*R9 290X Prolimatech MK-26 Fitting Guide*

[WalderX]

OK installed GPU-Z and got my VRM temps:

Everything stock @ idle:
Temp 1: 25
Temp 2: 29

Load (heaven 4 extreme)
Temp 1: Immediately up to 41 and then steady climb to 83 degrees where it settled for a while so I cranked up power target to +50, immediately after pressing apply I saw artefacts and the driver crashed. GPU-z log showed it got to 84 degrees and Temp 2 got to 58. The last 2 entries in the log show the power output going from 177W to 196W at which point the log stops because it crashed.

So you think this is pointing towards a VRM cooling problem? Temp 2 looks ok I guess, not sure where each temp is reading from though.

Anyone out there with the stock blower can you read the vrm temps under load for me?

 

[WalderX]

I think that definitely points to a VRM cooling issue.

Wait and see what the GT's can do about it and failing that, break out the thermal glue my friend

How did you get on with fanxpert btw?

Yeah will do. I haven't tried fanxpert yet, gonna hook the fans up to my fan controller first then see from there - thanks for sending it over though

I had another look at the card at lunchtime and it does look like the Alpenfohn beast vrm cooler will actually fit, just, so if I'm going down the thermal glue route I will use that for sure!

 

[WalderX]

Well the reinstall and reseat of vrm sinks and the new scythes went well and my temps are certainly reduced. Getting 26 core temp idle and around 22 for both the vrms. However I do seem to still have a major issue and it seems to have got worse since this morning. I fired up heaven to test the vrm temps and they look good, rising slowly through to about 50 degrees, core was at about 60 and then I get loads of artefacts and either the driver crashes or pc reboots. This is after less than 1 min of running, same in valley.

Bugger bugger and bugger is all I can say!

I just reset my mobo bios and did fresh reinstall of windows 8.1 and still same issue. Didnt even open ccc to change any settings. Just crashes at stock clocks and voltages although temps are very good.

I'm at a loss now so having a few beers and chilling with the girlfriend lol.

 

[WalderX]

thanks for this wonderfully informative thread, I have found it quite helpful.

One question I have is whether it is possible to find a those Alpenfohn coolers in the U.S.? Or if there is an alternative kit out there that would work...I say this because my R9 290X is scheduled to arrive today and I am thinking international shipping would take quite a while to ship out the VRAM coolers.

Thanks!

You actually get everything you need in the Prolimatech kit, its just the Alpenfohn ones are larger with more fins and therefore more surface area. As long as you have good fans and good case cooling you should be fine with just the Prolimatech kit.

Seems like the cooler you make it, the worse it gets...

I'm baffled tbh, so I'll just grasp at straws for the moment.

- Is there any noticeable flex in the pcb?
- Is there anything that could possibly be shorting? (It's an unlikely long shot, but something kind of similar happened with the Peter fan bracket on mine when it was in a certain position.)
- Are the top screws overtightened?

That's all I can think of right now...

In answer to your questions, yes there is some board flex, certainly noticeabale but doesnt look like it would cause an issue of this kind.
The fan brackets are installled centrally on the 2 main parts of the heatsink and are definitely not touching anythng else so I cant see how they are shorting anything.
I have tightened the screws more than last time, they are about as tight as they will go, but didnt use great force - could this really cause this sort of issue bearing in mind the temps are very good?

Thanks for your ongoing help!

 

[WalderX]

Glad to help if I can

Pcb flex could cause issues. Just trying to rule out certain things really.
I wasn't suggesting the fan brackets on yours are the issue. I was just wondering if there's anything that could possibly be making contact with something it shouldn't.
In my case, the PCI fan bracket could cause it to crash and restart if it was mounted tight up against the main heatsink, and it wouldn't do it until the card was under load for some reason.

Overtightening screws could damage the chip/socket or cause issues. The same applies to cpu coolers and cpu/gpu waterblocks.

It should not really reboot unless the CPU settings are flaky, unless some driver issue.
Artifacting is going to be the core or memory (if it does it quickly I would guess the memory), saw you had Elpida, not the best
If the thing will not run underclocked you have a hardware problem, how easy did the factory cooler lift off the memory chips ?

Try running the Pc on it's side to alleviate some of the weight from the card and slot before you go back to the original cooler.

Ok, it's a new day and more tinkering has been done. Touching every bit of wood I can see, I think, hope, pray that the issue is now resolved!

I'm not gonna get too excited just yet but here is the situation:

Woke up, remembered my 290x could be broken, heart sank of course (especially as I had planned a big BF4 lan party at my house today )
Went downstairs, flipped the case on it's side to alleviate the flex, booted up and ran valley in 720p windowed mode - no crash after a few minutes. Got excited that the issue was resolved, tried again at 1080p fullscreen, artefacts after 30 secs, black screen 2 seconds later. Had to hard reset and got bios post code relating to no vga issue (along with red light next to the card) which incidentally has been happening with these crashes over the past day. Force power off, turn on, posts fine and boots to windows.

