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.

 

[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?

 

[David41]

Thanks for the heads up!
Image removed.

 

[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.

 

[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

 

[David41]

This one mate.