HD5870 coolers that aren't massive

[velvetpants]

Now that my stock fan is going and starting to sound like a lawnmower, I need a replacement.

The thing is that every cooler I've found takes up 1 additional expansion slot so 3 slots total for the card.

I'm not gonna be overclocking and don't need anything that massive. Are there any good, sensibly sized and quiet, aftermarket coolers for this card?

 

[gorobei]

you could just relube the bearing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kH8spGRL3Yk&context=C33d6ffdADOEgsToPDskLE-asGVAgPZyFqMqw4ms5j

 

[velvetpants]

you could just relube the bearing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kH8spGRL3Yk&context=C33d6ffdADOEgsToPDskLE-asGVAgPZyFqMqw4ms5j

I guess, but it's always been a little loud anyway and now I have an excuse to get something quieter

 

[llee]

Three expansion slots and a slight price hike are a small price to pay for stress-free and silent GPU operation. The Accelero Extreme Plus worked like a charm for me and I bought it for cheap from an independent store. Now that the second gen version is hitting stores, it should be even cheaper.

 

[velvetpants]

Three expansion slots and a slight price hike are a small price to pay for stress-free and silent GPU operation. The Accelero Extreme Plus worked like a charm for me and I bought it for cheap from an independent store. Now that the second gen version is hitting stores, it should be even cheaper.

This is just too much though.

Looks like the card is about to snap.

The stock cooler provides enough cooling for me, just a similar sized heatsink with maybe a bigger fan would be plenty.

 

[Sunny129]

are you just cringing at the thought of a GPU taking up 3 slots? or are you actually going to need to use the slots that it would end up blocking?

i also went through the same crap as you w/ my 5870 (loud reference cooler to begin with, and then got way louder when the bearing started having problems). i now use the Arctic Cooling Accelero Twin Turbo Pro, which is slightly smaller in size and cooling capability than the Accelero Extreme Plus (though they probably have similar thicknesses), and it costs half as much as the latter. honestly you don't need a 3-fan cooler like the Accelero Extreme Plus if you aren't going to be overclocking. the 2 fans on my Accelero TTP always keeps my stock-clocked 5870 below 60°C w/ the fan speed at 50% and the GPU under 100% load 24/7, and is virtually silent at that fan speed.

i actually don't seem to recall my 5870 taking up more than 2 slots with the Accelero TTP, but i'll confirm it when i get home after work.

 

[velvetpants]

are you just cringing at the thought of a GPU taking up 3 slots? or are you actually going to need to use the slots that it would end up blocking?

I've been considering crossfire and there's only one slot between the 2 16x pci-e slots, so it's pretty cramped already, but also I'd rather not have to make some contraption to support the weight of the cooler

Arctic Cooling Accelero Twin Turbo Pro

This doesn't look bad actually, at least it's not longer than the card.
Looks like it takes 3 slots though.

The vapor-X coolers look like exactly what I'm looking for though.

Where can I buy a standalone one?

 

[Sunny129]

This [the Accelero TTP] doesn't look bad actually, at least it's not longer than the card.
Looks like it takes 3 slots though.

you're absolutely right - i just popped the side of my case off to have a look at the 5870 w/ the Accelero TTP on it, and it does indeed take up 3 slots.

The vapor-X coolers look like exactly what I'm looking for though.

Where can I buy a standalone one?

man, i have no idea. the bad news is that i've never seen a Vapor-X style aftermarket/standalone cooler before. the good news is that i haven't extensively researched it, so the fact that i've never seen one means very little at this point. let me know what you come up with...i'll do a little research myself too...

 

[Sunny129]

well i went through all of the VGA coolers on newegg and found very little:

The Scythe USA SCVSG-2000 has a single low-profile 120mm fan recessed into the heatsink. it seems to have plenty of heatpipes, but i don't know how well the minimalist heat spreader does its job. it also comes w/ heatsinks for the GPU memory. while i'm sure this thing cools the GPU itself as well as the reference cooler, you'll probably need a side case fan blowing right on the video card(s) to provide airflow over the memory heatsinks...not to mention how restricted airflow around the video cards is going to be in your future X-fire setup if the fan on the top card is more or less right up against the backside of the card below it.

The ARCTIC COOLING Accelero S1 Rev.2 is just a passive heatsink, but it gets rave reviews on newegg. noting that the direction of the heatsink fins run parallel to the length of the card, you'll probably need more than just a side case fan or two to adequately dissipate the heat absorbed by this cooler. most cases don't have a fan mounting location mid-case just in front of the video card, but if you could rig one there so that it blows down the length of the fins on the heatsink, then that might do the trick.

 

[velvetpants]

^
That scythe one looks allright, but yeah... the heatsink doesn't look tough.

Maybe I should just strap a 120mm fan to the stock heatsink and call it a day

So far I'm considering this: http://www.zalman.com/eng/product/Product_Read.asp?idx=385
Or the one you have.

That zalman heatsink looks like it might even work fanless, or with the fans strapped to the side, I also have a big ass sidemounted fan on my HAF922, blowing right on the card. If not, I guess I could just put it in the lower PCIE slot and just try and get a vaporx card for the second one.

 

[Sunny129]

^
That scythe one looks allright, but yeah... the heatsink doesn't look tough.

Maybe I should just strap a 120mm fan to the stock heatsink and call it a day

So far I'm considering this: http://www.zalman.com/eng/product/Product_Read.asp?idx=385
Or the one you have.

That zalman heatsink looks like it might even work fanless, or with the fans strapped to the side, I also have a big ass sidemounted fan on my HAF922, blowing right on the card. If not, I guess I could just put it in the lower PCIE slot and just try and get a vaporx card for the second one.

yeah that might be your best bet.