I know this may have been put up here before in the past, but here's my attempt at a guide for you all.
We all know how shoddy the stock cooler is on these cards. I've had mine overclocked and without a fan pointing at it, I hit over 93'C while gaming. The S1 with turbo module has shaved a staggering 40'C off that on average. This is a very cheap upgrade, easy to do & well worth it.
*check what impact doing this has on your warranty*
What you'll need:
8800GT
S1 Accelero passive cooler
Zalman Ram sinks
Optional S1 Turbo Module (good if Overclocking Card)
Surface TIM cleaner & Purifier
Small philips screwdriver
I have the Antec 900 case and a P5K and the cases side fan bracket gets in the way of the S1 so a case mod is needed, you'll need:
A gluegun
Small washers (motherboard standoff washers suffice).
Small screws (x6)
1. Place the card upside down on a flat clean surface.
2. Remove the 12 screws on the GT that hold the cooler on. They each have a spring under them so be careful they don't spring off.
3. Once all screws are removed, turn the card the right way up, and ensure the fan is on the right hand side (PCI-e connector on the right, DVI connectors on the left).
4. Lift the cooler like a hinged lid (opening away from you). Be careful as the power for the fan is connected to the board which then needs to be disconnected - you can then fully remove the cooler:
5. You now need to prepare the RAM modules and chip by cleaning with the TIM cleaner. The best way to do this is with tissue paper. Apply a little and gently wipe each section to remove the buildup of TIM. Don't use too much - you don't want to get anything "wet". Once everything is clean, do the same with the surface purifier and leave to dry for a few minutes.
6. You now need attach the RAMsinks to the RAM and voltage regulators. The sinks that come with the kit fit on the memory but not on the voltage regulators, which is why I suggest you buy the Zalman sinks.
Carefully peel the stick strip and place 1 sink on each memory module and apply some pressure to affix. Use the Zalman ones for this. Use the sinks that come with the S1 for the voltage regulator, as shown:
7. a lot of people say you need thermal epoxy, but so long as the surfaces are thoroughly cleaned and purified - the supplied sinks adhere no problem, once a little pressure is applied.
Next you can attach the S1. The instruction sheet that comes with it is fairly good but not 8800GT specific as this cooler can be fitted to other cards.
You need to turn the cooler upside down and place the GT on top, the cooler comes with TIM pre applied.
Use the 4 screws and washers that come with the kit but leave as loose as you can at this stage. You need to attach the 2 plastic clips to the other end of the card (so its screwed in one end and supported with clips at the other). Instructions are clear to follow. Once the male clips are in place, tighten the 4 screws fully, then attach the female clips through the other side of the fins to secure:
8. Attach the Turbo module, simply by pushing the plastic clips through the fins of the S1 until they clip into place. Make sure the power cable doesn't get in the way of the fan blades - you can just push it down in between 2 of the fins:
It uses a 3 pin power connector that you can simply connect to a chasis fan header if you have one, or use the supplied molex adapter.
9. I had to mod the side of my Antec 900, since the S1 is that big.
Unscrew the 6 screws from inside of the side panel that hold the plastic side fan bracket in place, then remove it. Be careful - as you take the screws out, the small black studs on the outside of the case will fall out; you need to keep these safe to go back on later:
10. Remove the bracket. Once this is removed, you're left with the black mesh that is no longer secured in place. This now needs to be attached. I did this by using a glue gun to glue the mesh onto the case - you only need a few dabs in each corner and hold until set (about 30 secs). However, you also need to screw the screws back in - through the holes and into the black studs that you removed. You can't just use the screws you removed as they are now too long since they no longer have to go through the perspex fan bracket. Use shorter screws and washers, if you don't use washers, you'll screw right through the studs and ruin them. For the 2 studs on the back, I simply glued them in place as I couldn't find a screw short enough.
All done!
There are other coolers that you can use that are smaller, such as the DuOrb which won't require a casemod like this, however - I'm quite happy about doing this as it now means I can fit a Tuniq 120 inot my case at a later date (didn't fit before as I had a sidefan cooling my GPU).
Hope that helps anyone thinking about swapping their cooler on these cards. It's certainly worth it when you consider its shaving 40'C+ of your gaming temps. Also allows for a better overclock (just squeezed an extra 400 points from 3DMark06. Now at 14760.
