself though, and as you say the Trad2 is rather hard to find anywhere anyway.

I just don't like taped on VRM heatsinks so that was my main motivation with using part of the plate. Also, thermal epoxy is permanent so attaching sinks that way isn't any better than just modifying the free stock plate.

[swaaye]

Is that an original Accelero S1 or a Rev. 2? I'm planning on a cheap 6950 at stock clocks and I've been using my S1 on video cards for 4-5 years now.

Just to make sure I'm reading your posts right, an Accelero S1 with a capable 120mm fan (like the Yate Loon D12SL-12 softmounted to my S1 now) can cool a 6950 for general 3D gaming? But not in folding or anything that stresses the card 100% for extended time?

I tried two different Accelero S1 Rev 2 coolers. I have used S1 coolers passively on a few lower power cards and they are wonderful that way indeed. I gave away a 3850 with an S1 R1 and it's still in use today. I'm not sure if a Rev 1 will fit with its single set of screw holes. Better research that.

I tried 1x120, 2x92 and 1x120+1x80. All three configs performed similarly. In games it was able to keep my 6950 quite cool with stock clocks. I think it would probably be fine for games but yes don't let it run anything like Furmark unattended. The card should shut itself down if it reaches an overheating temp though, which is up around 110-120C.

[doveman]

I just don't like taped on VRM heatsinks so that was my main motivation with using part of the plate. Also, thermal epoxy is permanent so attaching sinks that way isn't any better than just modifying the free stock plate.

Actually I've just realised that the VRM temps zyrobs and m1st reported were for an unlocked, overclocked (and in some cases powertuned) 6950, whereas your temps were with an unlocked, but stock-clocked, 6950 (if I understood you correctly).

So I guess I can't really conclude that the stock cooler does a better job than the other solutions, as the testing circumstances were quite different.

[SecretFire]

Just installed a GELID icy vision on my powercolor 9650 1GB. I tried to unlock the shaders but it looks like it didn't work for some reason, even though I think the card might be reference since it has a dual bios switch. The cooler was non-reference, though, and although it looked pretty large, the performance sucked. Noticeably loud even at idle, an quite loud under higher loads. At 35% fan speed, which was actually decently loud, the core still got to around 85C under load.

Since the powercolor had a non-refernce cooler, it had it's own separate VRM heatsink, so the GELID worked without any modification. I plugged it into a motherboard fan header to provide speed control since the card doesn't have a 4-pin slot for the fan.

At full speed (2000rpm) the fans are definitely not silent, but I turned them down to 50% power with the speedfan (1400rpm) and I have to say that they're quite quiet, below the noise floor of my apartment most of the time. Cooling performance at 1400rpm is outstanding: Overclocked to 850MHz, load temperatures are about 60C. Overall this cooler seems to be working great.

[zyrobs]

Actually I've just realised that the VRM temps zyrobs and m1st reported were for an unlocked, overclocked (and in some cases powertuned) 6950,

Correct. The tests I did were pretty extreme scenarios: shader unlock, increased voltage, overclocking, and complete absence of Powertune (making the card ran maxed out regardless of load). And I used an OpenCL app to max out shaders, which puts near-furmark level load on the card.

Anyway, some update. With the above settings, a scythe setsugen 2 with the stock fan changed to a Thermalright tt-1225 running at full 12v, I get:
- 71-72c on stock speeds (unlocked shaders)
- 80-81c with the card bumped to 1,175v 900mhz (unlocked shaders). This is slightly above a stock 6970 (which is 880mnz). Here, the VRM is around 91-92c.
- Same speeds but with 1,2v: 84-85c. VRM: 95-96c.

On the stock cooler the card was not stable at 1,175v 900mhz, but I assume that was because of the near 90c temps because right now I had not experienced any ill effects for days, running at 1,175. I may try bumping the speeds higher.
Running the fan at 7v is near-completely silent, but gives around 90c temps, so I'll bear with the noise instead. It's still vastly better than the stock cooler, and if I use a short-plug sata cable, I can still reach the blocked sata port between the edge of the fan.

A Scythe Setsugen 2 can handle a non-unlocked, non-overclocked 6950 in normal game load. If you exchange the weakling slim profile fan, the cooler takes 2,5 slots but it can either get you total silence, or adequate cooling power for an unlocked, slightly overclocked 6950. For extreme overclocking (above 1,2v), you need a heavier duty cooler, however.

