Aftermarket GPU cooling for 6870 - opinions please?

[GaryRW]

As the title suggests, I'm considering an aftermarket GPU cooler for my new 6870. Apologies if this is a bit long winded. Basically, I'm considering:

1. trying more cases fans
2. just running a quieter fan profile and living with higher temps
3. buying an aftermarket GPU cooler
4. (watercooling - would be a 1st for me )

Just for a bit of background, I've just upgraded from a 8800gt to a 6870. For gaming I'm using a single 1680x1050 monitor, but I'm using 3 monitors for desktop stuff a passive DP-VGA adapter + 2 x DVI. I didn't realise why my idle temps were high, but it turns out the 6870 doesn't drop to full idle if using 3 monitors. The memory speed doesn't drop at all even at complete idle, and the GPU only drops to 300mhz not 150mhz as it should. So my idle temps are into the 50's, and when gaming it's heading up towards 70.

I'm not too worried by those temps, but I'll admit I have no idea really what is good/bad. It's the noise that I don't like. My old 8800gt had a custom cooler on that ran at 100% all the time () but it was pretty quiet. So a bit loud for idle, but when gaming it was absolutely fine. I've noticed a definite increase in noise with the 6870 both in idle and gaming.

Option 1: This is in an Antec P182. Since getting the 6870 I've switched the bottom HDD 12cm fan to be in the middle pulling air from the front of the case towards the GPU, but that didn't make a whole lot of difference to be honest. Option 1 is to add a second fan, so in addition to the new fan at the front of the case, they'd be a 2nd one a bit further behind in a pull-push type thingy. Unfortunately I've no spare 12cm fans handy to see if that makes a huge difference. & of course more fans might just = more noise...

Option 2: Using MSI afterburner, I have experimented with a custom fan profile. The fan can run quieter, and I can get it effectively inaudible in both idle and gaming, but iirc it resulted in idle temps of 60+ and much closer to 80 when gaming.

Option 3: I've looked at the Arctic Cooling Accelero Twin Turbo £24.50 which sounds ok. Arctic Cooling website says it should be ok with 6870, though it recommends a separate VRM heatsink set ("VR001") - struggling to find anywhere selling those in the UK, but direct from Arctic cooling it's $9.79 inc P&P but + VAT. Seems VRM cooling is a common problem with aftermarket GPU cooling.

Or I think the more extreme 3 fan version at around £40-45 might come with the better VRM heatsinks? At least in theory it should do - Arctic cooling says that for the 5870, the generic extreme plus needs the same VRM heatsinks as the 6870, so I would guess the 5870 labelled one includes as standard. Or maybe it has other tweaks to make it suitable?

Looking at this page (http://www.atomicmpc.com.au/Gallery/...-guide.aspx/27), one idea is whether I can try and re-use the stock cooler's metal base plate as VRM cooling?? It would need a bit of work to get rid of the old fan etc... but looking at the other pics, it doesn't look like the stock heatsink makes direct contact with the metal base plate.

Option 4: Scary!!! Not sure I want to mess with WC just for fan noise which is not that bad. Presumably custom water blocks that would deal with VRM cooling will be a while coming yet anyway??

So any thoughts very welcome.

ps. I've not even worked out a way of monitoring VRM temps yet - MSI afterburner doesn't seem to do that with my card.

[LuckyNV]

Out of interest what is the fan speed in idle for you?

The core and RAM should be in idle mode at 100/300MHz respectively and fan speed should only be 21% (AFAIK the lowest) which is practically inaudible.

Gaming there is some noise, but a definite reduction compared to my GTX260.

I'm running a HAF-932 all my fans on controller but they aren't particularly loud just very good circulation.

[GaryRW]

Thanks for the reply. As I'm running 3 monitors, my card (Sapphire, btw, stock clocks) doesn't drop down to the 100/300mhz it should do. The ram stays at 1050, and the core only drops to 300mhz. Hence right now on the desktop, fan is 27%, and temp is still 57c.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying it's like a 1st gen xbox 360 or anything, but I do like it quiet!

(and yes, I know the sensible thing to do would have been to wait for a 6870 to come out with a custom cooler, or just go with a overclocked + custom cooler 460, but the sapphire was on special!)

