As a constant tinkerer I decided to replace the cooler on my Asus EAH-6970 DCii graphics card (I looked at the rest of the PC and there's not much to do....which is annoying). Anyhow, having replaced it with a Prolimatech MK-26 with two 140mm Apache fans my temperatures are actually worse by about 4 degrees! I've reseated the cooler (twice) and changed the backplate setup to ensure 100% contact and even pressure...still it's higher. I'm confused. Is this a worse cooler than Asus' Direct CU? Should I be putting the fans in a pull configuration? How does a cooler that's so much bigger than the stock one perform worse? I'm beginning to wonder if I need to ask for a replacement based on the cooler must be faulty to perform worse than the stock one! Anyone got any ideas?
Any aftermarket cooler can be "worse" than the standard cooler. The issue is what you define as a "worse". Is 4C higher temperature at much lower noise "worse" ?
Well that's my only saving grace. Even though I do know that the whole "quieter" is probably more to do with the lower "note" to the fans than the smaller high speed ones. I guess the morale of the story may end up being that the direct CU coolers are brilliant...but I'm hoping I've missed something.
Weirdest effect yet, now the CPU doesn't go above 45 degrees when the CPU and GPU are at 100%.... This cooler is probably a keeper.. I'm still confused as to how it doesn't cool better than the stock cooler.
Airflow in the case probably changed due the GPU cooler being bigger, fans making more airflow around the card compared to the stock DCII cooler, thus creating extra airflow for the CPU cooler.
Problem solved.... I think. That gap in between the two heatsinks, on a lightbulb moment I decided to fill it with a rolled up brochure.... the temperatures dropped. The theory was that heat pipes need to have heat differences in them to effectively draw the heat away from the gpu. Hence if the fan blows directly onto the heatpipe then the effect is ruined. Now this isn't science by a long chalk but I'm thinking of modding the heatsink to block that gap properly and I've sent this idea to Prolimatech themselves.... I doubt they'll respond but we'll see.
Ok update... Proof that you should check you're not an ass before posting... Yeah it seems it wasn't the insert....more the side of the case being left off. I've reversed the fans...no major improvement. It's weird.
I must say, the cu2 cooler is especially good, and usually highly reviewed. My 7850 rarely gets hot, and I cant ever hear it above anything else, whereas my old 460 was like a plane taking off when gaming :/
I must have a duff one mine is insanely loud when the fan hits 40% or more. I need to sit down and see if i can mod some deeper fans onto it thought is deeper + slower RPM should = similar cooling as it is very good never hits more than 60c
This is a possible project... When you strip down the cooler you're left with the heatsinks by themselves. With cunning application of lacky bands you could get some proper fans on there without too much hassle. The problem is connecting the fans. Though if this works that'll be the most expensive fan splitter I've ever bought!
A fan splitter is only a couple of quid at the most http://www.scan.co.uk/products/akas...pwm-fans-from-a-single-motherboard-pwm-header I have a pair of Enermax 90mm fans which could be perfect for the job. Ill have a dabble at the weekend and see what happens
Sorry, I was being sarcastic. If I end up putting the original heatsink back on and then just put on full size fans then I think the only thing I'll have left off the MK26 will be the fan splitter and the backplate (which is superior to the Asus one). Hence I'll have got a fan splitter for about £40!
Right, I may have saved the MK26's bacon here.... sorry Hamza. Having messed around with fan setups, then gotten confused and put the 140mm fans back on with one pushing and one pulling....it works better... More confusion. Basically the bottom fan (right hand if you've got a conventional layout) is pulling air through and the top one is blowing. Seems to knock about 5 degrees off! Also on the side of Prolimatech, they're ace! Not only did I get a response but a request for more information, photos and an offer of a freebee! Okay so it was some magnetic fan mounts and I turned them down (I'd rather my MK26 worked better) but that's a good response in my book!
Worth a shot lol Well done anyway, the mystery draws to a close. And good to see Prolimatech responding in an exemplary manner.