[doveman]

@SecretFire, thanks for the post. Whilst probably not that relevant to me as I have a different stock cooler, it's all good info and might help someone else with the same card/stock cooler as yourself. Did you happen to measure the VRM temps at all?

I might be betraying my ignorance here, but why do your 2000RPM fans spin at 1400RPM at 50% (shouldn't they spin at 1000RPM?).

@zyrobs, thanks for the extra info. I think I'd be happy with both your GPU and VRM temps with an unlocked, overclocked 6950 and the setsugen 2 with Thermalright tt-1225 fan. I'm not sure I'd be satisfied with the noise level at 12v though, so I should probably keep looking for my ideal cooler.

[zyrobs]

The only reason I'm not satisfied is because the Setsugen 2 cost quite a lot, for the same price I could've bought something else like the Accelero Xtreme, which would've had a better chance at keeping temps low on smaller airflow.

[alecmg]

I'll certainly not try the S1 on my 6950 though!

S1 with 1 120mm fan works for me on 6950. Shaders unlocked, but I didn't touch clocks or voltages

[zyrobs]

Oh, and another test: typical gaming load on my setup doesn't even break 60c (with shader unlock and 6970 speeds/voltage). If I don't overvolt the card and run it at the normal 840mhz max (normal overclock via CCC), running the fan at 7v may just be enough.

Well, I suspect I'll only be leaving the Setsugen 2 on this card until I buy one of the upcoming Radeon 7xxx cards, provided the perform as admirable as the leaked stats seem to suggest. At 28nm they should be running as cool as the 5850 did.

[doveman]

OK, it's my birthday coming up so I might ask for a cooler as a present

Currently it seems as if my best bet would be the Accelero Xtreme Plus. It seems I have to order the VR001 heatsink pack separately http://www.arctic.ac/en/p/cooling/acces ... vr001.html, as apparently the adhesive has a short shelf life http://www.quietpc.com/gb-en-gbp/produc ... treme-plus

I don't know if I can use the stock VRM cooler/backplate with my card, but if so would I still need the VR001? The only other question is whether it would block my SATA ports.

The alternative option seems to be the Gelid Rev. 2 ICY VISION, with enhancement kit http://www.gelidsolutions.com/products/ ... d=13&id=62, which works out about £7 cheaper overall and I imagine would be less likely to block my SATA ports, being a smaller, two fan, design.

[magu2k]

Here's my short review of the Gelid Icy Vision 2.
It's louder than the stock (HIS 6950 1gb) cooler at idle and continues to be until the stock hits about 50% or so. So gotta put up with that noise all the time right now.

The instructions are crap.

I got gipped on the spring loaded bolts/screws. so right now there are no springs just using the *F* nuts like it says in the instructions, oddly, the instructions mention nothing about spring loaded screws for that part.

They really cheaped out on the fans with no PWM, I can not wrap my head around the stupidity of that move. Or maybe it's just me.

On the plus side though, my card doesn't get over 50c right now at load, but haven't done much with it yet.

I do not highly recommend this cooler right now. so I am looking to come up with a solution like an inline resistor, or some way to control the fan.

So, that said, anyone have suggestions for slowing this sucker done? what sort of resistor would be good for the job? or what fans would be an easy install?

Thinking of it, I have 2 antec 120's (the p183 stock fans) that have never been used.. hmmmmmm

[doveman]

Thanks for the warning. Looks like it's the Accelero Xtreme Plus for me then!

[doveman]

@magu2k,

If you look up a few posts, you'll see that SecretFire plugged the fan into a motherboard header and used Speedfan to slow the fans down to 50%. Alternatively, perhaps you could use one of the Zalman in-line resistors (RC100 5v or RC56 7v).

Personally, I want a cooler that uses PWM fans that I can just plug into my graphics card, so that it can take care of speeding them up if necessary, which is why I won't be getting the Gelid.

Hmm, now I'm a bit worried the Accelero Xtreme Plus is going to block too many of my SATA ports on my Biostar TA790GXBE http://www.biostar.com.tw/app/en/mb/int ... p?S_ID=419

As it is the card, which according to the website is 38mm deep http://www.powercolor.com/global/produc ... cification already blocks two of the six SATA ports, so I'm worried that the 56mm deep Xtreme Plus will block another two, only leaving two usable, which will be unacceptable as I'm using three of them.

[doveman]

It's looking like the Shaman might be the only choice for me, as it wouldn't block my SATA ports, but their website says it use 4 PCI slots (68mm). Is this including the card itself, meaning that with the Shaman my card would use 2 more slots than it is at the moment?