[Pob255]

I think the not dropping correctly at idle is to do with running 3 monitors off it (not in eyefinity)
I'm sure I read about that issue some place.

What you could try is getting a 2nd low powered card just to run the 2 extra monitors, just running a desktop doesn't need anything much in the way of gpu.

Currently your idle temps are a bit high but nothing to worry about.

What case fans are you using? it may be that you're not getting enough air flow, esp if you've got near silent very low rpm fans.

[LuckyNV]

what are you running? running iplayer (flash) ramps my RAM to 1050MHz and then fan speed rises to 27% too (a tad annoying on desktop use)

[GaryRW]

Thanks Chaps.

Pob - yeah, it's definitely the 3 monitor issue with the idling speeds. I didn't say in OP, but I've previously tried disabling the other 2 monitors and the card idles properly at the same speeds as LuckyNV is getting. So looks like I'm stuck with higher idle speeds unless AMD fix in a driver, which seems unlikely as a quick google suggests this issue affects 5xxx series as well.

2nd card option is out unless I go for a PCI card or a different motherboard.

I think you're probably right on the case fans too actually. I hadn't thought of that, but I have swapped the Antec tri-cool things out (for these iirc: http://www.scan.co.uk/products/120mm...peed-cable-set) I did that and got it so the old GPU was the loudest thing, so adding more/faster fans is probably defeating the point.

LuckyNV - what idle & load temps do you get? I think your question about iPlayer is about idle temps, and as above, I'm pretty sure idle is the 3 monitor thing.

Last night I tried using MSI afterburner to set lower speeds, and whilst playing oblivion (finally at full settings!) the temps went much higher (about 75-80c) so as I'm generally running hot in the first place due to 3 monitors and quieter case fans, so it's looking like the aftermarket cooling is the way I'd need to go to be quieter.

So how scary is it to swap out a GPU cooler? I've changed out CPU coolers quite a few times, but never messed with a GPU before. Any ideas on whether the metal base plate from the stock cooler be a better option for the VRM and ram cooling?

[LuckyNV]

Ok nevermind its to do with your monitor set up.

Idle temps right now is 42C, load will depend on the game, I've have to log it for an accurate observation.

GPU cooler fitting can be tricky depending on what you choose, I'm not sure what coolers will fit HD6870, I think the Zalman VF3000?
http://www.quietpc.com/gb-en-gbp/pro...ati-vga/vf3000

Arctic Cooling says their coolers fit but needs additional heatsinks
http://www.arctic-cooling.com/catalo...ath=2_&mID=379
http://www.arctic-cooling.com/catalo...ath=2_&mID=105
no idea where to get the additional heatsinks but you can order from AC website
http://www.arctic-cooling.com/websho...2_75&shop_id=1

[scaryjim]

... looks like I'm stuck with higher idle speeds unless AMD fix in a driver ...

Seems unlikely, I suspect it's a deliberate decision by AMD rather than a "bug", to ensure that you get sufficient graphical performance to push what is, after all, a hefty number of pixels (even if it's not doing much with them).

Fitting an aftermarket cooler should be a straightforward process, but is likely to void your warranty, so really it's down to whether the slightly lower temps and noise are worth the risk of losing the card should anything go wrong with it during the rest of the warranty period.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

This thread on the OcUK forums should prove useful:

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/sho...php?p=17446976

[GaryRW]

ta all.

Having checked a bit, I was a bit disappointed that even using 2 monitors results in the higher idle speeds and temps. When I dropped down to 1 monitor, I got the same idle temps (and speeds obviously) as LuckyNV

I had assumed swapping out the GPU cooler would be warranty voiding, hence my slight reluctance. Touch wood, I've never had to return anything under warranty. Maybe I'll just cope with it for a year then try it.

If I did pluck up the courage now, my main concern is cooling the VRM's. As per my first post and LuckyNV's links, the Arctic Cooling says special VRM sinks are needed.

The caption on the photo here: http://www.atomicmpc.com.au/Gallery/...-guide.aspx/27 is where I got the idea for using the metal base plate as the VRM and Heatsink cooling. Is that a sensible idea? (I'm struggling with google!)

Edit: Pob - seems you've got experience of cutting up stock coolers (http://forums.hexus.net/graphics-car...ml#post1648618) - would you mind taking a look at that atomicpc link above and let me know what you think