4870X2 cooling idea - PCI slot case cooler

[pjladyfox]

Everyone,

Wanted to get some of you more seasoned guys and girls opinions on some ideas for trying to bring down the temps on a 4870X2. Now I know there's the fan speed mod via the Catalyst drivers and Rivatuner (I think?) for fan adjustment as well as replacing the stock thermal paste with better stuff. Right now I'm looking at moving to an Antec Three Hundred for better airflow than my current case but I'm looking for something more.

Basically, I'm looking at something a bit different to work in conjunction with the fan speed adjustment (the thermal paste idea is out since I do not wish to void my warranty) and that is a fan cooling card. Now the two that look the most promising are these:

AzenX Blitztorm BT-SC70BBL PCI Slot Case Cooler
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835114024

VANTEC SP-FC70-BL 70mm PCI Slot Case Cooler
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835888112\

Now I did a lot of digging to try and find if anyone had used these with either a 3870X2 or a 4870X2 and came up empty. I did see that some had some decent suggest using either of these to cool a 8800 GTX and even a GTX 260 which are about the same size as the X2's but they run cooler than the X2's do.

Do you guys think either of these would help do the trick or are they just a waste of money?

 

[erocker]

The latest RivaTuner works with 4870x2's. The pci-e slot coolers are kind of a waste, though perhaps using one on the backside of the card would help a little.

 

[tzitzibp]

i agree with erocker...
I used a pci slot cooler to bring down temps of my 8800gtx and I found I got better results when it was used on the back of the card, right between the card and the cpu to draw hot air out of the case ... it actually brought the gtx 5-7 C down and the system 3-4 C...

 

[pjladyfox]

Interesting.

I never would have considered putting the cooler above the card which does make sense since the heatsink that covers the RAM is on the back. I've been toying with different speeds on the fan via the CCC tools but do you guys like the RivaTuner a lot better? Also, do you have a suggestion as to what fan speed would be a good balance between keeping things cool and quiet?

 

[Fastmix]

I don't think that approach will make any difference but it will help moving some of the hot air out from your case, what we are all doing is modding the bios with a temperature table and flashing the card.

If you are interested, just download one of the bios in my signature, open it with RBE and open yours and just copy the fan values, then flash your card with your new modded bios.

I hope this helps.

 

[tzitzibp]

yes the way to go is flashing the bios with the fan set at 30% for idle (and experiment for the rest of the speed intervals before you flash)