VGA Coolers

[Dr. X]

The mounting pins/holes for a VGA heatsink are a standard size right?

so this cooler for example would fit onto my humble GF3..?

This
Vanted cooler is recommended for GF3, ... , Rad9800P so if the fanless one above would fit a 9800P then it would fit a GF3 also?

And yes, the Fan on my Gainward GF3 Golden Sample is the loudedst fan in my comp, even if it is very pretty.

[Shogun]

Not sure if it would fit the GF3. I know that the mounting holes for the GF4 are the same as the GF3 so if you can find a cooler for that it will be fine.

[SilentDeath]

Your gf3 outputs at most, my guess, 20-30w on the gpu. You need a heatsinnk preferably with a rating about 0.5c/w or lower, meaning the gpu will only ever each 15c above ambient.

the problem with your current cooler is no surface area. Its a flat peice of copper, with a fan blowing on it. the pins are at the edges and so do almost nothing... with more surface area there is more air touching the hot heatsink, meaning more heat can be taken away without needing a stupoidly loud fan to give the same effect.

Get a cpu cooler, a 1u low profile cpu cooler, if you need pci slots below it..
These have lots of fins and a silent 80mm fan can be fitted to it also, without much effort.

Problem is attaching it to gpu. Best way is drill holes in the hs that match the cards mounting holes, then use bolts to hold it on (this gives much more pressure than those stupid plastic pins, more pressure = better thermal conduction)

Also if there are components in the way, the hs may need cutting down a bit.

A low profile aluminuim cpu cooler with 80mm silent fan (about 20cfm) i used for my 9700 got it to 400mhz with ease and the card didnt get very warm (back of gpu about 45-50). This can be compared to a zalman hp-80a using the same fan, where 360mhz was highest which left the back of the gpu at 70c