• Welcome to TechPowerUp Forums, Guest! Please check out our forum guidelines for info related to our community.

HD 2900XT Cooling Design Note

Bastieeeh

New Member
Joined
May 31, 2004
Messages
459 (0.06/day)
Location
Germany
Processor Dual Xeon 2.8GHz
Motherboard Asus PCH-DL
Cooling Alphacool NexXxoS XP and Dual Laing
Memory 4GB Samsung
Video Card(s) Sapphire X800XT
Storage 8x Hitachi 7K250 Raid 5 and 2x WD Raptor74GB Raid 0
Display(s) Eizo 21" FlexScan T966 CRT and S1910 LCD
Case Lian Li PC-V2100B
Audio Device(s) Creative SB Audigy 2 ZS
Power Supply Tagan 480W TG480-U01
Many people out there who are keen on getting one of AMDs R600 cards already have a watercooling setup I guess. Other people who plan to purchase such a card might plan on going the watercooling road as well and for these people the following note is highly interesting. The metal shim around the HD 2900XT cards is taller than the core, not flush nor is the opposite the case. Take a close look at the pictures below, some of you might have thought the core is raised higher than the shim by mistake. To proof the stated fact following a quote of Shamino from VR-Zone:

too bad the shim around the GPU is taller than the core

If you plan to use a water cooler in order to cool the card, which makes sense according to the preliminary thoughts regarding power consumption, you should double check if your cooler fits onto the card. It has to be either very narrow or needs a recess to be milled on it following the outer edge to some degree. Shown on the last picture is the DangerDen MAZE5 GPU block which served such recess in order to be compatible to the first X800 cards. The last solution would be to remove the shim, which will void the warranty of course.



View at TechPowerUp Main Site
 
Last edited:

Bonerheimer_c

New Member
Joined
Oct 18, 2006
Messages
70 (0.01/day)
Location
From Florida, now in NY
Processor Intel Q9300 @ 3.4 gHz
Motherboard Gigabyte P35-DS3R
Cooling Danger Den TDX CPU block, Maze 4 gpu block
Memory 4GB Crucial Ballistix
Video Card(s) ATI 4850 w/ Maze 4 GPU Block
Storage 2 80GB WD in RAID 0, 1 400GB Samsung External
Display(s) Samsung 25.5"
Case Antec 900
Audio Device(s) On board, which is decent on this board
Power Supply OCZ Gamexstream 700W
Software XP Pro x64
I wonder which will end up being cheaper, having my maze 4 machined to fit that or just buying one of the new blocks that will eventually come out that are made to fit...
 
Joined
Nov 16, 2006
Messages
2,724 (0.43/day)
Location
Blighty
Processor R7 5800x3D
Motherboard MSI x570 Tomahawk
Cooling XSPC Raystorm Edge,EK QS P420M,EK D5pwm Revo Res
Memory 32gb Corsair Vengeance RT 3600 cl16
Video Card(s) Zotac 3070ti Amp Extreme
Storage Samsung 980pro 1tb x2
Display(s) MSI MPG321QRF QD
Case Corsair 7000D
Power Supply EVGA 1000 P2
Mouse G900
Keyboard Corsair k60 RGB PRO
Software Win 11
i took the shim off my 9700 pro and it was pretty damn easy to do, putting it back on convincingly for an rma was not so easy however (i done it in the end though, superglue ftw lol)
 

d44ve

New Member
Joined
Apr 16, 2007
Messages
2,520 (0.41/day)
Processor Intel E6600 @ 4.2GHZ Wo0t!
Motherboard ASUS Striker Extreme & eVGA 680i A1
Cooling Phase Change !!
Memory OCZ SLI 1066MHZ (2GB)
Video Card(s) EVGA 8800 GTX
Storage Western Digital 320 GB
Case Antec 900
Power Supply Lian-Li V2000
Software Vista Ultimate
I wonder which will end up being cheaper, having my maze 4 machined to fit that or just buying one of the new blocks that will eventually come out that are made to fit...

