ATI Silencer 5 Rev.2 BEWARE NOISE COMES BACK!

oscar3d · Post by **oscar3d** » Tue Jan 17, 2006 8:23 pm

FYI:

I bought an ATI Silencer Rev.2 which is cooling my ATI Radeon X850 PE,
about 2 months ago.

I was quite happy with it, and I was about to have my system completely silent after all the things I did to make it silent.

-P150 Case
-Scythe Ninja w/ Nexus 120 Orange Fan
-Seasonic S-12 500 PSu
-Tri-Cool Fan Running at Low.
-The HD is a WD Caviar 250 GB, which is located outside the case @ 1 meter away inside a Smartdrive 2002C enclosure.

The system was whisper quiet and I was so happy with it.

UNTIL NOW THAT I heard the freaking ATI Silencer. It used to be silent and they claim it has 0.5 sone. But it seems within some period of time the fan starts buzzing, not loud, but definetly noticeable in this quiet system.

I'm so angry with Arctic cooling, they sold me a "patch type" solution that wont last. So beware that this cooler doesn't silence well, ir it works for you but for 2 months at the most.

I don't know what the hell I'm going to do. I feel ripped off with this thing.

I don't know either if buying a Zalman VF700 CU, or maybe disconnecting the Artic Silencer fan from the video card PWM controller and attaching it to a Fan Mate.

If MikeC is there.. man I need your help what's your advice.

I'm waiting for the ATI Radeon X1900XT, and I know that Arctic is planning to get Silencers for the X1800 and X1900 series. But now with my story I don't know if it's worthy to buy Arctic Silencers again.

I cannot find a passive cooler for this powerful cards either, and sincerely I don't think there would be a solution.

I was almost having the perfect quiet system, but now it's gone again.

Please I need advice from the experts.

computergeek22 · Post by **computergeek22** » Tue Jan 17, 2006 8:47 pm

Well I saw a review (look somewhere on CDRinfo.com for VF700 led) which compared the Vf700 to the Arctic cooling alternative and it turned out that the Arctic cooling is supposed to be quieter and more efficient in cooling the graphics card when using Riva Tuner to throttle the fan. It turned out that the quiet mode (5v) produced similar results to the stock cooling. I personally, am a fan of Zalman products and since the review showed how similar the quiet mode cooling of the zalman was as opposed to stock cooling, I'm going to go for the vf700-cu and run it and 5v.

oscar3d · Post by **oscar3d** » Tue Jan 17, 2006 8:53 pm

Thanks for your answer man!

Any of the Reviewers or Admins can give me their 2 cents?

I will have to make a purchase soon or somehow work around this dissapointment (Running the ATI silencer @ 5v with a Zalman Fan Mate).

I still want something that blows the air outside the case, but I'm tempted with the VF700CU.

Please I need more advice. thanks!

GHz · Post by **GHz** » Tue Jan 17, 2006 9:08 pm

I used to use Arctic Cooling Silencer NV5 Rev. 2s in some of the systems I built, but they all became noisy after approximately 3 months. I tried contacting the manufacturer for warranty service, but they were unreachable. I replaced those units with Zalman VF700CUs and they seem to be holding up better accoustically.

JazzJackRabbit · Post by **JazzJackRabbit** » Tue Jan 17, 2006 9:41 pm

Well, the problem is inherent to all arctic silencers. I have seen two NV rev 5 cooler (one of which I still own) that started clicking and howling after few months of use. I changed cooler to VM-101 and now it's all grand. There is only one problem with VM-101 and with any internal cooler including zalman VF-700 - I have found that a powerful card at full load will emit a lot of heat and cooler that doesn't exhaust air outside the case will dump it all inside the case. In my case the combined heat from 3.4Ghz P4 CPU and 6800GT is more than a single 1000RPM YL can handle. There is a definite heat build because simply increasing case fan speed to 1200RPM brings down videocard temperature by 5 degrees celsius. Otherwise zalman VF-700, especially with a fan mod is a very good choice.

Tzeb · Post by **Tzeb** » Wed Jan 18, 2006 3:23 am

I have an Ati Silencer 5 rev. 2 on my x800gto and i''m desperate.

