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T-Rad2 installation Guide and Initial Thoughts

ticktock said:
Again, looks like it is isolated to ATI cards, not Nvidia.
Click to expand...

The cards on this thread which are nvidia only show the core/pcb temp and not the vrm in GPU-Z.

Ati users are troubled with the vrm temps because GPU-Z can measure them.

The vrm's for a 4870 are rated 100+, but it would be good to keep them between 80-90 in atitool and 70-80 when running games.

Lower temps would be better but small heatsinks with thermal adhesive is not going get them better unless you have good airflow blowing on the vrms and another fan pushing the heat away.


People say the way Ati's and nvidia's vrm's work are different and nvidia's dont get as hot. I know that the 8800gt i had got very hot around the vrm's but had no way of measuring the exact temp.

If you were able put a trad-2 on a 280gtx/260gtx and then put small heatsinks on the vrms the temps would also be high if they could be measured.

8800/9800 use lower wattage than a 4870 so the temps for both core/vrm are going to be lower.
 
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out of interest - does anybody know of a program that can give me the temp readings of my vrms on an nvidia card?

i have everest - will check that later

bledd.? anyone?

would beinteresting to see and compare - will add results to the OP if significant
 
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ticktock said:
Thing is, aren't the ATI guys having problems with crashing etc?
Click to expand...

If someone is having problems with crashing, the vrms must be away over 120+ or something else is causing it or it's a faulty card.

I have two 4870's and vrm temps get even hotter using the renamed furmark but the only way i could make one of the card's crash was by letting the core temp get above 90 in furmark with very little airflow and a 500rpm fan.

With the trad-2 the core temp never gets to that and in games it should never crash because of vrm temps, especially with the fans most people use.

If you do a search you'll find nvidia cards have trouble with furmark also.
 
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If Ocuk stocked this vrm heatsink (could do without the ram heatsink in the pic) at a good price i guarantee that no 4870 owners would be getting high vrm temps as long as they applied mx-2 paste under it and a good fan blowing on to the vrm's.

http://img399.imageshack.us/my.php?image=4870test038va5.jpg

The stock heatsink did'nt need it but aftermarket cooling really needs a good vrm heatsink if you want temps to be low.
 
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I saw those coolers for sale on a US site, this must confirm that it is the 5 small chips next to the two raised chips that are the VRM chips for definite.

Would be interesting if these did start retailing in the UK, wll have a look on the net to see how people are getting on with these heatsinks on their VRMs in particular.
 
RaveyDaveyUK said:
At work so cant try...but has anyone seen whether the red baseplate of the stock cooler can fit under the Trad?
http://www.yougamers.com/forum/showthread.php?p=998175
Click to expand...

If that base plate is anything like the one on my card i dont see how it can do any good its just seems like some sort of plastic!

Clock.It said:
The only way to get better vrm temps is to use one large heatsink+mx-2 paste or have more airflow blowing on them.
Click to expand...

Does the MX-2 paste also act as an adhesive then?, if not wouldnt the HS just fall off?

Clock.It said:
The cards on this thread which are nvidia only show the core/pcb temp and not the vrm in GPU-Z.

Ati users are troubled with the vrm temps because GPU-Z can measure them.

The vrm's for a 4870 are rated 100+, but it would be good to keep them between 80-90 in atitool and 70-80 when running games.
Click to expand...

Must admit i never put any HS on my BFG 8800GT OC2's VRM's when i got the Accelero S1 cooler, as they didnt supply enough HS, as i could never find out what the temps of the VRM's where it didnt bother me, and i never had a single problem with my card crashing!, god knows how hot they got!

Clock.It said:
Lower temps would be better but small heatsinks with thermal adhesive is not going get them better unless you have good airflow blowing on the vrms and another fan pushing the heat away.
Click to expand...

Yeah thats the conclusion i came to, as with the PowerColor's setup the fan is basically sat right next to the VRMs (litterly 3-5mm away) and that fan used to go up to 3000rpm
so in this instance the stock cooler would do a better job at cooling the VRMs that the T-RAD2 as the fans are just too far away on the T-RAD2!

Clock.It said:
If Ocuk stocked this vrm heatsink (could do without the ram heatsink in the pic) at a good price i guarantee that no 4870 owners would be getting high vrm temps as long as they applied mx-2 paste under it and a good fan blowing on to the vrm's.

http://img399.imageshack.us/my.php?image=4870test038va5.jpg

The stock heatsink did'nt need it but aftermarket cooling really needs a good vrm heatsink if you want temps to be low.
Click to expand...

Yeah thats what we need, a larger HS!. I dont surppose you could send me a PM with the retailer of that HS could you?
 
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lettuce said:
If that base plate is anything like the one on my card i dont see how it can do any good its just seems like some sort of plastic!



Does the MX-2 paste also act as an adhesive then?, if not wouldnt the HS just fall off?



Must admit i never put any HS on my BFG 8800GT OC2's VRM's when i got the Accelero S1 cooler, as they didnt supply enough HS, as i could never find out what the temps of the VRM's where it didnt bother me, and i never had a single problem with my card crashing!, god knows how hot they got!



Yeah thats the conclusion i came to, as with the PowerColor's setup the fan is basically sat right next to the VRMs (litterly 3-5mm away) and that fan used to go up to 3000rpm
so in this instance the stock cooler would do a better job at cooling the VRMs that the T-RAD2 as the fans are just too far away on the T-RAD2!



Yeah thats what we need, a larger HS!. I dont surppose you could send me a PM with the retailer of that HS could you?
Click to expand...

The price of the heatsink for the ram and vrm (not sold separately) is as much as the trad-2 due to shipping from the US. It would be good if Ocuk stocked them at a reasonable price.

Heres a link to a site which gives information about lowering Pc/vga temps :-

http://www.silentpcreview.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=50409

Your question about the mx-2 paste, the heatsink will move about unless it is secured like the custom heatsink ones in the pic -by screws. Push pins or by d.i.y - elastic band placed around one large heatsink also secure's it.
 
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Big beast!!! Good looking HS for the VRMs anyway if it does it job

Shame looks so untidy with the fans on there...not a fan of cable ties holding fans in place. Gave it a quick read and he mentioned some small chips next to the 5 VRMs we know about which are the "buggers which are causing the problems"
 
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If the cards are not crashing in games etc etc, and the temps reported are normal, then why all the fuss about putting bigger or better heatsinks on them?
 
the thermalright heatsinks are working fine
they are cold to me and i have been on FC2 since 6pm
 
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ticktock said:
If the cards are not crashing in games etc etc, and the temps reported are normal, then why all the fuss about putting bigger or better heatsinks on them?
Click to expand...

I am getting crashing in games, think lettuce was as well, generally they are fine..cooler and work a treat but for high res gaming they get hot after a couple of hours and crash back to the desktop due to the VRM's overheating so need to find a way to keep them cooler
 
Willbo said:
I am getting crashing in games, think lettuce was as well, generally they are fine..cooler and work a treat but for high res gaming they get hot after a couple of hours and crash back to the desktop due to the VRM's overheating so need to find a way to keep them cooler
Click to expand...

So, in effect, the T-Rad2 is not the best cooler for an ATI then? Why should you have to go out and buy more bits for your card when everything should work straight out of the box. If it is quoted as compatible for your ATI then as far as i am concerned that means in all aspects of PC use. If the VRM's are overheating then the Cooler is not doing its job fully.

If i were an ATI owner i would be looking at a different after market cooler
 
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