290X VRM Cooling

[Relentless81]

Hi,

I'm still looking to swap out the reference cooler on my 290X as summer is coming and I plan on keeping it a bit longer.

If I go AIO with GPU adaptor please can you advise me the best way to cool the VRMs?

Does the Arctic Accelero Xtreme IV come with VRM cooling out of the box? Its a massive thing I would be surprised if it doesnt but cant really find confirmation anywhere.

Better still does the XFX Reference 290X have VRM cooling as standard by any chance? If it does I wont even need to worry about it.

Thanks

 

[hyperseven]

Corsair g10 with thicker thermal pad than the one supplied for the VRM strip.

 

[tommybhoy]

If I go AIO with GPU adaptor please can you advise me the best way to cool the VRMs?

Heatsinks, buy them or get a dremel out and hack up an old heatsink.

Does the Arctic Accelero Xtreme IV come with VRM cooling out of the box? Its a massive thing I would be surprised if it doesnt but cant really find confirmation anywhere.

No, it only comes with the big back plate.

Better still does the XFX Reference 290X have VRM cooling as standard by any chance?

No.

Gelid make a 290/X heatsink pack that comes with a vrm plate- but I don't have a clue if it fits under the Kraken plate, I imagine it should though as it needs to fit under Gelids own gfx cooler.

Kraken combo is great btw, top one 290X DCuII which uses it's own vrm plate, bottom one ref 290X with a hacked Zalman 4870 vrm block(red part) using MSI Dragon OE3-V298001 AIO's(cheaper H55's):

 

[Goose]

How loud is that system Tommy with three pumps going?

 

[tommybhoy]

Can't hear the pumps, even with the fans turned off.

Fans all set to lowest, top gpu 75c bottom one 65c, summer is coming though so it's going to get noisier.

 

[Confused Stu]

The Accelero back plate does a pretty good job at cooling the VRMs, surprisingly. I added the Gelid add-on kit onto mine (running the Hybrid II, so same backplate as the Xtreme IV) and these dropped the VRM temps by about 10C, but it was only because they were cheap and available - the VRMs were running within limits originally (about 80C under heavy load, from memory). With the Xtreme you also have some airflow on the front of the card, so I guess the VRMs will run cooler than my Hybrid ones anyway. I had an Xtreme III on my 7970 and it was very quiet, even at 100%. I think the Accelero range is brilliant for quietening down a GPU, in my experience. No idea how it does on heavily overclocked cards, but I can't see any reason it would have any more issues than any other cooler. The only issue with the cooler is the backplate does mean your GPU encroaches above the card as well as below, so you have to make sure you have enough clearance ABOVE the card as well as below - in my case, I cannot use my first PCI-Ex1 slot, and I had to change from a Silver Arrow to a 12cm-fan based cooler as it fouled very slightly, but the Silver Arrow is massive compared to most CPU coolers.

The Corsair HG10 looks good provided you have a reference cooler to take the fan off (the HG10 doesn't come with a fan itself), but I haven't looked up any reviews. The Kraken looks a good product too, but I would need to make sure the VRMs have additional heatsinks before I could trust it, but I may just be being over cautious.

I would say if you want an all-in-one, straight out of the box, cooler go for the Accelero (Xtreme IV or Hybrid) if it'll fit your motherboard. If you're happy stripping your reference cooler to get the fan out, the HG10 looks a good alternative, and if you can source additional VRM cooling then go for a Kraken. Don't think you'll be disappointed with the temperature or volume difference on any compared to a reference card.

 

[pieman109]

If you're gonna fit an AIO cooler with a G10 you'll need the "gelid cooling enhancement kit" which has all the reqd heatsinks for the vrms, including the "T" shaped one for the component at the top l/h side of the card. You don't need the "shim" for the gpu itself as this shim is only needed for 7850/7970 cards I believe.
Obviously confirm this first but thats what I've read on a couple sites regarding using this setup. I'm going to be doing this myself with my 780ti using an H55. and Kraken G10 combo.

 

[Relentless81]

Thanks for the replies, all st to order and cant find the Gelid Enhancement Kit anywhere!

There is one in stock on the rain forest but its £15 for a bit of metal!

Does the G10 cater for VRMs? It looks like it might do.

 

[tommybhoy]

Googlefu time:


'G793 Gelid AMD R290 290X Enhancement Kit'

 

[Tacitus]

You can get some small heatsinks. I think they mostly come in packs of 8, so you'll need 2 for a 290x. Shouldn't cost you more than £15 for them, well worth it.

 

[Confused Stu]

Googlefu time:


'G793 Gelid AMD R290 290X Enhancement Kit'

I'd probably search for the part number - CL-R290-01-A

The place I bought from currently has them at £5.02 each and has 53 currently in stock. Can't say more as the rules say we have to keep Quiet about other PC suppliers.

 

[mmj_uk]

Why not just go custom watercooling instead of an AIO? it might be more expensive but EK waterblocks have proper cooling for the VRM's.

edit: if you aren't going to keep the card very long why even spend money on an AIO cooler?

 

[tommybhoy]

I'd probably search for the part number - CL-R290-01-A

The place I bought from currently has them at £5.02 each and has 53 currently in stock. Can't say more as the rules say we have to keep Quiet about other PC suppliers.

Delivered, it's more expensive than ♫ ♪ ♫ ♪(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay♫ ♪ ♫ ♪