Aftermarket Cooler - when it doesn't fit... mod it

trentlad · 17 Apr 2011 at 21:34

So I've always had high temps on my 4870 (80 - 84 oC idle to load) and last month I bought an aftermarket cooler. It gave me an average 30oC drop in temps... pretty incredible!

Last week I was offered a GTX 470 for $70 and I couldn't pass up such a steal. These cards also tend to run hot and since I've just bought an excellent cooler, I figured I could transfer it from the 4870 to the 470.

However, after comparing the fan mount screws (circled in red below) around the GPU, the 470 has a slightly wider screw placement. So the cooler will not fit.

Since my funds are seriously low, I'd like to see if anyone else has ever made a cooler retro-fit over a GPU when it wasn't made for that GPU.

Any ideas?

Maybe:
- an interesting arrangement of cable ties over the entire heatsink then the mounting arms
- take a pair of pliers and straighten out the arms to fit the wider screw holes
(would be hard to keep the heat transfer place flat against the GPU)

cjgardens · 17 Apr 2011 at 22:09

Not really a good idea. Just sell it and buy a new one. You got the card dirt cheap anyway.

SeraphX · 17 Apr 2011 at 22:14

dunno, but i'd ditch the competitor link before a mod see's it

Tealc · 17 Apr 2011 at 22:18

When you say slightly how much are you talking about?

It looks like you have no basic extra material to add an additional hole for a screw a little further out on the arm but you might be able to make a semi circle in the end for at least some of the fitting screw to fit, although looking at the backplate there's even less available.

Bending the bracket would be a bad idea I think.

I'm not sure if that cooler would be sufficient to cool a 470 though as they do run a bit hotter than a 4870. However if you can mod it then at least you won't have spent anything.

trentlad · 17 Apr 2011 at 22:30

Tealc said:
When you say slightly how much are you talking about?

It looks like you have no basic extra material to add an additional hole for a screw a little further out on the arm but you might be able to make a semi circle in the end for at least some of the fitting screw to fit, although looking at the backplate there's even less available.

Bending the bracket would be a bad idea I think.

I'm not sure if that cooler would be sufficient to cool a 470 though as they do run a bit hotter than a 4870. However if you can mod it then at least you won't have spent anything.

Really! The 470 runs hotter than the 4870!

I looked at a few reviews of loading temps and I thought it sat around high 70's (unless it was being stress tested). If I could get a strong and flat contact, I think it would do a better job of cooling than the stock exhaust fan would but I'm only basing that on the poor stock exhaust fan for my 4870.

The difference in screw hole distance is about 10mm at most. There might just be enough metal if I straightened out the mounting arm but I'm worried about the lack of flat contact afterward.

Tealc · 17 Apr 2011 at 23:20

Maybe I made an assumption based on the 470s power draw and it being based on the 480s core, which is well known to be hot.

If the holes were closer together a mod may be easy enough but as it is you are looking at bending something which shouldn't be bent or welding additional material on the end, something which nay be tricky to say the least.

You could attach some little bars to the mounting screws that extend towards the original clamp arm and hold them in place.

Does the 470 even have a backplate? Doesn't look like. If that's short as well you'd need to extend that too or at least fashion one yourself. Block of wood maybe for true ghetto mod.

I doubt if cable ties would be strong enough to hold the cooler in place and keep good pressure on the GPU.

If the 470 pcb isn't busy around the mounting hole you could drill 4 new holes. The chances if this working are close to zero.

anything is possible given the right tools but it's probably easier just to get a new cooler.

trentlad · 18 Apr 2011 at 01:57

Thanks for the input lads.

A fellow electronics engineer just made an excellent suggestion. To use specifically electronics focused Epoxy glue on the mounting arms. We use this stuff to keep our wires connected to surface mount pads and it's really tough. It can also be cut away with a scalpel.

Will be giving this a shot for certain.

Shayper · 18 Apr 2011 at 02:02

If you do cut this away with a scalpel and scratch one of the tracks it's game over

cjgardens · 18 Apr 2011 at 07:03

Shayper said:
If you do cut this away with a scalpel and scratch one of the tracks it's game over

You mean its gaming over

Tealc · 18 Apr 2011 at 09:56

That epoxy thing gave me an idea.