[Tzupy]

The Shaman has a height of ~38 mm from the GPU to the end of the fins (a few heatpipes go higher than the fins).
Add to that the 26 mm thick fan and about 4mm PCB + GPU height and reach the 68 mm, so it uses 4 PCI slots.
BTW, I decided to save the Shaman for a future 28 nm GPU and ordered the passive 6850 SCS3 (instead of a 6950).

[doveman]

Thanks, that's OK then as it will still leave me two PCI slots and I'm only using one at the moment.

I just have to work out how to cool the VRM now

Regarding your Shaman, don't you think it will be overkill for a 28 nm GPU, considering they're supposed to use less power and generate less heat?

[Tzupy]

I hope that a 28 nm GPU that should be available within 6 months will offer ~50% better performance than a 6950,
within the same power envelope. I was almost going to get the MSI 6950 Twin Frozr III and put the Shaman on it,
but the 6850 SCS3 became available, and I wanted it badly, out of intellectual curiosity / hoarding habits.
What I am worried about with the Shaman is the weight, the MSI has a front plate that helps cool the memory and VRMs,
and also rigidizes the card, but it may interfere with the mounting of the Shaman, so I was in doubt.
To mitigate the Shaman weight issue, it would be nice to use some fan-mounting device that would take 170 grams
off the weight that hangs from the PCB. Would still remain 510 grams, but that wouldn't be so worrisome.

[doveman]

Hmm, I wonder if, instead of mounting the fan to the Shaman, we could find some way of attaching it to a PCI bracket and installing it in the slot directly beneath the heatsink. Then the fan wouldn't be attached to the heatsink/card, which would reduce the weight and also isolate any vibrations, which might possibly be beneficial for the card.

Zalman do this fan bracket, but it's the wrong orientation to blow onto the Shaman heatsink:
http://www.quietpc.com/gb-en-gbp/produc ... s/br123ff1

[magu2k]

@magu2k,

If you look up a few posts, you'll see that SecretFire plugged the fan into a motherboard header and used Speedfan to slow the fans down to 50%. Alternatively, perhaps you could use one of the Zalman in-line resistors (RC100 5v or RC56 7v).

Personally, I want a cooler that uses PWM fans that I can just plug into my graphics card, so that it can take care of speeding them up if necessary, which is why I won't be getting the Gelid.

Hmm, now I'm a bit worried the Accelero Xtreme Plus is going to block too many of my SATA ports on my Biostar TA790GXBE http://www.biostar.com.tw/app/en/mb/int ... p?S_ID=419

As it is the card, which according to the website is 38mm deep http://www.powercolor.com/global/produc ... cification already blocks two of the six SATA ports, so I'm worried that the 56mm deep Xtreme Plus will block another two, only leaving two usable, which will be unacceptable as I'm using three of them.

Yeah problem I had is only mobo fan connector I had left is not controllable(for PSU fan), but I used the 7v power trick just today and so far it's working very well. I was considering getting an inline resistor but would jsut as soon do it myself if I had an idea what range of resistance is needed, but the 7v setup seems to be doing well so far.

Regarding your motherboard, can't you just use angled SATA connectors at the motherboard end? It is what I had to do with mine and they are cleared by at least a cm or 2.

Also, I have one last question, can anyone who has a Icy vision REV 2 confirm if it has screws with springs on them for mounting the HSF to the video card? Mine didn't come with any as mentioned above. It seems a really bad idea to mount it without springs to me. Also, how is the installation different if springs are used compared to what seems to be in the instructions (Nothing in instructions about spring screws) my contact so far with gelid basically says that the screws for Icy vision 2 are different than Icy vision 1, which in reviews shows spring screws.

[doveman]

Regarding your motherboard, can't you just use angled SATA connectors at the motherboard end? It is what I had to do with mine and they are cleared by at least a cm or 2.

I don't think so. The only angled SATA connectors I've seen either angle up or down, which just blocks the adjacent SATA port. I guess I'd still be able to use three of the six ports that way, providing the angled connector does fit behind whatever cooler I get. I'll try and see whether I can get an angled connector in the ports behind the stock cooler. If so, I presume they'd fit behind a third-party cooler, providing it doesn't extend back (towards the motherboard) any more than the stock one.