From day one it clicked like mad when connected to the card. I have no idea how Arctic Cooling tests those fans but PWM is turning them into clicking beasts. I somewhat reduced the PWM clicks by connecting it to an analog fan controler, but i think my fan has a fault or something because even then it still cliked a bit at ~5V. My sistem is very silent : Yate loon in the Bluestorm at around 700rpm, rear yate loon softmounted at 5v (~550rpm), boxed cooler which is 90% of the time off thanks to rmclock and abit faneq.
I came up with another solution.... run the silencer at 0 rpm while in 2d and idle. I have created 2 profiles in atitool, 1 undervolted 115/270 and 1 for 3d 535/535. Each profile has it's own fan settings based on GPU temp.
For 2d i have it like this : over 56 C the fan at 20%, 59 C - 40%...etc. It's not relevant anymore because i also have ati tool load another profile the moment a 3d app is opened and then the fan speeds are more aggresive : over 46 C - 20%, over 50 C - 40%, over 60 C - 60%, over 68 C - 100%.
I don't know how safe is to have that big of a change in gpu clock when loading a 3d app, but i can't imagine it will break the card or something. I found that memory clock is sensitive to undervolting...if i go under 230 it creates ugly artefacts.
Anyway, with the settings above, the gpu core never gets over 55-56 C and the silencer's fan is at 0. In the long run i think that such a temperature will affect the lifespan of the card though...will see.

dedogs · Post by **dedogs** » Wed Jan 18, 2006 3:37 am

You can add me to the list my Silencer keeps reverberating and i think the bearings or something is just wrong with it. It’s the noisiest thing in my computer but i have no bucks to sort it.

kkzz · Post by **kkzz** » Wed Jan 18, 2006 4:07 am

In my experience they seem to attract a lot of dust and quieten down a lot if cleaned regularly using a can of compressed air. The material of Arctic Cooling's fans also seems to sttract more dust than other makes and regular cleaning with cotton buds and isopropyl alcohol works well

Tzeb · Post by **Tzeb** » Wed Jan 18, 2006 8:13 am

Take a look here
The clicking problem seems to be created by the LM63 fan controller chip

Most of the ATI boards contain the LM63 fan controller chip. This chip is not just varying the voltage in order to regulate the fan speed, it is also sending voltage peaks up to 25 Volt. This can cause a clicking noise and in very rare cases a capacitor defect in the motor because of over voltage.

oscar3d · Post by **oscar3d** » Wed Jan 18, 2006 11:20 am

Yeah I know that webpage by heart now.

It really blows that they Arctic still cannot find a decent and lasting solution to noise/cooling. I would love to see an Arctic Rep here, and see what he/she has to say about this.

Their so clamed 0.5 sone on the Rev.2, becomes a 30db buzz within a few months. My system has no dust at all, because it was biult very recently.
I've tried to vacuum the damn thing... No sucess.

The ATITool produces the horrible clicking noise you mention.

AHHHHHH!!! FGS I'm pissed!

Calling them to RMA is not worth it. I will have to wait and pay for a shipment of an item worth $28.

Instead I've just ordered the Zalman VF700CU on Amazon, @$27 w/free shipping. I'm warned about the air not blowing outside the case... damn! I don't know if it will a be better solution.

How can this be that ATI and Nvidia, don't create something silent, so we can really enjoy playing games and do work in our comps?

Thinking about SLI? No way... I will end up with a Jumbo Jet inside my case.

There is no better solution out there? AM I on checkmate now?

New Powerful Cards coming on Febrary (X1900), but still the same crappy cooling solutions with headache noise, again to be modded. But no way I'm using Arctic again. No offense but their solution lasts until after it's being reviewed, getting the best scores. After that.... treachery!!

SaSH · Post by **SaSH** » Thu Jan 19, 2006 1:34 am

I have a sealed Silencer 5 rev 2 sitting right in front of me which I was planning to install tomorrow. After reading about the countless number of fan noise issues, I might have to get rid of this one and go with the Zalman.

decisions decisions...