I recall while at work a colleague was using some form of metal based epoxy that set so hard it was almost as strong as proper metal. If one could procure this stuff and build extra length to the arms if both sides if the cooler retention bracket. You could drill this stuff and everything. Shouldn't be more than a few quid to buy.

Disco Boy · 18 Apr 2011 at 10:14

Just use the stock heatsink.

Marvin · 18 Apr 2011 at 10:47

trentlad said:
Really! The 470 runs hotter than the 4870!

I looked at a few reviews of loading temps and I thought it sat around high 70's (unless it was being stress tested). If I could get a strong and flat contact, I think it would do a better job of cooling than the stock exhaust fan would but I'm only basing that on the poor stock exhaust fan for my 4870.

The difference in screw hole distance is about 10mm at most. There might just be enough metal if I straightened out the mounting arm but I'm worried about the lack of flat contact afterward.

It's not about how hot it runs - that's affected by the cooler mounted and such, and the GTX470 stock cooler is more effective than the 4870's. It's about how much heat energy needs to be dissipated. This is where the card's TDP comes into play. The 4870 1GB has a 206W TDP while the GTX470 has a 232W TDP. So while the GTX470 'runs cooler', it actually requires more heat to be dissipated.

(Figures taken from TPU's GTX470 review)

JonJ678 · 18 Apr 2011 at 12:37

The metal-based epoxy was almost certainly JB weld. It's very good glue, but not a good choice for making things out of. I don't believe the shear strength will be sufficient.

What resources do you have available to you? The best option is to make a new bracket out of sheet steel. Failing that, if you can get a square of 1/16th plate, cut a hole out of the centre approximately the size of the gpu core, you should be able to mount the current bracket to the square and the square to the graphics card.

The layout would be card -> stock bracket -> diy bracket, so that the stock bracket tabs are secured under the steel plate.

bru · 18 Apr 2011 at 13:20

If you really must mod something, just cut a hole in the standard 470 plastic shroud and cable tie an additional fan on front of the card.

or of course just buy one of these and sell what you've got.

trentlad · 19 Apr 2011 at 00:19

Well a lot of the Exopys can be corrosive and slowly eat away at the board, so ill be testing with a non corrosive epoxy which solidifies into a very hard gel. Much like those clear rubber feet you see on the base of some products.

It may not be strong enough to hold the weight of a fan+heatsink but they are very light so I'd just have to be careful installing and moving the rig around. I could also secure it with some +100oC rated cable ties.

It could be suitable enough for a temporary heatsink until I get cash to buy the correct VGA cooler.

trentlad · 19 Apr 2011 at 00:23

bru said:
If you really must mod something, just cut a hole in the standard 470 plastic shroud and cable tie an additional fan on front of the card.

And form a push pull fan combination over the stock heatsink. Hmmm, even though i really like that idea I'd be screwed if I had to warranty replace it.

ANONANON · 19 Apr 2011 at 09:18

I would just buy a new cooler if it was mine.

SouthEastBlue · 19 Apr 2011 at 09:24

bru said:
If you really must mod something, just cut a hole in the standard 470 plastic shroud and cable tie an additional fan on front of the card.

or of course just buy one of these and sell what you've got.

+1 to the Zalman. It's the sensible answer!

Lethagized · 19 Apr 2011 at 09:25

Buy a proper cooler mate, you know it makes sense.

trentlad · 19 Apr 2011 at 12:10

Yes it is true, buying the correct VGA cooler does make more sense but I'm just sitting here staring at this card wanting to do something with it. Plus I literally JUST bought the 4870 cooler, so I feel like that is going to waste when i know it gives such a massive drop in temps... 30oC drop... THIRTY DEGREES!! The amount of overclocking possibilities that opens up is insane.

I've also had to send my motherboard in for a warranty replacement and haven't even been able to test this card yet. I have another two weeks to wait. So i wanted to throw out the idea and see if there were any genius suggestions.

I'll just be patient and wait until I can actually test it first. Some reviews seem to say the stock cooler is really effective keeping temps at 70 with fan speed at 60 under load and others say it sounds like a leaf blower and doesn't dip temps below mid 80s but also doubles as a room heater.

My Antec P182 has decent air flow with so it might just be ok and it has ridiculously thick side panels for sound insulation (which does make it really heavy) so it may just be quiet enough too.

We'll see. Thanks for all the helps though lads; keep the ideas coming if you can still think if any.