Cooling a 7900GS

[SlowSpyder]

I just replaced my 6800GS with a 7900GS. The local BestBuy had them for $150 and I had a $30 gift card so I decided top ugarde since it won't cost very much at all once I sell my 6800GS. This model has no cooling on the video ram at all. I purchased this set of memory heatsinks. I'd also like to upgrade the GPU cooler. I'm looking at these two:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16835118117

-and-

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16835118001

First, will these even fit the 7900GS? I didn't see it listed anywhere on Newegg what cards these coolers are compatable with. Also, I use a tower case and my graphics card is upside down in the case. Will this effect the way the heat pipe cooler works? I thought they had liquid in the pipe so it would need the base pointed towards the ground to work, so I wasn't sure if the second cooler would work in my set up. Any other coolers that you could recommend? Thank you in advance.


*Edit*

Ok, I see on the second link under "Specifications" a compatability list. The first link doesn't say... can anyone confirm that this will work with a 7900GS? Any other opinions? Thanks.

 

[beggerking]

something like this?


edit: better go w. accelero or some name brand.

 

[SlowSpyder]

I'm looking to replace the stock cooler on my card, not an addin card with fans.

 

[jkasten]

I have the same card the PNY 7900GS and I got it at best buy just like you did for 150. I'm running the GPU at 570mhz from 450mhz and it will get up to 80C on load. Now 80C my sound hot but the GPU can take about 120C before burning out. The ram can not go much above 700mhz because that is what it is rated at so don't really need to cool them down. If you plan on overclocking the card more then GPU: 570mhz RAM:700mhz then you will have to do some volt moding. If you do go with the volt moding then you will need to get a cooler but do a lot of reading before doing any volt moding cuz you can mess up your card. I found a good review on the card we have if you like to read on it. http://www.rage3d.com/print.php?article=/reviews/video/pny7900gs

Also be careful when overclock the video ram on this card I think i may have done something to my video ram but it could just be the PSU I have i've had some odd problems with it. My post with overclocking the video ram is here. http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview...atid=31&threadid=1959023&enterthread=y

 

[SlowSpyder]

Thanks for the info! I'm not looking to go nuts overclocking, just looking to get whatever extra free performance I can. I used the detect optimal frequency thing in the Nvida overclock (using the coolbits reg entry) and it only got me to 490mhz/670mhz. I don't think it's giving me all that the card is really capable of doing.

 

[SlowSpyder]

When I used the "Find Optimal Frequencies" tool it set my core to 480ish (I forget the exact number) and the memory to 1368. I manually moved the slider to 1400 then clicked on the "Test" button. It moves the memory slider back to 1368... maybe I have different memory? I already bought the memory heatsinks, they were only $10, maybe that'll help.

Also, I moved the core slider to 500mhz and it seemed to work fine at that speed. I ran 3DMark05 one time quickly (had to go to work, so I couldn't test for stability more yet) to look for artifacts and test stability, and it ran fine. I scored 7900 at that speed, I think that's in line with what my system should score.

Does anyone have any other ideas on what I should do about the memory? Any ideas on any of the coolers? I left the temp. monitor on while 3DMark05 ran, the core barely got over 60c, so I'm not sure I need a better GPU cooler at all anyway.

Thanks agian.

 

[jkasten]

I Recommend that you get RiviaTuner to overclock. http://www.majorgeeks.com/download737.html

 

[SlowSpyder]

I'll give that a try. Thanks!

 

[zephyrprime]

Get the old Arctic Cooler 5 Rev 3. It's actually made for the 7800 series but it will fit onto the 7900gt/gs with a little cutting of plastic. It cools the ram too altough it's not a perfect fit.

 

[WT]

Just added a VF900 to my 7900GS this weekend ... at that price its a great deal. I was trying to find a cheaper alternative (VF900 was over $40 at the time) but I eventually caved and bought what everyone had ben recommending from the get-go. Card temps dropped from 42c to 32c and the RAM sinks were an added bonus (I had already bought Tt RAM sinks assuming whatever I bought wouldn't have them included). This is on one of the Woot.com cards which would occasionally crap out on Deep Freeze test in 3dMark06, and with a nice overclock to the card it now runs perfectly.

Edit: I also voltmodded the card from 1.2v to 1.4, so that temp reading is even more impressive now

 

[jkasten]

Arctic Cooler 5 Rev 3 looks like it would work but I don't like the idea of having to cut the plastic and don't think SlowSpyder will ether. But it might even fit in the PNY 7900gs because it is an inch longer then normal 7900gs's and the layout is a bit different.

Card temps dropped from 42c to 32c

WOW 32c on a 7900gs is that idle? Mine idles at 50c. I don't really see the need on getting one of these cooler unless you can overclock the card more. That said does anyone know how to voltmod the PNY 7000gs?

 

[jkasten]

How did you voltmod your 7900gs is there a tut. on it some where?

 

[beggerking]

something like this?

 

[SlowSpyder]

I idle at 42C right now. I'm curious about the volt mod. I've read about it in the past, but didn't have this card so I don't remember much about it. I'm not unhappy with the performance now, so I'm not sure I want to do anything that involved. I'll look into it and see how difficult that is. I'd hate to damage a card trying to get more performance when I'm already pretty happy with the performance.

 

[beggerking]

I think you search for "Pencil mod 7900" on google and it'll come up..
you will need a voltmeter and a piece of pencil.
completely reversable.

