7900 Coolers...

[homercles337]

Are the Zalman and Accelero the only two options to cool a 7900 GT?

Sometimes online shopping is so impulse oriented. I bought the BFG 7900 GT for the lifetime warranty, but now i want to OC when i get it (which will void warranty). If im going to void the warranty i want to make sure that i get the best cooler, but with only two (maybe one, there is some debate about the AC cooler fitting) options it seems that i may have screwed the pooch. Any suggestions?

 

[Ayah]

There are other options but they're not worth it to the performance orientated mind. There are alot of silent coolers though.

 

[hemmy]

The Zalman VF900 and AC Accellero X1 are native 7900gt supporters

I am not 100% sure, but i believe you can also use the AC NV Silencer 5 if you are willing to cut part of the plastic so it doesn't interfere with your chasis

 

[OCNewbie]

Yeah, the Arctic-Cooling NV Silencer Rev 3 works with the 7900GT if you cut off about 1/2" of the plastic off the back of the unit. Seems pretty easy to do, not that serious of a mod, and I really like the exhaust style coolers over the Zalman style. Keeps my northbridge chipset a bit cooler, and overall case temp cooler as well. This is in a smaller, more cramped case, Antec Super Lanboy. Probably gonna pick up the NV5R3 for the 7900GS I got from the woot.com deal.

Couple links - NewEgg NV5R3

Link from another message board Link, scroll down a bit and you'll see some rather large pictures showing what needs to be cut.

One more pic - Link

HardOCP thread on this - Link

 

[scroller52]

i got a zalman vf-700 the fatal1ty version, basically the same but diff color, it works pretty well on mine

 

[Passenger57]

I've read that in addition the the NV Silencer 5 Rev 3 which requires cutting a bit off, the NV Silencer 6 Rev 2 fits without cutting anything. If you do choose to go with the NV Silencer 6 Rev 2, you will also need some low-height heatsinks for the memory (8mm or less, if I remember correctly). FYI

 

[Cookie Monster]

I dont think the Accelero X1 supports 7900GT. (it only supports 7900GTX and 6800 series last time i saw the review of that product).

A zalman vf900 should cool the card VERY well.

 

[1Dark1Sharigan1]

Only two? Not really, the Systran VF1 Plus and the Thermalright V1 Ultra also work and are far better than the NV5 or the Zalman. And yes, the X1 doesn't mount correctly the 7900GT.

Personally I would suggest the VF Plus as when I had my 7900GT, it kept it below 50C load when I had the card volt modded @ 1.4v and overclocked to 700/1800.

 

[poohbear]

Originally posted by: Cookie Monster
I dont think the Accelero X1 supports 7900GT. (it only supports 7900GTX and 6800 series last time i saw the review of that product).

this is true. check out this round up of coolers:

http://www.firingsquad.com/hardware/vga_cooler_roundup_august06/

 

[Gstanfor]

There is only a couple available, because most people get their shiny new 7900GT home and realise all the claptrap about excessively loud coolers on 7900's is precisely that...

If there were truly a demoand for better coolers, heatsink makers would be falling over themselves trying to meet it given the popularity on 7900GT.

 

[acegazda]

Originally posted by: 1Dark1Sharigan1
Only two? Not really, the Systran VF1 Plus and the Thermalright V1 Ultra also work and are far better than the NV5 or the Zalman. And yes, the X1 doesn't mount correctly the 7900GT.

Personally I would suggest the VF Plus as when I had my 7900GT, it kept it below 50C load when I had the card volt modded @ 1.4v and overclocked to 700/1800.

where can you get the VF1 plus?

EDIT: Does it have a fan built in?

 

[imported_g33k]

I don't know about the VF1plus as I haven't seen any in stock. Besides that the Thermalright v1 Ultra is the best air cooling you can buy although one of the most expensive and not the quietest. Keeps my 7900gt volt modded with 1.5V at 700/1600 under 60c.

