Work Log : Changing GPU Cooler

[David41]

Hi.

I'm going to be doing a little work log of me changing the cooler on my ATI HD4870. It's the first time I've ever changed a gpu cooler so hopefully it goes relatively smoothly. I'll take the obligatory pictures as I go along then post them later when I'm done, but to kick things off here's a few of the unboxing.



Alpenfohn Heidi.



Box, manual, heatsinks, and everything else is in the plastic container.



Everything laid out ready to begin.



In all it's glory.



The other side.

 

[Rroff]

Heatsink looks a bit thinner than I thought it was... still gonna need some serious mounting tho to be secure by the looks of it.

 

[David41]

Out with the old.



Stock cooler (very noisy).



Old fans and shroud removed.



Old heat sink removed and warranty void.



Couldn't remove this lol, it's the heat sink for the vrm's. But it looks substantial enough so it can stay.



Fan attached to new heat sink with rubber grommets.



Heatsinks added to vram, thermal paste applied and cooler mounted using screws and "nipples" wtf!



In with the new.



Powered up and working like a charm. Now I can hear myself think.



Very happy with how it has tuned out. The fan that Alpenfohn provide is very quiet, which makes a welcome change from the loud buzzing that my old cooler made.

So, now I'm after some software to record temps, stress test and overclock. What would you recommend. I hear MSI Afterburner is good for overclocking, should I download that?

 

[marc512]

that takes up 4 slots looks good though!

yes msi afterburner is good. I use it myself

 

[tommythetim]

Gpu-z for reading the temps.
http://www.techpowerup.com/downloads/1761/TechPowerUp_GPU-Z_v0.3.9.html

MSI Kombustor, which is a version of Furmark, but be careful with it as it can cook your GPU.

 

[kitch9]

Exposed electronics on a standard mouse pad........ Static city......

 

[SteveOBHave]

Mr David Stevenson - you might want to remove your home address on the first image.

 

[Marine-RX179]

Mr David Stevenson - you might want to remove your home address on the first image.

Didn't really paid much attention to that until you pointed that out. That made me loled

 

[David41]

Thanks for the heads up!
Image removed.

 

[pastymuncher]

I had that version of the 4870. The VRM heatsink is ok and is needed as they can get rather toasty if left bare. The heatsink will get some airflow from the fan too.

 

[alex24]

That aftermarket sink is huge. Let us know what temps you got before and after.

 

[dante6491]

I wonder how it compares to a T-Rad2, which is a fair bit thinner?

 

[David41]

I forgot to take temp readings before I changed the cooler, it would have been good to compare.
Anyway my temp readings from GPU-Z at idle are as follows:

GPU Temperature - 38*C
GPU Temp.(DISPIO) - 39*C
GPU Temp.(MEMIO) - 46*C
GPU Temp.(SHADERCORE) - 40*C

Will get some temps under load up shortly.

 

[Shakeel]

I forgot to take temp readings before I changed the cooler, it would have been good to compare.
Anyway my temp readings from GPU-Z at idle are as follows:

GPU Temperature - 38*C
GPU Temp.(DISPIO) - 39*C
GPU Temp.(MEMIO) - 46*C
GPU Temp.(SHADERCORE) - 40*C

Will get some temps under load up shortly.

i had a 4870x2 that would idle at 36 with fan at 50%

 

[David41]

Okay, I ran the Street Fighter 4 benchmark to get an idea of temps at load, they are as follows:

GPU Temperature - 51*C
GPU Temp.(DISPIO) - 51*C
GPU Temp.(MEMIO) - 58*C
GPU Temp.(SHADERCORE) - 54*C

 

[arc@css]

They seem quite decent temps to me. Nice work.

Btw what case do you have there?

 

[David41]

This one mate.

 

[arc@css]

Quite a nice case that. Nice feeling of satifaction when having done something yourself like you did with the cooler.