Leadtek 6600GT PCI-e: cooling options?

They make noise, too.

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as530
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Leadtek 6600GT PCI-e: cooling options?

Post by as530 » Sun Feb 20, 2005 5:48 am

hi, i saw the earlier post about the AGP version of this card, but i have this PCI-e version:

I had been blaming the groaning noise from my computer on my NeoPower, but the noise disappeared when i unplugged the fan connector on the 6600GT.

Thus, I am looking for a better (& quieter) cooling solution for this card. It currently idles at 47°C.

My questions:

1. The video card's 2-pin fan connector/header appear to be smaller than the normal 3-pin mobo one. Does this mean that i can't use a fanmate on it?

2. Which VGA cooler should I go for? Quiet will do, silence not necessary.

—options:
a. Aerocool VM101
b. Zalman VF700-AlCu - i would want to fanmate this
c. Arctic cooling NV silencer 6 rev.2 - i would want to fanmate this

I don't want to go for the huge Zalman heatpiped ones because i have read that their installation is difficult and more time consuming.

Which of the above options would give the best cooling?

3. Are there any other options?

4. What do people regard as maximum safe temps (and desirable idle temps) for VGA cards, if longevity is desirable (which it is, for me)?

jmatucd
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Post by jmatucd » Tue Mar 22, 2005 9:37 pm

I ordered an nv6 from jabtech (for like 25 bucks vs newegg's 43). I'll get it next week and ill be posting some results. It claims to be "Noise Level: 0.3 Sone". Which should be ~20-25ish territory. Fanmate it and it would be ok. Supposedly they fixed the clicking of older versions. Supposedly.

templarknightx
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Post by templarknightx » Tue Mar 22, 2005 9:46 pm

I would think the VF700 would provide the best performance, but I would personally be most in favor of the NV Silencer 6 if the clicking is fixed because I'm a big fan of exausting heat and I would gladly give up a slot to do that.

as530
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Post by as530 » Wed Mar 23, 2005 1:55 am

well, i've already gone for the VM-101, and it gives temps of 48/70, with some back slot covers open. Problem is it's so big above the card that i've had to sacrifice performance by using the second PCIe slot, which is only x1 or x2 (not x16) (my 3dmark05 score was around 2150) - however at the moment i'm only using office apps so I don't care about anything other than noise. maybe this summer will look at other solutions.

Blappo
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Post by Blappo » Wed Mar 23, 2005 11:58 am

i've had to sacrifice performance by using the second PCIe slot, which is only x1 or x2 (not x16)
Enable SLI on the mobo (by flipping the pcb). This will work with only 1 card, and it will run at x8. I tried it out on my DFI mobo and x8 gave about 97% of the performance of x16.

as530
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Post by as530 » Wed Mar 23, 2005 12:47 pm

hi, thanks for the tip. I think the Asus A8N might be slightly different to the DFI (eg. it's a card, not a jumper) but i'll definitely give it a go anyway. I might first try manually enabling SLi mode in the BIOS without altering the mobo, just to see what happens...

Tim Connor
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Post by Tim Connor » Wed Mar 23, 2005 3:16 pm

as530 wrote:hi, thanks for the tip. I think the Asus A8N might be slightly different to the DFI (eg. it's a card, not a jumper) but i'll definitely give it a go anyway. I might first try manually enabling SLi mode in the BIOS without altering the mobo, just to see what happens...
I've read elsewhere that people have used slot 2 with the A8N-SLI also. The bios option is not used on the Deluxe and is removed from later versions.

Regards, Tim

Pic of SLI with Zalman - http://home.comcast.net/~timconnor/PC_P ... l_6600.jpg

m0002a
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Post by m0002a » Wed Mar 23, 2005 5:43 pm

The Zalman VF700-AlCu comes with a power splitter that hooks to a standard Molex power connector and has both 12V and 5V fan connections at the other end.

I recently installed the exact same Leadtek video card and I have a Zalman VF700-AlCu, but have not installed the Zalman yet. I was wondering if the Leadtek alters the existing fan voltage based on temperature so that I could hook it the Zalman (I would solder the Zalman leads onto the old fan connector), or whether I should just hardware the Zalman for 5V.

If you are not going to play any 3D games, there is a possibility that you could leave the fan unpowered with the Zalman installed, although when set to 5V it is supposedly very quiet.

Let me know if there are any tricks to getting the old HSF off the Leadtek.

as530
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Post by as530 » Thu Mar 24, 2005 3:04 am

getting the stock cooler off is easy enough. i don't think the fan is thermally controlled though. you might have to fanmate the VF700

meglamaniac
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Post by meglamaniac » Thu Mar 24, 2005 3:09 am

Hi.

I have the Zalman ZM80D-HP on a PCI-e 6600GT.
Whether you would describe the installation as time consuming depends on your definition - I would say it took me about half an hour, which I think is more than worth it for the results I've had.

The card idles at around 50C just like yours already does, and the max I've seen it at is 70C during 3DMark05.
As for safe temperatures, well the default nVidia throttleback temperature for my 6600GT is something like 120C (might be a bit higher) so as you can see it is operating well within range, and is totally silent.
I admit that there are quite a few parts you need to install for this cooler, but if you've ever put up a shelf or a flatpack CD rack or anything like that it shouldn't cause you any trouble.

BTW, the Aerocool VM101 will have a very similar installation procedure to the ZM80D-HP as it is essentially the same thing.

Otherwise, if you are a little daunted by it, I would suggest the VF700 as the next best option.

as530
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Post by as530 » Sat Mar 26, 2005 5:31 am

update: using slot 2 on the Asus A8N-Sli deluxe, normal (non-SLi) mode gives a total 3dMark05 score of 2180, while enabling SLi mode (still with just one 6600GT card) gives a score of 3114 :D :D

meglamaniac
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Post by meglamaniac » Sun Mar 27, 2005 5:12 am

Looks like it worked then, because that's pretty much exactly what I get with the same graphics card and motherboard, but with the card in slot 1 (x16).
From memory I may get a couple of hundred more, but that's more likely to be due to the fact I run the card slightly overclocked.

:)

as530
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Post by as530 » Sun Mar 27, 2005 5:41 am

yeah i run it at stock. i mean for the next several months i'm only supposed to be using office apps anyway (big exams coming up) but the temptation of tetris is usually a little too much (don't laugh, download Zetrix (= freeware graphics-intensive tetris)).

I'm sure it's only a matter of time before intelligent-underclocking technologies like CnQ become standard on graphics cards, isn't it? Especially with the new Energy Star thing.

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