Adventures in custom 6800GT cooling (Lots-o-Pics!!!!)

gvblake22 · Post by **gvblake22** » Sun Dec 18, 2005 1:14 pm

Ok, I'm just too darn excited about this mod, so I just have to start the thread now!

My plan is to make a cheap, effective, "relatively" low-profile, very quiet cooling system for my PCI-Express XFX 6800GT. I currenyl have a Zalman VF700-AlCu heatsink fan on cooling the 6800GT GPU, but I want something with better performance, lower noise, and that is no more expensive.

So... Without further adieu, I bring you...
THE HEATSINK!

Yes, I ordered 3 of them. I will use one full heatsink for the GPU. The second I will cut up to cool the memory chips and the power regulator, while the last heatsink will simply be a spare in case I mess something up.

As you can see from the pictures below, the base of this all copper Xeon heatsink measures about 89mm long, 63mm wide. The base is about 6mm thick and the fins are about 16mm tall, making the entire heatsink (from bottom base to the top of the fins) about 22mm tall.

The only problem so far with this heatsink is the fact that it shipped in pretty poor condition. As you can see from the picture below, the finish on the base leaves a lot to be desired. It almost looks dirty!

Looks like this thing will definately need a lapping!:

I will be going where I have never seen any other video card cooling mod go before and use a 92mm fan to actively cool this setup. I will be using a 25mm thick Delta EFB0912L Triple Blade fan. I chose this fan for several reasons. First off, it boasts air flow measurements of about 40cfm while keeping low noise at 29.5dB. Full fan specifications can be seen HERE.
The unique triple blade design of this fan also reduces turbulence created by the fan blades rotating at such high speeds. So in this smaller cooling space, an advantage such as this is very good.
Here's what the fan looks like compared to the heatsink:

The total height of the heatsink and fan is about 47mm, which is only 17mm taller than the two slot Zalman VF700 (which is 30mm high). So I'm expecting this cooling mod to take up about 3 slots.

Well, that's all for now. I'm off to the hardware store to see if I can improve the finish of the base on these heatsinks. Stay Tuned!!!

gvblake22 · Post by **gvblake22** » Sun Dec 18, 2005 6:01 pm

DAMN CONCAVE HEATSINKS!!!

This is gonna take me a little longer than I thought. I'll have to bust out the 200 grit tomorrow!

Bio-Hazard · Post by **Bio-Hazard** » Mon Dec 19, 2005 8:50 am

A few years back I modded a OCZ copper HSF basic'y the same way to cool a old ATI 9500 Pro. It worked well and I used it for some time until it was replaced by the first version of VGA Silencer from Arctic Cooling. I'll have to see if I still have some pics of it laying around................

Post by **FZ1** » Mon Dec 19, 2005 9:53 am

Nice job GVB! Keep it going!

kenc51 · Post by **kenc51** » Mon Dec 19, 2005 11:27 am

Nice job

sbohdan · Post by **sbohdan** » Tue Dec 20, 2005 3:33 pm

I'm eager to see the outcome (looks and temps)

gvblake22 · Post by **gvblake22** » Thu Dec 22, 2005 12:44 am

sbohdan wrote:I'm eager to see the outcome (looks and temps)

AS AM I!!

Here we have my lapping progress.
Almost flat, it's SO CLOSE!

And the finished product:

...and a big thanks to Son1990 for my recent image hosting

killswitch83 · Post by **killswitch83** » Thu Dec 22, 2005 12:48 am

oh my God, I'm blind I'm blind!!!!! lol

looking damn good Blake, it's practically a mirror finish......very nice job so far man

sbohdan · Post by **sbohdan** » Thu Dec 22, 2005 8:41 am

anticipation is killing me

gvblake22 · Post by **gvblake22** » Thu Dec 22, 2005 10:38 am

sbohdan wrote:anticipation is killing me

hehehehehe
*throws head back in evil laugh*

I'll be drilling/tapping/installing today. Not sure if I'll be able to get to a computer to update today though, we'll see.

gvblake22 · Post by **gvblake22** » Fri Dec 23, 2005 4:26 pm

Ok, well, of course, what good is a big mod project without your first bump in the road?!

I was getting ready to start the drilling/tapping and realized that I was a dumb @$$ and all my screws and taps were too big for the mounting holes on the board!!!