Has anyone replaced an silencer fan before?

ryboto · Post by **ryboto** » Thu Jan 19, 2006 10:24 am

SaSH wrote:I have a sealed Silencer 5 rev 2 sitting right in front of me which I was planning to install tomorrow. After reading about the countless number of fan noise issues, I might have to get rid of this one and go with the Zalman.

decisions decisions...

Has anyone replaced an silencer fan before?

just connect it to a motherboard fan header....of course, i'm assuming your motherboard has pwm control for it's fans...if it didn't, a fanmate on low keeps my x800pro at 520/540 33C idle, 58load. It got a little dusty, load temps used to be a little lower.

oscar3d · Post by **oscar3d** » Thu Jan 19, 2006 10:36 am

I'm expecting the VF700 today.

One thing you might want to try for instance.

If you are using a software fan controller for your GPU.

There is a big difference between "ATI Tray Tools" and "ATI Tool" at least my experience with the ATI Silencer 5 R2.

ATI Tool DOES produce an insane whining/clicking noise if you try to change fan speeds.

Instead, ATI Tray Tools, DOES NOT produce those results and you can change the speed of the Silencer Fan at will without clicking/whining.

Anyway, I think that before using my time on taking out the Silencer 5 and installing the VF700. I'm just going to plug the VF700 Fan only, and do a comparison between the two fans.

I really don't like the idea of switching to a solution which doesn't blow hot air out of the case (VF700). I'll try the fan first to see if it's worth the change.

As you can see, there is not perfect solution for cooling/noise.

JVM · Post by **JVM** » Mon Jan 23, 2006 8:36 am

Tzeb wrote:Take a look here
The clicking problem seems to be created by the LM63 fan controller chip
Most of the ATI boards contain the LM63 fan controller chip. This chip is not just varying the voltage in order to regulate the fan speed, it is also sending voltage peaks up to 25 Volt. This can cause a clicking noise and in very rare cases a capacitor defect in the motor because of over voltage.

If the clicking only occurs with ATI cards than that would make sense, but doesn't that clicking noise also occur with their nVidia versions?

Tzeb · Post by **Tzeb** » Mon Jan 23, 2006 8:51 am

No... Silencers connected to nvidia cards don't seem to click that often. There is a nv silencer 5 rev 3 review on this froum here
The problem with ati cards is that stupid LM63 which sends too much voltage to the fan.

JVM · Post by **JVM** » Mon Jan 23, 2006 10:12 am

Tzeb wrote:No... Silencers connected to nvidia cards don't seem to click that often. There is a nv silencer 5 rev 3 review on this froum here
The problem with ati cards is that stupid LM63 which sends too much voltage to the fan.

Thanks! I was looking for that thread and forgot where it was. However, it looks like just warriorpoet and he only had it for about 2-3 months. So, I don't know, especially since there seems to be indication of revision 2 versions having that click--and I believe that was with nVidia cards, but I will look over the thread and see what can be ascertained.

Trekari · Post by **Trekari** » Tue Jan 24, 2006 10:09 pm

Hello; I'm new to the forums, but have been coming to SPCR for quite some time.

I'm a bit concerned with the comments on the Artic Silencers, since I just purchased one Friday that is arriving tomorrow for my eVGA 7800GT.

I also ordered 10" 3-pin extender cables for the case/cpu heatsink fans, but was wondering if anyone here suggests to connect the AS5R3 to the rheostat I bought from jab-tech, here:
http://www.jab-tech.com/Sunbeam-5-1-4-R ... -2530.html

Thus far with my 'new' system, I've folled SPCR recommendations closely:

Antec P150 case
AMD 3200+ (Clawhammer) w/ Scythe Ninja
MSI K8N Neo3-F
1GB Geil PC3200
eVGA 7800GT @ 480/1200 w/ Artic Silencer 5 Rev. 3
Samsung SP1614N (Storage)
WD Raptor 74GB (Boot)
2xNexus 120mm, one for case exhaust, one for CPU
2xNexus 92mm for front intake, in case I ever need the additional airflow
Plextor PX-740 DVDR/RW
Audigy2 ZS

I'm hoping to get my pc down to near-inaudible levels. I had thought about simply setting all four Nexus fans to the rheobus, but am now debating having one channel control the vga cooler.

