8800GT Alpha Dog Cooling

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FredFlash

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Hi guys

I recently installed a 8800gt extreme AD edition.

What cooling options would you recommend using ? :confused:

Thanx in advance.

FF
 
it amazes me how companies call things extreme, and you think its so wonderful and pay the extra money.

meanwhile its the same as any other card :)

just a side thought, sorry :P
 
Increase the speed of the fan from 35% stock to 60%+ with RivaTuner.
 
Hey dude,

I got the exact same card two days ago. The stock single-slot cooler on this thing sucks! My card was idling at 71C and went all the way up to 95C when playing newer games like HL2 EP2 and Crysis. It's INSANE! :eek:

Anyway, so I got myself a Zalman VF-900 GPU cooler yesterday (also used one on my 7900GT) after reading numerous posts on the web about it fitting reference design 8800GT's. I installed it in about 20 minutes. My temps are down to 60C idle and 80C under load. Not the best ever, but temperatures I'm willing to live with.

I might have put the supplied thermal paste on a bit too thick, plus optimal performance is reached after about 7 days of normal PC use, so my temps might come down a little bit over the next few days. Otherwise I'm going to re-do it using Zalman's ZM-STG1 thermal grease.

This card does fly though! :D

Cheers!
 
4cer said:
it amazes me how companies call things extreme, and you think its so wonderful and pay the extra money.

meanwhile its the same as any other card :)

just a side thought, sorry :P
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They only call it that because it is factory overclocked and then XXX edition for the one that is overclocked a bit more
 
I have the same one, and it idles at around 52C and the highest I've had it go is mid 70s, but then I do have a 12cm fan mounted right behind it in my P182 case. I am having some issues with my PSU though :( I get a warning about it not supplying enough power (only when the PC is 'cold' though), going to swap it out this weekend.
 
50 degrees is rarely heard of with stock cooling so you are lucky, as for 75 degrees that pretty standard.

Thermalright HR-3 if it can fit that card or the Zalman as recommended above, Zalman is probably the best value for money tho.

Just stay the hell away from Thermaltake, do yourself a favour.
 
As for ThermalTake, I'd have to say the same goes for the their PSUs, I have the PurePower 680w currently, and I've been suspecting it for some time (makes a high pitch whine until it warms up). I have already had it replaced once. Going to swap it with an AOpen AO700 that is powering one of my other systems.
 
detritus said:
As for ThermalTake, I'd have to say the same goes for the their PSUs, I have the PurePower 680w currently, and I've been suspecting it for some time (makes a high pitch whine until it warms up). I have already had it replaced once. Going to swap it with an AOpen AO700 that is powering one of my other systems.
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Erm dude get that thing out of your PC ASAP. Those things suck ass, I had the Thermaltake Butterfly 480W, it blew, no joke, I was playing a game, there was a bang and then goodbye PSU + Graphics Card (Yep it owned the GPU as a going away reminder), the best part was it was just a few weeks out of warranty (The PSU not the GPU, I RMA'd that thing).

Also had a Thermaltake CPU Cooler on the CPU which sucked, the Zalman was so much better it's not even funny. You just need to look at their non-existent performance in benchmarks to see what I mean. That being the case I can almost guarantee their GPU cooler won't be far off mark with the rest of their low budget "enthusiast" line.

Did I mention Thermaltake is overpriced? (Just that big orb cooler, that things sucks but it costs more than the top of the line Thermalright)
 
detritus said:
As for ThermalTake, I'd have to say the same goes for the their PSUs, I have the PurePower 680w currently, and I've been suspecting it for some time (makes a high pitch whine until it warms up). I have already had it replaced once. Going to swap it with an AOpen AO700 that is powering one of my other systems.
Click to expand...

Dude, why don't you go for an Antec? They are pricier than AOpen, I must admit... but hot damn they are nice PSU's. My AOpen 350W in my "old" (read: now wife's) machine all of a sudden started overvolting on the 3.3V rail (thank goodness for MSI CoreCenter ;)). I dumped that thing and put my AOpen 450W from my current machine into the wife's PC.

I then got myself an Antec NEO HE 430W. What a joy! When I got my 8800GT this week I thought it might have a few problems with the extra load... but so far it's been taking it all in its stride. My Zalman fan controller in the front is reporting a total draw of 250W when I'm playing modern games like Crysis and HL2 EP2.

When it comes to PSU's, you shouldn't skimp on quality, that's for sure.
 
on topic, what is the best cooling, I also picked up 2 of the xxx cards for a friend and I was thinking of getting me a pair as well.

What is the best cooling mod available currently
 
McFly said:
Dude, why don't you go for an Antec?
Click to expand...

I have the Neo HE 550 on my shortlist :) Or Altenatively the Gigabyte ODIN 550w, the ODINs seem to get decent reviews, but Gigabyte aren't known for their PSUs, so who knows how it may fair in the long run.

McFly said:
When it comes to PSU's, you shouldn't skimp on quality, that's for sure.
Click to expand...

Agreed, but I've actually had less issues with cheap no-name brands than the expensive ones... but I don't really overclock or push my systems.

Anyway I've popped in my AOpen 700w for now, no more power warnings.


To get back on-topic, I don't have much experience with aftermarket cooling other than replacing a HSF that had become noisy. That time I used a Zalman VF-700, no issues, but it probably would not hold up under the strain of today's cards. The most common recommendations I see are for the Thermalright and Zalman solutions.
 
detritus said:
Anyway I've popped in my AOpen 700w for now, no more power warnings.
Click to expand...

Everyone I know who owns that power supply has had no issues, my brother has a failed Antec tho and my friend bought a OCZ power supply the other day, it was DOA.

My vote is for the AOpen, it got excellent reviews also.

If you want the absolute best tho you should try Enermax, I have a 350w unit that's 6years old still going strong (with perfect rails, 12v = 12.01v & 5v = 5.00v), they cost a arm and leg tho. Seasonic is also very good.

Also check out Anandtech, if they have your PSU and they say the layout is bad, stay AWAY. Most of those units do survive stress tests but there is no way they can know if the units they are sent aren't hand picked by the manufacturer (what manufacturer wouldn't do that? Anandtech can make or break a product).
 
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