We all know how shoddy the stock cooler is on these cards. I've had mine overclocked and without a fan pointing at it, I hit over 93'C while gaming. The S1 with turbo module has shaved a staggering 40'C off that on average. This is a very cheap upgrade, easy to do & well worth it.
*check what impact doing this has on your warranty*
What you'll need:
8800GT
S1 Accelero passive cooler
Zalman Ram sinks
Optional S1 Turbo Module (good if Overclocking Card)
Surface TIM cleaner & Purifier
Small philips screwdriver
I have the Antec 900 case and a P5K and the cases side fan bracket gets in the way of the S1 so a case mod is needed, you'll need:
A gluegun
Small washers (motherboard standoff washers suffice).
Small screws (x6)
1. Place the card upside down on a flat clean surface.
2. Remove the 12 screws on the GT that hold the cooler on. They each have a spring under them so be careful they don't spring off.
3. Once all screws are removed, turn the card the right way up, and ensure the fan is on the right hand side (PCI-e connector on the right, DVI connectors on the left).
4. Lift the cooler like a hinged lid (opening away from you). Be careful as the power for the fan is connected to the board which then needs to be disconnected - you can then fully remove the cooler:
5. You now need to prepare the RAM modules and chip by cleaning with the TIM cleaner. The best way to do this is with tissue paper. Apply a little and gently wipe each section to remove the buildup of TIM. Don't use too much - you don't want to get anything "wet". Once everything is clean, do the same with the surface purifier and leave to dry for a few minutes.
6. You now need attach the RAMsinks to the RAM and voltage regulators. The sinks that come with the kit fit on the memory but not on the voltage regulators, which is why I suggest you buy the Zalman sinks.
Carefully peel the stick strip and place 1 sink on each memory module and apply some pressure to affix. Use the Zalman ones for this. Use the sinks that come with the S1 for the voltage regulator, as shown:
7. a lot of people say you need thermal epoxy, but so long as the surfaces are thoroughly cleaned and purified - the supplied sinks adhere no problem, once a little pressure is applied.
Next you can attach the S1. The instruction sheet that comes with it is fairly good but not 8800GT specific as this cooler can be fitted to other cards.
You need to turn the cooler upside down and place the GT on top, the cooler comes with TIM pre applied.
Use the 4 screws and washers that come with the kit but leave as loose as you can at this stage. You need to attach the 2 plastic clips to the other end of the card (so its screwed in one end and supported with clips at the other). Instructions are clear to follow. Once the male clips are in place, tighten the 4 screws fully, then attach the female clips through the other side of the fins to secure:
8. Attach the Turbo module, simply by pushing the plastic clips through the fins of the S1 until they clip into place. Make sure the power cable doesn't get in the way of the fan blades - you can just push it down in between 2 of the fins:
It uses a 3 pin power connector that you can simply connect to a chasis fan header if you have one, or use the supplied molex adapter.
9. I had to mod the side of my Antec 900, since the S1 is that big.
Unscrew the 6 screws from inside of the side panel that hold the plastic side fan bracket in place, then remove it. Be careful - as you take the screws out, the small black studs on the outside of the case will fall out; you need to keep these safe to go back on later:
10. Remove the bracket. Once this is removed, you're left with the black mesh that is no longer secured in place. This now needs to be attached. I did this by using a glue gun to glue the mesh onto the case - you only need a few dabs in each corner and hold until set (about 30 secs). However, you also need to screw the screws back in - through the holes and into the black studs that you removed. You can't just use the screws you removed as they are now too long since they no longer have to go through the perspex fan bracket. Use shorter screws and washers, if you don't use washers, you'll screw right through the studs and ruin them. For the 2 studs on the back, I simply glued them in place as I couldn't find a screw short enough.
All done!
There are other coolers that you can use that are smaller, such as the DuOrb which won't require a casemod like this, however - I'm quite happy about doing this as it now means I can fit a Tuniq 120 inot my case at a later date (didn't fit before as I had a sidefan cooling my GPU).
Hope that helps anyone thinking about swapping their cooler on these cards. It's certainly worth it when you consider its shaving 40'C+ of your gaming temps. Also allows for a better overclock (just squeezed an extra 400 points from 3DMark06. Now at 14760.