Any thoughts?

computergeek22 · Post by **computergeek22** » Tue Jan 24, 2006 10:45 pm

I was planning to do the same but be VERY careful with the rheobus. It is an excellent fan controller but sometimes it gives you a wee bit too much control. What I mean is that the rheobus will allow you to completely turn off the fan and if by mistake you turn the knob all the way down or halfway without noticing, say goodbye to your graphics card. Because of this reason I'm going to be using a diff fan controller for my processor and not the rheobus. (the other fan controller is also for temp monitoring but that's another issue). I wouldn't suggest putting it into a rheobus because I'm clumsy like that!

oscar3d · Post by **oscar3d** » Wed Jan 25, 2006 11:12 am

Just to let you know and warn you.

I've recieved the Zalman VF700CU yesterday and today it HAS BEEN RETURNED!!.

I didn't bother replacing the Arctic Silencer on my VGA Card. I just plugged the VF700 fan to the PSU and I did three tests.

1) Plugged to PSU @ 12v = The noise is horrible, and it has a background grinding noise.

2) Plugged to PSU @ 5v= Noise tolerable, but much louder than the Arctic Silencer connected to the PWM. Still a grinding noise from the fan.

3) Plugged to a Fanmate, and Fanmate plugged to a 5v converter ==> The noise becomes low hum, but the grinding noise is much more tolerable.

Final Conclusion:

Using Logic:

-Arctic Silencer 5 Rev.2 is a better noise killer than Zalman VF700CU
-Arctic Silencer still produces a buzz after it's used for months.

THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A SILENCER FOR A VGA CARD YET!!

I'm very dissapointed with both Zalman and Arctic.

SO THE NEXT QUESTION:

- WHERE CAN WE SEE FANLESS SOLUTIONS FOR HIGH-END CARDS?

Because, to be honest with you, both Zalman and Arctic are far away my expectations.

I'm pissed! That POS VF700CU is on it's way back!

JVM · Post by **JVM** » Wed Jan 25, 2006 12:37 pm

Wow! you just killed my idea of going for the VF-700, and now I am back to square one

I was thinking of the 6800GT and Zalman being a good solution, and then you come along and kill my whole idea

Did you have the VF-700 on the video card inside your case? Sounds to me like you may have just plugged it in from outside the case. Maybe on the card inside your case it would have been better?

oscar3d · Post by **oscar3d** » Wed Jan 25, 2006 12:51 pm

I'm sorry to discourage you from getting it.

I'm not trying to make bad publicity to Zalman or Arctic.

I think I'm just trying to give an honest opinion and that is:

Yes it makes more noise than the Arctic Silencer!

Call me obsessive, but yes I hear it. It doesn't matter if some people say:

"Oh, yess it quiets my video card"
"Great, it's even quieter than the stock fan"

Both VF and Silencer still make a stupid buzz and/or grinding. And my problem is not solved. I've just wasted bucks.

I think my only option is to get a 2-pin to 3 pin adapter and connect the Silencer Fan to a Fan Mate Controller, I've heard it gives good results.

To Zalman and Arctic:

"I hope you are thinking to make fanless heatpipes like Asus do for High-End cards"
"Please make better fans or use better fans"
"Both of you USE AN EXHAUST SOLUTION!!!" Please don't go back to dark ages like your Acceleros X1 & X2.

JVM · Post by **JVM** » Wed Jan 25, 2006 1:04 pm

I don't think fanless high-end cards are going to happen if the cards create lots of heat. Better fans for AC and Zalman sounds like a good idea that could happen if they went to Nexus for fans.

So, you are saying the VF-700 at 5 volts was noisier than the ACS 5 spinning at stock speed of 2000? Well, if tha's the case, then doing the fanmate solution should help, especially if there's no clicking.

Post here how it goes with the fanmate idea. The question I have is how will you know the rpm speed of the fanmate solution?

thetoad30 · Post by **thetoad30** » Wed Jan 25, 2006 1:06 pm

Just to let you know, the RED VF700CU is the Fatal1ty version. It spins a good 1000 RPM faster than the original version.

Even so, you will still need to run the VF700CU at high for a high-end graphics card. I have an X800GTO^2 flashed to 16 pipes and OC'ed to XTPE speeds, and without the Zalman on high the card overheats.