 

[WT]

I did mine using a conductive pen purchased from Radio Shaq for $6.50. I have the pics at home on my PC so I will post them later. My big gripe with the 7900GS is the core is stuck at 1.2 volts even in 3D mode, as opposed to my 7900GT eVGA card which jumps up to 1.45v in 3D mode. We all remember the original 7900GT fiasco wherein the cards were, just like the GS, stuck at 1.2v and were locking up frequently or displaying lots of tearing throughout the image. The revised cards ran fine, but many users were scared away from buying a 7900GT unless they knew it was a newer rev of the card.

Its a very simple mod, and also reversible due to the conductive pen being used as opposed to solder. The pencil mod is somewhat scary, since the resistance can wear off over time, given the nature of graphite and a few fingerprints as you reseat the card, so I shied away from that for that reason. I haven't benched the card extensively yet, as Coolbits isn't giving me an accurate highest clock speeds reading, so I'm trying RivaTuner tonight to see what that reports, but I fully expect to match my 7900GT in benchmarks.

 

[WT]

Here is the back of a 7900GS card for reference. The area you are looking for is in the back end top location. The trace is very tiny, but it wasn't that hard to do with the pen.

7900GS volt mod

Be aware that there are plenty of guides out there for the 7900GT, which has a different layout on the back. Do not confuse the two, or you will get lost.

The indicated colors drawn on the pic represent the various voltage bumps:
Red = +0.05 volt
Yellow = +0.1 volt
Purple = +0.2Volt.

1.55 Volt is R+Y+P (very high voltage, and not recommended unless you watercool)

I felt very comfortable in my setup using 1.4 volts, which is just the purple trace and thats it. Stock 1.2v plus the .2 from the purple trace gives you 1.4.

 

[Conky]

The 12% off deal for "reward zone" members ends today, 11/15, so if you wanna get in on this even cheaper than the $150, get moving.

 

[jkasten]

The back of that 7900gs looks nothing like mine. The PNY 7900gs's a have different layout then other 7900gs's.


7900gs VS PNY 7900gs
http://www.rage3d.com/image.php?pic=/re...eo/pny7900gs/pics/comp.jpg&comment=PNY's%207900%20GS%20PCB%20longer%20than%20the%20reference%207900%20GS

Back of PNY 7900gs
http://www.rage3d.com/image.php?pic=/re...back.jpg&comment=The%20back%20of%20PNY's%20Verto%207900%20GS%20is%20relatively%20bare

Anyone able to find a volt mod for the PNY one?

 

[WT]

Wow ... another reason to pass on a PNY card !! That really is a different PCB layout completely. No point in trying to track down the same area for your card also. Your best bet is to find another PNY 7900GS userthat might know where to mod the card. Good luck with it !!

 

[mblue]

I don't know anything about the volt mod and haven't even opened the 7900gs I bought. But I thought you might want to see this
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ShowImage...+PCI+Express+x16+Video+Card+%2D+Retail

Now if you look it appears that PNY now uses the reference board. So, I guess the volt mod is the same. Now I don't know which one BB had.

Also, I would like to know if the accelero fits or if anyone knows of any coolers in the works?

 

[Machine350]

Originally posted by: SlowSpyder
I just replaced my 6800GS with a 7900GS. The local BestBuy had them for $150 and I had a $30 gift card so I decided top ugarde since it won't cost very much at all once I sell my 6800GS. This model has no cooling on the video ram at all. I purchased this set of memory heatsinks. I'd also like to upgrade the GPU cooler. I'm looking at these two:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16835118117

-and-

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16835118001

First, will these even fit the 7900GS? I didn't see it listed anywhere on Newegg what cards these coolers are compatable with. Also, I use a tower case and my graphics card is upside down in the case. Will this effect the way the heat pipe cooler works? I thought they had liquid in the pipe so it would need the base pointed towards the ground to work, so I wasn't sure if the second cooler would work in my set up. Any other coolers that you could recommend? Thank you in advance.


*Edit*

Ok, I see on the second link under "Specifications" a compatability list. The first link doesn't say... can anyone confirm that this will work with a 7900GS? Any other opinions? Thanks.

According to Zalman's website, either of those coolers should fit.

 

[SlowSpyder]

Well, I went with the VF700-CU. My tower case sits the video card upside down, and I think that may effect how well a heatpipe cooler works. I'm pretty happy with the performace of the cooler, after playing NWN2 at 1650 x 1050 with pretty much all options maxed I seem to only get to the upper 40's for a temp.

I haven't tried a volt mod, but so far I'm running at 575 core and 1369 memory. I haven't yet tried to oc the memory more, but now I have those heatsinks on the memory so I'm not sure if that'll give me more head room. It seems to perform well enough as is. I did try to move the slider up to 600mhz on the core but Coolbits won't let me go that high. I haven't tried Rivatuner, maybe I'd have better luck with that. Otherwise pushing the voltage might do the trick. At any rate I'm happy enough with the performance as is.

 

[Zstream]

Get an Accellero, it cools better IMO then the zalman.

FYI I sold my 1900XTX for the 7900GS * waiting for the R600 *. This thing is doing me well so far.

 

[WT]

Get an Accellero, it cools better IMO then the zalman.

Z, you are a bit late to the discussion here, so recommending he get rid of the hardware he just bought (and he likes it too) is a bit too much to digest. Even if the Accelero would offer better cooling, it wouldn't justify the expense, and since he is already getting much better performance from that card ingame, it seems like wasted effort on a GS card. There's only so far you can push a GS card before you run a risk of damaging it. It just cannot compensate for those missing 4 pipelines compared to a GT, so enjoy the monetary break the GS card offered you and just game away.