I think you would be better off getting one of the new ones that will come out. I am sure they will cover the memory and the resistors like the 8800 ones
 
Joined
Dec 6, 2005
Messages
10,881 (1.62/day)
Location
Manchester, NH
System Name Senile
Processor I7-4790K@4.8 GHz 24/7
Motherboard MSI Z97-G45 Gaming
Cooling Be Quiet Pure Rock Air
Memory 16GB 4x4 G.Skill CAS9 2133 Sniper
Video Card(s) GIGABYTE Vega 64
Storage Samsung EVO 500GB / 8 Different WDs / QNAP TS-253 8GB NAS with 2x10Tb WD Blue
Display(s) 34" LG 34CB88-P 21:9 Curved UltraWide QHD (3440*1440) *FREE_SYNC*
Case Rosewill
Audio Device(s) Onboard + HD HDMI
Power Supply Corsair HX750
Mouse Logitech G5
Keyboard Corsair Strafe RGB & G610 Orion Red
Software Win 10
My Koolance CPU cooler and 775 bracket came with a gold plated copper shim for where there is a waterblock conflict with caps. I ended up needing it in my latest build.

I would not be surprised if someone starts making a R600 shim the size of the GPU die.
 

WarEagleAU

Bird of Prey
Joined
Jul 9, 2006
Messages
10,812 (1.66/day)
Location
Gurley, AL
System Name Pandemic 2020
Processor AMD Ryzen 5 "Gen 2" 2600X
Motherboard AsRock X470 Killer Promontory
Cooling CoolerMaster 240 RGB Master Cooler (Newegg Eggxpert)
Memory 32 GB Geil EVO Portenza DDR4 3200 MHz
Video Card(s) ASUS Radeon RX 580 DirectX 12 DUAL-RX580-O8G 8GB 256-Bit GDDR5 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video C
Storage WD 250 M.2, Corsair P500 M.2, OCZ Trion 500, WD Black 1TB, Assorted others.
Display(s) ASUS MG24UQ Gaming Monitor - 23.6" 4K UHD (3840x2160) , IPS, Adaptive Sync, DisplayWidget
Case Fractal Define R6 C
Audio Device(s) Realtek 5.1 Onboard
Power Supply Corsair RMX 850 Platinum PSU (Newegg Eggxpert)
Mouse Razer Death Adder
Keyboard Corsair K95 Mechanical & Corsair K65 Wired, Wireless, Bluetooth)
Software Windows 10 Pro x64
Good thing about the newer liquid blocks coming out is, the fact that they will be designed to fit these cards exactly and probably be better off with the cooling and presentation.
 
Joined
Aug 30, 2006
Messages
7,197 (1.12/day)
System Name ICE-QUAD // ICE-CRUNCH
Processor Q6600 // 2x Xeon 5472
Memory 2GB DDR // 8GB FB-DIMM
Video Card(s) HD3850-AGP // FireGL 3400
Display(s) 2 x Samsung 204Ts = 3200x1200
Audio Device(s) Audigy 2
Software Windows Server 2003 R2 as a Workstation now migrated to W10 with regrets.
Another own goal by AMD. WTF were they thinking doing this to the R600 design? Making knock-on costs to OEM's and 3rd party cooler designs... PLUS... the inevitable mistakes people will make who don't notice the 1mm difference, rendering their card a fry...

JUST wait and see all the disasters about to happen. This is going to be ugly.
 
Joined
Oct 1, 2006
Messages
4,884 (0.76/day)
Location
Hong Kong
Processor Core i7-12700k
Motherboard Z690 Aero G D4
Cooling Custom loop water, 3x 420 Rad
Video Card(s) RX 7900 XTX Phantom Gaming
Storage Plextor M10P 2TB
Display(s) InnoCN 27M2V
Case Thermaltake Level 20 XT
Audio Device(s) Soundblaster AE-5 Plus
Power Supply FSP Aurum PT 1200W
Software Windows 11 Pro 64-bit
The shim is intended to protect the core from the pressure of the cooler.
The core is quite easy to crack as it is made of silicon, and glass is also a form of silicon.
 
Joined
Sep 26, 2006
Messages
6,959 (1.08/day)
Location
Australia, Sydney
The shim is intended to protect the core from the pressure of the cooler.
The core is quite easy to crack as it is made of silicon, and glass is also a form of silicon.

