Hey All, finally got this brute on Thought I'd start a dedicated post on this, as I know there are a few people interested in the results. Firstly, i'd like to point out that the RAM sinks provided with the Accelero, IMHO, are just not upto the job, plus, you don't get enough to cover all of the RAM and VRM's. I ended up only using the NVIVO/RAM plate provided with the AC Cooler, for the remaining RAM / VRM cooling requirements, I purchased a set of Scythe VGA Heatsinks. I strongly advise getting some if you decide to fit one on these coolers. Available here:http://www.quietpc.com/gb-en-gbp/products/vgacoolers/vga-heatsinks Overall, I wouldn't describe it as a difficult installation. The NVIVO/RAM plate needs a slot cutting out of it and a bit chewing off one side, a couple of fins on the cooler need to be bent slightly to avoid it fouling on the S-Video port. But that's about it. Some pics.... Stock cooler removed. Took quite a bit of coaxing as the TIM was pretty solid, but it eventually gave in. Note, Nvidia seem to be quite liberal with the amount of TIM they slap on there, IMHO. CPU Brace removed (This must be removed if your card has one, or the Heatsink will not make contact correctly). Undo the 8 screws on the back of the card and it should lift off with minimal force. GPU cleaned up with Arctic Silver TIM Remover. RAM chips, VRM's and anything you plan to stick a Heatsink on cleaned with an eraser. The Stock thermal pads leave an oily residue which inhibits the thermal tape on the back on the Heatsinks from sticking. Rub over a couple of times with an eraser until the chips feel 'rough' (Please excuse the Thomas the Tank eraser, my daughters pencil case was the only thing close at hand! [/URL][/IMG] Left: Heat Sinks and Back Plate supplied with the Accelero. The only one I opted to use was the large NVIVO sink, which needs a bit of modding. Right: Scythe VGA Heatsink kit. I found a place on the PCB for most of these. [/URL][/IMG] Heatsinks applied to RAM, VRM's and anything I though might need cooling! Note the 'Modded' AC NVIVO/RAM plate on the left. As you can see, a section in the centre needs to be dremmeled out to accomodate the taller than usual component. Also, the top edge need a bit grinding away to fit around another rogue component. You'll have to excuse my handy work, the only tools I could lay my hands on were a cordless screwdriver and a 4mm HSS bit. With a dremel, i'm sure you could make it look neater. PCB and Cooler prepped and ready to fit. Removed the pre-applied MX-2 TIM and applied my own AS 5. I'm sure the MX-2 is fine, just personal preference. Note the 4 white plastic spacers fitted to the ends on the mounting bracket on the cooler, there were supposed to be 4 sticky pads included to hold these spacers in place whilst mounting the cooler on the PCB, or you'd end up knocking them off everytime you breathed, but these were missing. I used a dab of a pritt-stick which worked fine. Couldn't photo graph the actual mating of the PCB and cooler as you need 2 hands! But it's a simple process, keep the cooler as it is in the photo, flip the PCB over, slowly lower, peering through the 4 mounting holes and line up with the 4 plastic spacers, insert the 4 screws and tighten, although not too much. if you start to bend the PCB, you've gone too far. You may need to bend a couple of the fins on the heatsink where it makes contact with the S-video port or it won't seat correctly. (See pic later in the thread) Front view of Cooler fitted to the card Bottom view, as if looking up from the Motherboard. Fins around the S-video port that may need to be slightly bent Card installed in an Antec 300 case. For the record, to get this to fit in this case, needed to grind out a part of the HDD caddy as the cooler was about half an inch too long!! For those who asked the question in my other thread, this is definately a 3 SLOT COOLER I will get around to posting some screenshots, but just as a guide, temps have dropped to approx 32 degrees Idle, 58 degrees under full load. Fans are whisper quiet at 40% (1250rpm), and a fraction louder going at full tilt (2000rpm), a VAST improvement on stock. I'm very impressed with this piece of kit and would highly recommend it to anybody.
Dude, your a legend. For someone like me who has never dreamed of dismantling expensive electronic gubbins you spell it out so well And for us people who don't own dremels you show how we can hack away with a screw driver too :thumbsup: Unfortunately I don't think I'll ever get one It looks so big that my bottom card would kill any airflow going to the top one, cus its pulling from below not the right (as you look at it). And my bottom card there isnt room, even though the 840 is big enough to fit a small country in, the bottom of the motherboard tray has a support brace right below the mobo, so it wouldn't fit there either. Seriously though buddy, thank you so much, you cleared up the conflicting advice between manufacturer and the web, and saved me best part of 100 quid in the process
Could you measure from the pci plate to the furthest part of the card and tell me the length so I can see if it would fit in my case. Also is that a Mugen 2 you are using???
PCI Plate -> Furthest extremity = 294mm or 11.5 inch, give or take a couple mm. Yes, a Mugen 2 it is indeed
More than welcome, glad I could help. I was getting a bit fed up with not being able to get a definitive answer myself, so I figured the only way to find out was take the plunge and share my findings. EDIT: If you used the first 2 Slots on the P6T Deluxe V2, they would indeed be butted up against each other, however, if you had a side panel fan blowing directly on the pair of cards, I'm fairly sure the top card's fans would be able to get enough air as they would pull air in from all sides of the card. It a very efficient cooler and I'd wager that you'd get away with it. Food for thought........
http://forums.bit-tech.net/showthread.php?t=170106 I see you went along the similar lines that I went, Fazed. A good call on using the Scythe heat sinks as the supplied ones were mediocre at best. I must admit it was a tight fit in my Antec 902, but the cooling results are worth the hassle. Nice clear photos on your post mate. Good job on fitting it.
Cheers Andy - Happy to spread the knowledge. These forums have got me out of the mire on many occasions!!! You're right, we took pretty similar steps, although I notice you card's layout is slightly different to mine and that you didn't need to cut your NVIVO plate twice. Yep, the Scythe sinks are a must, there are a few other options out there, but these seems to cover everything.
