GPU Cooler Mod Advice/Opinion wanted.

PCGamerDR · Apr 17, 2015

Hi guys,

Noob modder and forum newbie don't know if this is the right place to post this but since it's a mod i went on and posted it

.

So as part of the title i took off a gtx 550ti (got the gpu for free from a friend since he didn't want it anymore) reference cooler for fun* and placed a reference hd7870 cooler just the copper part (red square) as the image below without the black plate thing and the red fan.

Before the mod idle temps were 47*C and load temps were 68~72*C depending on the game played with fan going up to 3,500rpm on auto, after the mod I have achieved 45*C on idle but 60~63*C on load with a fan at 2,500rpm which is a lot quieter.

So my question is the reference cooler didn't cool much of the voltage regulators and the circuitry around the power connectors so should i strap another fan to cool it?

or keep it the way it is/was? I'm gonna start benching and see if it crashes or maybe to OC the GPU further for the lolz.

Thanks in advance guys!

xvi · Apr 17, 2015

There should be some airflow coming from the current fan pushing back over the VRMs. If the stock cooler didn't come in to contact with the VRMs, then it should be okay. Does GPU-z show your VRM temps? I'd check there first. If there's no temp sensor, you could try grounding yourself to your case with one hand and touching the VRMs to see if they're excessively hot (careful though, VRMs often get "OWW!" hot during normal operation. If you do touch them, just tap it quickly to avoid pain/burns.)
Might want to pick up some little universal VRM heatsinks to stick to them though for insurance. For bonus points, fold and tape up a cardboard shroud to direct airflow.

Going to tag this thread in the Ghetto Mods thread. It's just crazy enough to work and I think they'd appreciate it.

In the name of lulz, I humbly request moar!

PCGamerDR · Apr 17, 2015

xvi said:
There should be some airflow coming from the current fan pushing back over the VRMs. If the stock cooler didn't come in to contact with the VRMs, then it should be okay. Does GPU-z show your VRM temps? I'd check there first. If there's no temp sensor, you could try grounding yourself to your case with one hand and touching the VRMs to see if they're excessively hot (careful though, VRMs often get "OWW!" hot during normal operation. If you do touch them, just tap it quickly to avoid pain/burns.)
Might want to pick up some little universal VRM heatsinks to stick to them though for insurance. For bonus points, fold and tape up a cardboard shroud to direct airflow.

Hmm i did not think about a shroud lol, will try it tomorrow hehe.

xvi said:
Going to tag this thread in the Ghetto Mods thread. It's just crazy enough to work and I think they'd appreciate it.

That's awesome

PCGamerDR · Apr 17, 2015

Gonna try zip-tying an am3+ cooler for the lulz see if it's any better XD

CAPSLOCKSTUCK · Apr 17, 2015

Elastic bands, way to go Dude.... :clap:

. If I am not mistaken you have even tied a knot in one because i can see an end. In fact it looks like a broken end so you didnt use scissors even !

Respect to you and a warm welcome to TPU.

My net is super slow today, as the pic unfolded it was like a gorgeous stripper disrobing in front of me. :toast:

Random Murderer · Apr 17, 2015

Oh, this is just glorious!
@PCGamerDR , brilliant work and welcome to TPU!
I second xvi's idea of making a shroud, you will see a massive drop in temps if you can manage to force that airflow through the fins rather than just blowing on top of the assembly.

PCGamerDR · Apr 17, 2015

Random Murderer said:
Oh, this is just glorious!
@PCGamerDR , brilliant work and welcome to TPU!
I second xvi's idea of making a shroud, you will see a massive drop in temps if you can manage to force that airflow through the fins rather than just blowing on top of the assembly.

Not only a shroud but i might ghetto some motherboard heatsinks from my last board and some of the hd7870 vram thermal pads and stick it up real good xD, dammit still 2 hours til i get home to try all these ideas :"D

Random Murderer · Apr 17, 2015

PCGamerDR said:
Not only a shroud but i might ghetto some motherboard heatsinks from my last board and some of the hd7870 vram thermal pads and stick it up real good xD, dammit still 2 hours til i get home to try all these ideas :"D

Take pics and let us know the results!
*Grabs a seat and some popcorn*

xvi · Apr 17, 2015

PCGamerDR said:
Not only a shroud but i might ghetto some motherboard heatsinks from my last board and some of the hd7870 vram thermal pads and stick it up real good xD, dammit still 2 hours til i get home to try all these ideas :"D

System Name	Old but Gold
Processor	A10-6800k : 4,700GHz@1.4v
Motherboard	Asus F2A85 V-PRO
Cooling	CoolerMaster Gemin 2 S524 with a modded crazy fan on it :D
Memory	8GB G.Skill RipJawZ @2400MHz Dual Channel; 10-12-12-31
Video Card(s)	Clud3D R9 290 RoyalAce core@1077 mem@1350
Storage	Dual 500GB Seagate Barracuda
Display(s)	Asus VH198T Res 1440x900@75Hz, Aspect Ratio 16:10, 10000000:1 Contrast Ratio
Case	Diablotek Predator
Audio Device(s)	Onboard Realtek ALC892 Unlocked DTS and DD :) !!!
Power Supply	Corsair CX750M
Mouse	Logitech G502
Keyboard	Logitech Generic PS/2 Keyboard !
Software	Win 10 Pro 64-Bit
Benchmark Scores	2,810 on Valley 1.0 Custom Preset: Ultra DX11 1080p 4xAA.