I currently have the ATI AC5R2. It has a click on it when I first installed it, and due to the fact that it was a Christmas gift, Newegg is saying they can't RMA it. Yet looking at the AC website, it says that all distributors have extra parts. I'm starting to wonder if this is a false-advertising campaign in order for them to say they have warranties on their products but then don't have to honor them. I have sent two e-mails to them with no response. My next move is to call them.

JVM · Post by **JVM** » Wed Jan 25, 2006 1:09 pm

thetoad30 wrote:Just to let you know, the RED VF700CU is the Fatal1ty version. It spins a good 1000 RPM faster than the original version.

Even so, you will still need to run the VF700CU at high for a high-end graphics card. I have an X800GTO^2 flashed to 16 pipes and OC'ed to XTPE speeds, and without the Zalman on high the card overheats.

I currently have the ATI AC5R2. It has a click on it when I first installed it, and due to the fact that it was a Christmas gift, Newegg is saying they can't RMA it. Yet looking at the AC website, it says that all distributors have extra parts. I'm starting to wonder if this is a false-advertising campaign in order for them to say they have warranties on their products but then don't have to honor them. I have sent two e-mails to them with no response. My next move is to call them.

What happens if you don't OC the card with the VF-700? Does the card still overheat?

JVM · Post by **JVM** » Wed Jan 25, 2006 1:16 pm

He said the VF700CU, not the Fatal1ty FS-V7. Which one did he actually get?

thetoad30 · Post by **thetoad30** » Wed Jan 25, 2006 1:17 pm

The stock speeds for the GTO^2 are 400/490 for core/mem. 400 MHz on the R480 chip is like driving a stock car at highway speeds.

I did find, however, that the chip ran hot when loaded at stock speeds. If I didn't watch carefully, on low, the heat build up would surpass 75C. While I know these chips can easily handle up to 80-100C, I DO NOT want to boil water in my case.

If I upped the fan to the 12V level, the card would keep stable at 60-65C. This is not because that's how hot the card is, but rather, how hot the air surrounding the HSF becomes after a long enough time to heat up.

Exauhsting the hot air is a no-brainer; I just wish there was a Zalman product that took that 80mm fan, made it 25mm thick, and covered the memory chips as the AC5R2 does.

thetoad30 · Post by **thetoad30** » Wed Jan 25, 2006 1:19 pm

JVM wrote:He said the VF700CU, not the Fatal1ty FS-V7. Which one did he actually get?

He did say the color was red. That's what tipped me off that it might be the high-speed version. The normal version is copper...

JVM · Post by **JVM** » Wed Jan 25, 2006 1:23 pm

thetoad30 wrote:
JVM wrote:He said the VF700CU, not the Fatal1ty FS-V7. Which one did he actually get?
He did say the color was red. That's what tipped me off that it might be the high-speed version. The normal version is copper...

How do you think the VF-700 on low (silent) would work with a 6800GT?

thetoad30 · Post by **thetoad30** » Wed Jan 25, 2006 1:29 pm

JVM wrote:How do you think the VF-700 on low (silent) would work with a 6800GT?

Honestly, I can't tell you for sure. But I can make an educated guess:

I would tell you that you would be really lucky to get it to work properly on low. I would say you would need it at high just to keep the card adequately cooled, and you would need to do tests to make sure the thing doesn't overheat.

I know ATI has taken the crown for heat output on GPU's now...

But, my card takes around 150W... and let's say that 75-100W goes to heat. I just don't think that the VF700CU can handle that heat *while* recycling the inside case air.

If you could somehow get cold, fresh air to the GPU and the Zalman, then you should be ok. Just monitor your temps. One thing I didn't try was to hook up the P180 VGA duct with a fan to see how that does. If someone tried that, they should post their findings.

JVM · Post by **JVM** » Wed Jan 25, 2006 1:40 pm

Do you think I should consider the ACS 5 Rev 3 or is that noisy as well?

ATI Silencer 5 Rev.2 BEWARE NOISE COMES BACK!

Does the Artic Silencers (NVIDIA or ATI) become noisy again?

ATI Silencer 5 Rev.2 BEWARE NOISE COMES BACK!