ecs nforce3a heatsink blocks silencer

[MOUKIE007]

I just purchesed 9800xt with silencer 3 but there is a passive heatsink near the AGP that blocks the 9800xt from fitting all the way in. I also get a message about attaching the 9800 power? Is there such a thing?

 

[Zap]

You need to attach a molex (same one that goes into your hard drive or CDROM) to the video card to power it properly. The plug should be on the end of the video card closest to your hard drive bays.

As for the chipset cooler getting in the way, unfortunately that heatsink is needed to keep the chipset cool so you'll have to find a way around that issue if you plan to keep the Silencer. If it isn't off by too much you can remove the heatsink from the board and snip the tips of the few offending pins off using some diagonal cutters, then cleaning off the thermal pad and using some heatsink compound when reattaching it. Alternately you can buy a small chipset cooler with fan that sits lower than the original (most do but not all).

 

[MOUKIE007]

Thanks. One more question. Since my monitor recognizes the 9800, I assume that the card is in far enough to operate. Is there a problem with operating it if it is not all the way in to be locked. Also are those sinks hot enough to melt the plastic on the silence if they touch? I would try not to let them touch but just wondering.

 

[Zap]

Probably won't get hot enough to melt the plastic. After all, the pastic has to deal with touching the GPU heatsink it is built onto, and lemme tell ya these GPUs get hot! Like I said, if only off by a hair just take some diagona cutters and snip off a milimeter or two off the top of each pin that is touching.

 

[MOUKIE007]

Thanks. I was thinking the same thing about the plastic touching the heatsink on the VGU, but I was also thinking that it has a fan blowing on it. The heat sink on the chipset, well actually the front fan is blowing past it. I am using it now and have ties to secure it so that it sits snucggly. I am now waitinf for catalyst to download. For some weird reason it wont download from ati, even though they made me download some prequisite microsoft stuff but the the driver won't come down. Now I haves some .net thing from MS that I don't even know what it is for. I will let you know when things are all ok.