 

[Skott]

Well, having just two choices isnt necessarily a bad thing. Afterall, you are wanting the best for your situation and having a bunch of choices will have you asking the question which is best anyway. If you have it narrowed down to two to begin with your decision will be just that much easier to make. Going by the review the Accelero would be first choice unless its size wont allow for it. If thats the case then the Zalman is the next logical choice.

 

[WT]

I'm more interested in the AC unit, since high OC'ing isn't my priority. I'm more interested in better cooling for less $, with stabilty the main concern. The RAM itself really does need cooled in some fashion, be it actively with a larger heatsink unit, or passively with individual heatsinks. Its too bad the AC unit needs carved up, as I currently have two of these units on ATI cards that perform so much better than stock its laughable. I like the performance and price of the Accelero, but add more $ for RAM heatsinks and no external exhaust and it isn't as high on my list all of a sudden.

 

[homercles337]

Thanks for all the replies and useful links everyone. It looks like the Accelero is the way to go, but dont like that the exhaust blows in the direction of the mobo. That is if im interpreting the pics correctly. Why would AC do this, rather than have it blowing the other way?

 

[Passenger57]

Originally posted by: homercles337
Thanks for all the replies and useful links everyone. It looks like the Accelero is the way to go, but dont like that the exhaust blows in the direction of the mobo. That is if im interpreting the pics correctly. Why would AC do this, rather than have it blowing the other way?

Yes, it would have made sense for the the Accelero X1 to blow towards the back of the case. I don't think people really need a motherboard heater.

While we're at it, where is the wonderous passive Accelero S1 for the 7900 GT that Arctic Cooling's been talking about all year (and the rest of this new S series)? They've delayed it twice so far (supposed to be out in October now), and I bet they delay it again. There has been no news recently, and you would think they would send a couple out to some of the heavy hitters like Anandtech for a review before release.

With all of the delays on the Accelero S1, they could have already had time to design/release an NV Silencer for the 7900GT. I and others have e-mailed them about and NV Silencer for the 7900GT and their only response is "The Accelero S1 will be much more efficient then the DHES of the NV Silencer". Exactly how long are we supposed to wait?

 

[1Dark1Sharigan1]

Originally posted by: acegazda
where can you get the VF1 plus?

EDIT: Does it have a fan built in?

Get it here: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16835150072

As for the fan, yes it comes with a PCI fan speed control bracket and a crossflow fan assembly.

 

[jjzelinski]

I farmed the Arctic-Cooling NV Silencer Rev 3 off of my 6800nu and threw it on my 7900gt (evga *84 rev), which works like a champ having cut off 1/2 an inch. I haven't hit 40C yet with 550Mhz/930Mhz. It's also almost totally silent If you don't mind the hack job, I'd give this configuration a hearty thumbs up.

 

[WT]

Hmm, latest issue of Maximum PC, they answer why they favor the Accelero and why internal venting of the hot air isn't so bad. It seems the overall case temps went up no more than 1c so they weren't converned about that in the least. For the lower price, it does seem like a good cooler for the money. I still have my 7900GT at bone stock (step up EVGA KO model from a 7800GT with no issues since installation) so I'm not a vid card O/C'er, but I don't mind paying extra to acieve better than stock colling on this card either.

 

[Passenger57]

Originally posted by: WT
Hmm, latest issue of Maximum PC, they answer why they favor the Accelero and why internal venting of the hot air isn't so bad. It seems the overall case temps went up no more than 1c so they weren't converned about that in the least. For the lower price, it does seem like a good cooler for the money. I still have my 7900GT at bone stock (step up EVGA KO model from a 7800GT with no issues since installation) so I'm not a vid card O/C'er, but I don't mind paying extra to acieve better than stock colling on this card either.

You must mean the September issue, have to get my hands on that. I bet they're 1C difference was with a huge tower with lots of fans too. Probably translates to 2-3C for regular machines or SFFs.

BTW, we're getting pretty close to October. Anyone got any new sightings of the Accelero S series yet?

 

[Ulfhednar]

I love my Zalman VF900-CU, it got my X1800XT 256MB to 730/900 with some headroom left on the memory. Not gotten around to see what wonders it works on my X1900XT 512MB yet but I am sure to be surprised.