Yeah, thats what the shim is for. But i highly doubt the stock cooling solution needs replacement, it is itself a huge copper contrapment with the DHES system.
 

newbielives

New Member
Joined
Apr 30, 2005
Messages
164 (0.02/day)
How nice, more pictures, how about some benchmarks or are those sucky benchmarks from last month all there is to this card?
 

bigboi86

New Member
Joined
Apr 8, 2006
Messages
1,442 (0.22/day)
Location
techPowerUp!
System Name Just getting started....
Processor Athlon II Propus 620 @ 3.51ghz (quad core) L3 cache enabled
Motherboard ASUS M4A785TD-V EVO
Cooling Cooler Master Hyper 212 (great heatsink, 40c max load overclocked)
Memory Kingston HyperX DDR31600 4gb 2x2
Video Card(s) ATI Radeon HD 4850 by XFX
Storage Western Digital Caviar Blue WD3200AAKS 320GB SATA
Display(s) Acer 21.5 inch viewable G215H 1920x1080p, AOC 22inch 1680x1050
Case Antec 300, stock for now
Audio Device(s) Onboard, Turtle Beach headphones / crappy logitech desktop speakers
Power Supply Corsair 650 watt PSU <3
Software Windows 7 x64
People have put shims on plenty of cards. It has stopped noone. Cut the thing off.
 

EastCoasthandle

New Member
Joined
Apr 21, 2005
Messages
6,885 (0.99/day)
System Name MY PC
Processor E8400 @ 3.80Ghz > Q9650 3.60Ghz
Motherboard Maximus Formula
Cooling D5, 7/16" ID Tubing, Maze4 with Fuzion CPU WB
Memory XMS 8500C5D @ 1066MHz
Video Card(s) HD 2900 XT 858/900 to 4870 to 5870 (Keep Vreg area clean)
Storage 2
Display(s) 24"
Case P180
Audio Device(s) X-fi Plantinum
Power Supply Silencer 750
Software XP Pro SP3 to Windows 7
Benchmark Scores This varies from one driver to another.
I serious doubt that was the reason behind it. Very few (if any a all) every cracked or damaged the GPU :rolleyes:. I know many people with x1900 and x1800 who never had that problem. I have a friend who bent the card because he tighten the WB incorrectly (and to tight) but never damaged the core. Therefore. there is another reason why this is being done. So far this just makes it difficult for you to use any current heatsinks and very few wateblocks. And from what I know the Maze4 contact base is the same as the Maze5. The only thing different is how it dispenses heat (patterns on the other side of the copper base). It should work but someone is going to need to test it first.
 
Joined
Oct 1, 2006
Messages
4,884 (0.76/day)
Location
Hong Kong
Processor Core i7-12700k
Motherboard Z690 Aero G D4
Cooling Custom loop water, 3x 420 Rad
Video Card(s) RX 7900 XTX Phantom Gaming
Storage Plextor M10P 2TB
Display(s) InnoCN 27M2V
Case Thermaltake Level 20 XT
Audio Device(s) Soundblaster AE-5 Plus
Power Supply FSP Aurum PT 1200W
Software Windows 11 Pro 64-bit
The thing about the R580 and R520 cores are they are squares.
The R570 and R600 cores are not squares but rectangular and diamond shape.
This makes it much easier to accidentally put pressure on a corner and crack it. (And yes the RV570 did crack)
 

Ketxxx

Heedless Psychic
Joined
Mar 4, 2006
Messages
11,521 (1.74/day)
Location
Kingdom of gods
System Name Ravens Talon
Processor AMD R7 3700X @ 4.4GHz 1.3v
Motherboard MSI X570 Tomahawk
Cooling Modded 240mm Coolermaster Liquidmaster
Memory 2x16GB Klevv BoltX 3600MHz & custom timings
Video Card(s) Powercolor 6800XT Red Devil
Storage 250GB Asgard SSD, 1TB Integral SSD, 2TB Seagate Barracuda
Display(s) 27" BenQ Mobiuz
Case NZXT Phantom 530
Audio Device(s) Asus Xonar DX 7.1 PCI-E
Power Supply 1000w Supernova
Software Windows 10 x64
Benchmark Scores Fast. I don't need epeen.
That shim wont be easily removable, just look at how thick it is. Saying that ATI have been damn thick using a shim that sits higher than the core, I can see many R600s overheating and frying themselves. Talk about stupid engineering :rolleyes:
 
Top