System Name	Rainbow
Processor	Intel Core i7 8700k
Motherboard	MSI MPG Z390M GAMING EDGE AC
Cooling	Corsair H115i, 2x Noctua NF-A14 industrialPPC-3000 PWM
Memory	G. Skill TridentZ RGB 4x8GB (F4-3600C16Q-32GTZR)
Video Card(s)	ZOTAC GeForce RTX 3090 Trinity
Storage	2x Samsung 950 Pro 256GB \| 2xHGST Deskstar 4TB 7.2K
Display(s)	Samsung C27HG70
Case	Xigmatek Aquila
Power Supply	Seasonic 760W SS-760XP
Mouse	Razer Deathadder 2013
Keyboard	Corsair Vengeance K95
Software	Windows 10 Pro
Benchmark Scores	4 trillion points in GmailMark, over 144 FPS 2K Facebook Scrolling (Extreme Quality preset)

System Name	Old but Gold
Processor	A10-6800k : 4,700GHz@1.4v
Motherboard	Asus F2A85 V-PRO
Cooling	CoolerMaster Gemin 2 S524 with a modded crazy fan on it :D
Memory	8GB G.Skill RipJawZ @2400MHz Dual Channel; 10-12-12-31
Video Card(s)	Clud3D R9 290 RoyalAce core@1077 mem@1350
Storage	Dual 500GB Seagate Barracuda
Display(s)	Asus VH198T Res 1440x900@75Hz, Aspect Ratio 16:10, 10000000:1 Contrast Ratio
Case	Diablotek Predator
Audio Device(s)	Onboard Realtek ALC892 Unlocked DTS and DD :) !!!
Power Supply	Corsair CX750M
Mouse	Logitech G502
Keyboard	Logitech Generic PS/2 Keyboard !
Software	Win 10 Pro 64-Bit
Benchmark Scores	2,810 on Valley 1.0 Custom Preset: Ultra DX11 1080p 4xAA.

System Name	Old but Gold
Processor	A10-6800k : 4,700GHz@1.4v
Motherboard	Asus F2A85 V-PRO
Cooling	CoolerMaster Gemin 2 S524 with a modded crazy fan on it :D
Memory	8GB G.Skill RipJawZ @2400MHz Dual Channel; 10-12-12-31
Video Card(s)	Clud3D R9 290 RoyalAce core@1077 mem@1350
Storage	Dual 500GB Seagate Barracuda
Display(s)	Asus VH198T Res 1440x900@75Hz, Aspect Ratio 16:10, 10000000:1 Contrast Ratio
Case	Diablotek Predator
Audio Device(s)	Onboard Realtek ALC892 Unlocked DTS and DD :) !!!
Power Supply	Corsair CX750M
Mouse	Logitech G502
Keyboard	Logitech Generic PS/2 Keyboard !
Software	Win 10 Pro 64-Bit
Benchmark Scores	2,810 on Valley 1.0 Custom Preset: Ultra DX11 1080p 4xAA.

System Name	Party On
Processor	Xeon w 3520
Motherboard	DFI Lanparty
Cooling	Big tower thing
Memory	6 gb Ballistix Tracer
Video Card(s)	HD 7970
Case	a plank of wood
Audio Device(s)	seperate amp and 6 big speakers
Power Supply	Corsair
Mouse	cheap
Keyboard	under going restoration

GPU Cooler Mod Advice/Opinion wanted.

PCGamerDR

xvi

PCGamerDR

PCGamerDR

CAPSLOCKSTUCK

Spaced Out Lunar Tick

Random Murderer

The Anti-Midas

PCGamerDR

Random Murderer

The Anti-Midas

xvi

System Name	TOO MUCH RADIATOR! \| The TV Box a.k.a. The Shoebox
Processor	Core i7 4930K @ 4.5GHz \| Core i5 6600K @ 4.5GHz
Motherboard	Asus X79 Rampage IV Extreme \| Asus Z170i Pro Gaming
Cooling	Custom water on CPU and GPU, dual 360mm radiators \| Corsair H80i
Memory	4x 8GB G.Skill TridentX DDR3-1600 \| 2x 4GB G.Skill RipJaws 4 DDR4-3000
Video Card(s)	Sapphire AMD R9 295x2 \| PowerColor AMD HD7970
Storage	Samsung SSD 830 256GB, various others \| 2x 1TB Seagate Barracudas in RAID1
Display(s)	Dell U2713HM 2560x1440 IPS \| Panasonic TC-L32E5 1080p IPS TV
Case	Thermaltake Suppressor F51 (stripped down to hold two radiators) \| Cooler Master Elite 130
Audio Device(s)	RM-DAC -> Xiang Sheng 708b -> Sennheiser HD650 \| HDMI sound device on 7970
Power Supply	LEPA G1600-MA 1600W \| Corsair CX750M 750W
Software	Win 10 64
Benchmark Scores	over 9000 BungholioMarks, "Bitchin' Fast"