I asked Powercolor whether the Accelero Xtreme Plus would fit on my card and they said they couldn't say as they didn't have that cooler, and that fitting it would invalidate my warranty anyway. Accelero couldn't say either as they said my card was non-reference, so it appears I'd have to take the stock cooler off and check their height restriction document to work it out for myself, and I don't really want to take it apart until I've got a new cooler to fit onto it.

[zyrobs]

Regarding your motherboard, can't you just use angled SATA connectors at the motherboard end? It is what I had to do with mine and they are cleared by at least a cm or 2.

I've tried that on another board, the SATA connectors still get in the way so much that they push the card out a little (the pcie slot connects, but the card isn't completely pushed in to the slot). It depends on how wide the heatsink is, though.

Another update on my setup: the Thermaltake fan I used was pretty old and had worn out sleeves, which is why it was very noisy. I exchanged it with a Noctua NF-P12, and it's MUCH more silent. Temperatures remain roughly the same (maybe 1c higher, but I can't measure that for sure since the room temperature may be higher as well - fucking summer). I feel a 1300rpm 12cm fan is just not enough. Would something like the Scythe Ultra Kaze 1000rpm improve airflow and lower the noise? It's a 38mm fan.

[magu2k]

I see that biostar does have their SATA connectors laid out in a rather odd way, maybe a SATA controller card is the solution.

[zyrobs]

Or a motherboard that has angled sata connectors. I was kicking myself for not buying one like that.

[doveman]

Yeah, I wish I had a board with right-angled SATA connectors, but I'm sure there were good reasons why I bought this particular board instead.

I think the SATA PCI card option rather depends on which cooler I get, because if I get the Shaman I'll only have one spare usable PCI slot and I'd rather keep that empty in case I want to use it for something else. The Accelero Xtreme Plus is a bit smaller (60mm vs 68mm, both including the graphics card), so maybe that will leave me two spare usable PCI slots, in which case I wouldn't mind putting a SATA card in one of them.

[doveman]

If I can't find a suitable cooler for an overclocked 6950 (that will also suit the rest of my system), perhaps the Accelero Twin Turbo Pro or Twin Turbo II will do for a shader unlocked but not overclocked 6950. Even with those, there's still the question of whether they'll block my SATA ports.

The dimensions of these are 215 L x 115 W x 52 H mm and 217 L x 122 W x 53 H mm respectively. The Accelero Xtreme Plus is 290 L x 104 W x 56 H mm, so the Twin Turbo's are a bit wider, but it's hard to say whether they just extend more towards the side panel, or overlap the motherboard side of the card as well (which would mean they are more likely to block my SATA ports). It may be that I have to consider cutting part of the plastic shroud or even some fins, if I can do so without ruining the cooler.

Here's a picture of the Pro on a XFX 6950 1 GB non-reference card: http://img607.imageshack.us/img607/3980/dscf0039ut.jpg.

Also, unless I'm looking at the wrong part of my card, there doesn't appear to be two parallel holes to screw a VRM cooler into, which is going to make it more complicated to fit something there. There's also no stock back plate on this card.

[doveman]

The Shaman has a height of ~38 mm from the GPU to the end of the fins (a few heatpipes go higher than the fins).
Add to that the 26 mm thick fan and about 4mm PCB + GPU height and reach the 68 mm, so it uses 4 PCI slots.

Having read that the fan clips protrude past the fan, I get the feeling that the Shaman itself is 68mm in total. Judging from this picture it looks like the Shaman and graphics card will occupy a total of 5 PCI slots, which is no good for me. http://review-images.clunk.org.uk/cooli ... G_9603.jpg

For anyone who can use the Shaman, regarding separate fans to cool it I'm thinking someone might be able to take an old PCI bracket and join a piece of metal to it to run parallel to the Shaman, with suitable holes in the middle and corners for a 140mm fan. I imagine it might be necessary to make a shroud to connect the fan and Shaman as well, to avoid the airflow being dispersed and thus reducing how effectively the Shaman is cooled.

Really Thermalright should be doing this though, to avoid putting all the weight on the card!

[doveman]

I haven't been able to take a photo of my card yet, but I found these of the 1GB version of it which looks the same to me:
http://www.xbitlabs.com/images/video/po ... 0_back.jpg
http://www.xbitlabs.com/images/video/po ... front2.jpg

As you can see, it has the VRM at the bracket end of the card, which is not what I expected, but with any luck I won't have to replace the VRM heatsink anyway.

More photos here: http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/graphi ... html#sect0