Potential for quiet performance - Nvidia 7800GT

They make noise, too.

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jermaink
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Potential for quiet performance - Nvidia 7800GT

Post by jermaink » Fri Sep 23, 2005 6:26 am

Hey. What are people's opinions about the potential for the 7800GT to be a quiet card when used with the right cooling. Does the Zalman VF-700Cu fit? Is the Arctic Cooling Silencer NV 5 Rev. 3 a good cooler? (I know it isn't really out yet except on Asus cards, but how was the predecessor, the Rev. 2?)

If anyone's got any thoughts/opinions, just blurt them out here.

JonV
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Post by JonV » Fri Sep 23, 2005 8:13 am

Simple answer: The potential is great.

I've run it fanless with the Zalman ZM80D-HP in the past, and I'm running it fanless with the Thermaltake Schooner right now. (I recommend the Zalman though.) Both of those are without any direct airflow on the heatsinks, just general case airflow from a single Nexus 120mm at the back of my P180. The Zalman needs a special mounting kit to fit though.

noac
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Post by noac » Fri Sep 23, 2005 1:39 pm

JonV wrote:Simple answer: The potential is great.

I've run it fanless with the Zalman ZM80D-HP in the past, and I'm running it fanless with the Thermaltake Schooner right now. (I recommend the Zalman though.) Both of those are without any direct airflow on the heatsinks, just general case airflow from a single Nexus 120mm at the back of my P180. The Zalman needs a special mounting kit to fit though.
you got a passively cooled 7800GT? what temps do you get?

JonV
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Post by JonV » Fri Sep 23, 2005 1:55 pm

With the Zalman, around 45-55C at idle, around 65C at normal HL2 gaming, and 85-90C after long periods of extreme load. With the Schooner it's slightly higher; the only reason I'm still using it is I'm too lazy to switch back right now.

sgtpokey
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Post by sgtpokey » Fri Sep 23, 2005 2:45 pm

That's good confirmation.
I've researched the reported power draw from the various reviews.

As far as I can tell from this imperfect analysis, it is cooler running than a radeon x800XL by 10%.

I had already put my money where my analysis is and have my 7800gt passively cooled, running in a completely passive Pentium M mcubed HTPC case (Pics and a write up to come eventually).

I had to leave on a business trip right after completion so I have no idea how the whole thing will hold up yet but we'll see...

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Post by ~El~Jefe~ » Sat Sep 24, 2005 5:12 pm

90 = suX0rZ

anything over 65 Degrees and you risk frying other things on the board. The chip might take it but the board could wear out faster.

if you are playing half life the game is blasting volume wise.

If the game is blasting you wouldnt be able to notice a fan at ~34 dba. This fan would also prevent your system from melting.

I cant understand the urge for passive when in gaming mode. even a 26 dba fan or less would put that 90C card down to 60's

cotdt
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Post by cotdt » Sat Sep 24, 2005 5:38 pm

the fan noise will throw your 3D positional sound off course while gaiming.

JonV
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Post by JonV » Sat Sep 24, 2005 6:57 pm

When I say "long periods of extreme load", I mean hours of RTHDRIBL at max settings. This kind of temperature never occurs with real life loads - the maximum I get with any sort of real load is 65C while playing HL2.

Techno Pride
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Post by Techno Pride » Sat Sep 24, 2005 7:44 pm

what is it about the 7800GT that prevents the installation of ZM80D-HP without buying the additional mounting kit?

thanks

jermaink
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Post by jermaink » Sat Sep 24, 2005 10:14 pm

I'd start getting worried with temps above 65C. I wonder what the temps are with a really quiet fan based solution are.

Tzupy
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Post by Tzupy » Sun Sep 25, 2005 2:14 am

I'd like to see a comparison of several 7800 GTs, from different manufacturers. In theory they should dissipate about the same heat, but reviews on Anandtech for 7800 GTXs showed differences. I believe the GPU voltages vary from one make to another, I suppose it's for overclocking purposes. It would be nice to know which 7800 GT dissipates the least heat, so it would be the easiest to cool quietly.

nutball
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Post by nutball » Sun Sep 25, 2005 4:05 am

Out of interest what's the throttling temperature threshold in the drivers for the 7800GTX? I reckon that should be a good guide for what's OK and what's bad for the card. (For the GFFX5900 series it was something like 140C IIRC. Certainly I ran one at 90C for extended periods with no ill effects).

JonV
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Post by JonV » Sun Sep 25, 2005 6:39 am

Techno Pride wrote:what is it about the 7800GT that prevents the installation of ZM80D-HP without buying the additional mounting kit?
The ZM80D-HP has a non-adjustable mounting solution for the heatsink base, which doesn't fit the 6800 and 7800 series cards. The kit consists of a new mounting bracket and plastic back plate. (Weirdly enough, the kit also contains a second back heatsink, which is identical to the one that comes with the cooler, so I don't see a use for it.)
Out of interest what's the throttling temperature threshold in the drivers for the 7800GTX?
115C. I don't believe for a second that the temperatures I'm getting in real-world usage (65C) are anything to worry about.

Techno Pride
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Post by Techno Pride » Sun Sep 25, 2005 8:38 am

uhh...still don't get the part about non-adjustable mounting solution. The ZM80A-HP had adjustable hands.

No way to install ZM80D-HP (crudely) like in this pic? Notice the hands of the heatsink base

http://www.pix8.net/pro/pic/6176dTHj1/491273.jpg

JonV
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Post by JonV » Sun Sep 25, 2005 8:52 am

Ah, correction: The default mounting solution *is* adjustable, very similar to the ZM80A-HP in your picture. I just never looked at those default parts when I installed it originally, because I ordered the 6800/7800 mounting kit at the same time as the cooler, because QuietPC UK said it was needed.

I think I found the reason it won't fit on 6800/7800 cards, though. Look at Note 2 on this page. The issue is the hole size, not their position. The holes in the 6800 and 7800 cards are too small for the default mounting screws to fit, which is why you need the special bracket and its smaller screws.

clarkkent333
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Post by clarkkent333 » Sun Sep 25, 2005 5:06 pm

I just put a VF700 on my BFT7800GTOC and it's running very cool and quiet. Haven't had a chance to drive it home yet but it's doing good in normal operation so far.

daddyo
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Post by daddyo » Tue Sep 27, 2005 12:49 pm

I put a VF700 on my eVGA 7800GT, the stock cooling sounded like an airplane inside my case.

Installation was flawless, except for the part where I was eating pudding and dropped some on the card...but we will ignore that.

I'm currently using the VF700 in the "silent" setting, and it's quite silent...completely drowned out by that awful, awful chipset fan.

Temps at idle are near 40C. Under normal gaming (WoW mostly) load, I sit at 52C. Under severe load, I saw it hit 62C once, but I haven't seen it go back.

Note: This is in an old case, with ZERO case fans and no side venting. Also, it's sitting next to an OC'd Athlon 64 3000+ (2.5ghz so far). I'm sure it will get cooler once I rig my new case up.

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