So after a trip back to the hardware store, I returned all my old parts and replaced them all with new, smaller screws. But, unfortunately, they didn't have any taps small enough for the new screws, so I had to change my design!

So now, instead of drilling and tapping holes in the base of the heatsink, I'll have to drill the hole (with no tapping) and then put the screw all the way through and have a nut on the other side. That also means I'll probably have to cut away some of the fins on the heatsink to make room for the screw head.
Anyway, thought I would give everyone a heads up as to my progress. My girlfriend is actually going to come over and help me do this mod tonight, so hopefully she'll be able to catch all my stupid mistakes.

And, of course, what good is an update without a picture?!

So here is a pic of all the pieces of the puzzle:

You'll just have to guess what all those extra nuts and bolts are for

kenc51 · Post by **kenc51** » Fri Dec 23, 2005 4:32 pm

Drill your hole, starting on the flat side of the Heatsink......If it bends anything so what, you still get the results you want....

Will we be seeing the completed mod by christmas?

waiting anxiously
Ken

Post by **FZ1** » Fri Dec 23, 2005 4:48 pm

So an NV silencer was just too easy for ya huh?

gvblake22 · Post by **gvblake22** » Fri Dec 23, 2005 4:54 pm

kenc51 wrote:Will we be seeing the completed mod by christmas?

waiting anxiously
Ken

I sure as hell hope so!!!

Vstrom wrote:So an NV silencer was just too easy for ya huh?

OF COURSE!!! Where's the fun in that??

sbohdan · Post by **sbohdan** » Fri Dec 23, 2005 5:05 pm

Vstrom wrote:So an NV silencer was just too easy for ya huh?

well the NV silencer isn't any extreme for cooling. dropping the temp by couple of degrees just isn't cutting for an OC-er. sometimes, as I read in some reviews those aren't even dropping the temps only the noise (hence silencer). on the other hand any newbie can change the stock HSF to aftermarket (they have extensive manuals and all sometimes and are easy to install). it's not a challenge. and makes no difference if it's water or air cooling as long as it is ready made - just too easy...

Post by **FZ1** » Fri Dec 23, 2005 5:15 pm

My temps dropped 15 degrees at load on my 7800GT and may case temps dropped by 5 or so. It's a pretty good cooler IMHO and silent to boot.

kenc51 · Post by **kenc51** » Fri Dec 23, 2005 5:17 pm

sbohdan wrote:
Vstrom wrote:So an NV silencer was just too easy for ya huh?
well the NV silencer isn't any extreme for cooling. dropping the temp by couple of degrees just isn't cutting for an OC-er. sometimes, as I read in some reviews those aren't even dropping the temps only the noise (hence silencer). on the other hand any newbie can change the stock HSF to aftermarket (they have extensive manuals and all sometimes and are easy to install). it's not a challenge. and makes no difference if it's water or air cooling as long as it is ready made - just too easy...

I just got an arctic silencer rev4 for my x800 card....it was watercooled, but with the stock cooler i was hitting 95C after a bios mod to open all 16 pipes...
With the arctic cooler I hit 65C......30C is worth the cost ~â‚¬25

Sure modding is cool, it does get lower temps when done right, as you know!

But I wouldn't knock that cooler......I was gonna get it for my 7800 intead of watercooling it...

Post by **FZ1** » Fri Dec 23, 2005 5:39 pm

Preach on brother Ken.

sbohdan · Post by **sbohdan** » Fri Dec 23, 2005 5:54 pm

Vstrom wrote:My temps dropped 15 degrees at load on my 7800GT and may case temps dropped by 5 or so. It's a pretty good cooler IMHO and silent to boot.

you are lucky or those who tested it didn't install it properly. I never owned one but when I wanted to get it, I googled around to see if it's any better then the zalman's ZM80D-HP double heatpipe cooler which I had. that's when I read about 5 different test rewievs and they all said that it's not much better then stock if any lowering temps but that its very quiet. thats when I decided not to get the NV and try an extreme mod I've seen being done on a 9800pro by Max from adrian's rojak pot forums. so no offence, all I said is what I gathered on google.

Post by **FZ1** » Fri Dec 23, 2005 6:09 pm

Maybe it didn't work so good on the 6800's etc but I have sen a lot of people say they got a lot of benefit from it on the 7800's. No offense taken, this is what the forums are for