Originally posted by: Tiorapatea
OK, so I finally got to grips with a new build.
The parts I put together are:
A8N-SLI Deluxe
Swiftech MCX159 without fan (chipset HSF replacement)
Leadtek 6800GT
Zalman VF700-Cu
Here are a few comments:
1. First, I replaced the HSF on the 6800GT with the VF700. The stock HSF is held on by plastic pins that run from the front to the back of the card; there are flared ends to these pins that keep things together. To remove them without breaking them, I used a pair of needlenose pliers to squeeze the flared tips
until they could be pushed through from the back of the card. At this point, the pins sprang out from the card. There are also a couple of screws that I removed that held a smoky plastic covering onto the whole assembly. After doing all this, you will find that both the front and the back of the heatsink just peel away from the card, leaving a few exposed chips covered in a rather thick layer of creamy thermal goop.
2. Following an idea I got from Hwan and A1bert on these forums, I then mounted the VF700 in different mounting holes from those suggested by Zalman. This was to ensure that the Swiftech chipset heatsink would fit underneath the VF700 without having to chop off any of its pins. If you look at the front of the card with the slot connector at the bottom and the inputs and outputs to your left, the screws that hold it to the bracket behind the card should be at the bottom left and top right. This will only work if your card has the right mounting holes. I didn't clean off the thermal paste because I had forgotten to get hold of any isopropyl alcohol and had no suitable substitute. The VF700's ramsinks did not really stick properly as a result but they seem to just about hold on.
3. The stock chipset HSF has similar pins. It was a little difficult to remove them. When you squeeze out the pin on one side the heatsink pops up off the chip so that when removiing the second pin it tends to lever up and down on the chip and its surround. Fortunately, I got the second pin off without cracking the nforce4. Fitting the Swiftech was painless.
4. When I came to install WindowsXP, I had an OEM cd with Service Pack 2 already on it. However, Windows didn't recognize either of the hard drives that I had plugged into the nvidia SATA ports. When I swapped them over to the Silicon Image ports, the installation proceeded normally.
5. So far, things seem ok. I have a front case fan blowing through the hard drive cage and it directs some air over the nforce4 and Swiftech. I can keep my finger on top of the aluminium pins without any pain, although I have not really done much yet except the OS install. Actually, I'm missing a 6-pin PCI Express power connector for the graphics card so I'm just doing a basic install in VGA mode until I can get hold of an adapter - not sure how far I can push the card without the extra power, although I do have a 24-pin connector for the motherboard.
Thanks Aquila. I will buy a 6-pin adapter before going any further. You really think the Leadtek paste is that bad? On the SATA issue, I will grab the 6.53 nforce4 drivers and swap the drives back again. I am somewhat confused about what other bits of 6.53 to apply (I am hearing that the IDE drivers are somewhat flakey for example).Originally posted by: Aquila76
Glad your physical install went OK!
Couple pointers, tho:
1. The nVidia RAID controller requires a floppy disk to be made from the mobo driver CD. You need to press S during the first part of the WinXP install to specify a non-included driver and point it to the floppy disk.
2. I would get some alcohol ASAP and re-apply the VF700 and mem-sinks! You're probably gonna get heat issues with it the way it is now.
3. If you run the 6800 too long/hard w/o the 6-pin connector, you run a chance of overstressing the power regulating system (caps, etc.) on the mobo and killing it.
I did not use a fan at all on the chipset but that is because I have put a large copper heatsink on it and I have airflow from a 120mm front case fan (Nexus). I haven't measured the stock fan and I cannot do so right now. I removed the stock HSF with the motherboard outside the case - I cannot see how one could do otherwise. (Maybe cutting a hole in the bottom of your case would do it).Originally posted by: olternat
Hey man. could you tell us which 4cm fan did you buy? And is the stock a8n-sli deluxe chpset fan 4cm as well?
And can you confirm again you did not take out the mobo? Thanks for the info. I need to replace my chipset fan as well.
Ok, great. Will tread carefully. On the other hand, I have nothing on the system yet so now is a good time to screw it up.Originally posted by: Aquila76
I wouldn't use the 6.53 drivers. I tried installing them last night (a number of different ways) and it completely FUBAR'd my sytem.
Interesting to see your temps. I may just try sticking the Swiftech fan back on at 5V because I do plan on some overclocking. The VF700 comes with a fan adapter that gives two 5V connections so I will use one of those. At this point, the VF700 is by far the noisiest thing in my case so I doubt I would hear another fan at 5V, although I may eventually drop the Zalman VF700 fan to 5V also if the GPU runs cool enough.Originally posted by: A1bert
Like Tiorapatea I've just installed the Swiftech to accompany my Zalman VF700 and I'm very pleased with the results. My PC is much quieter and temps have dropped across the board -
CPU 36C
Mobo (as reported by Asus Probe) 32C
Northbridge heatsink (as measured by my case sensor) 41C
GPU 47C
Installing the Swiftech was very straightforward ... Attaching the fan to the top of the heatsink is again very easy as it simply screws into the base using long bolts. I've borrowed the in-line resistor from my intake Acoustifan to keep the chipset fan running at 5V and to all intents and purposes it is silent.
OK, you have convinced me. It is more the bird's nest of cabling that I am reluctant to disturb but I suppose it is just a one-off effort required. Do you think the ramsinks might just stick to whatever new paste I apply? I have both AS5 and Ceramique so I will use whichever seems stickier.Originally posted by: A1bert
Tiorapatea - I agree with Aquila that you should try and redo the paste on your GPU cooler with something good like Arctic Silver Ceramique (you could even try the AS Alumina stuff that comes with the Swiftech). It's much better than the stock stuff and should ensure you get a much better transfer of heat. I'd also write to Zalman and ask them to send you some more of the double sided tape they use on the RAM heatsinks as well - I would have thought that just sticking them on top of the existing paste will make heat transfer a lot less efficient. Cleaning the RAM chips and GPU up before applying the paste is very easy once you've got the right cleaning fluid and the Zalman is a cinch to fit so it shouldn't involve too much effort and I think you'll be pleased with the results.
Originally posted by: Tiorapatea
OK, you have convinced me. It is more the bird's nest of cabling that I am reluctant to disturb but I suppose it is just a one-off effort required. Do you think the ramsinks might just stick to whatever new paste I apply? I have both AS5 and Ceramique so I will use whichever seems stickier.