Checked the GPU-z temps at time of crash and they are now astonishingly good, 55 degrees core and 59 degrees vrm. So naturally I assumed I had a hardware issue and RMA'ing this card now will be less than simple without being rather creative

So I ran the same tests again above, crashed again after less than 1 min. Now I felt like giving up.

Took the card out and took the fans off and the 4 brackets. Unscrewed the 4 backplate screws by a few turns and then tightened them back up by hand, until gentle pressure wouldn't go any further (no screwdriver this time).

Instead of clipping the fans back on I just rested them at an angle against the card once installed in the case. Boooted back up, ran valley fullscreen, ultra, 1080p. NO CRASH after 3 mins+, temps excellent (although slightly higher as the fans aren't mounted properly).

Im still running it at 1080p windowed mode whilst writing this and have not seen a single artefact YET (10 mins or so now). Am now of course feeling quite excited again that the day might be saved!

So I think it is most likely that the screws were too tight, but it could equally have been the fan clips so to be sure I am going to cable tie them on I think. I knew these things are sensitive but I now appreciate just how sensitive they are. I've always tightened my CPU blocks with a screwdriver relatively tight and never had a problem, but I guess CPU's have a lid, whereas on this I was screwing down onto the die itself.

Valley is still running behind my browser btw, core at 57 and vrm at 65

Thankyou so much to all you guys for expert help, I've never been an active forum member before (as you can see from my post count), and I'm now quite addicted! Next build I will be doing a watercooling rig as I have been running on air since my first build in 2003 so I'd like to learn the ins and outs of it all.

I will certainly be updating the fitting guide with all these caveats and warnings about what to look out for, once I am sure I am stable. I'm not even gonna touch the clocks or voltages yet - if I get through a day of BF4 gaming then I'll be happy and will come back to overclocking later on. I am at least fairly sure I don't have a hardware issue, so if these problems continue I will reapply the stock blower with new paste and pads.

Essay over

**UPDATE**
Going well peeps, got through a run of 3DMark11 with no issues at all. Running valley again with power target at +50, 10% overclock on core and mem (I swear I said I wasn't going to touch the clocks?!) and no issues at all. Happy bunny so far Am kind of dreading removing the card again to fit the fans though...

 

[WalderX]

I would think if it's not a Pciex slot connection problem (heat and weight) it is a damaged card as nasty as it sounds minor flexing of the card should not cause disconnects of any of the components.

Personally if I was pursuing your route I would brace the card whether it be with the original sub plate or some other method and also mount the fans to a case supported sub tray.

Even if I had to hack the cooler I may also consider leaving the original ATI fan for a bit of airflow on the card as I doubt you have much air penetration around the VRM's.

I think this is a sound idea however I am fairly sure I don't have a damaged card now, have reinstalled it with the fan clips (tried cable ties but wasn't easily going to work). Still seems fine PC is still on it's side though so when I put it upright I'm gonna pull the gpu power cables a bit tighter and cable tie them round the back if it looks like that will give sufficient support.

It seems to be an over-tightening issue rather than pcb flex

Still, those GT's aren't lightweight and some bracing may help.

I think so too, as I said in previous post, it was still crashing after less than 30 seconds with the pc on its side and no flex in the board at all.
Fingers crossed eh?!

 

[WalderX]

Is it possible to mount the big Alpenfohn VRM heatsink under the MK26?

Yes it will fit, although due to the weight I would use the thermal glue rather than any thermal tape.

 

[WalderX]

what are the VRM2 Temps on your cards ? my are really Bad

20% fan - 120° and increasing
50% fan - max 110°
100% fan - max 90°

my fans are 2x enermax cluster 140mm

Make sure you post pics and results here, Rasch

How are you getting on, Walder? No more artifacts? Any overclocking adventures?

Whilst my temps have been great with the Scythe fans I couldn't resolve the intermittent issues I had with crashing but I do believe it may have been board flex because it was always fine when the fans weren't attached and just resting against the card. The Scythes are very weighty and perhaps a bit too much for this cooler. Rather than throw any more money at it I had to bite the bullet and replace the stock cooler as I had a planned lan party and didn't want to be sitting there all day watching everyone else play lol! Thankfully all the issues have gone away so am happy although my temps and noise are of course back up there again!

I can see OCUK's pre-fitted versions of this getting a lot of RMA's across the 2-year warranty period...

Anyone want to buy my MK-26 off me cheap? The whole kit is there along with plenty of thermal paste, the original box, instructions etc... It's the Black version and I would take £40 inc delivery.

The Scythe's have replaced my NZXT intake and exhaust fans