I need to silence this Radeon 4650!

[bluemax]

Okay. I *wanted* to buy the awesome-looking Sapphire low-profile Radeon 4650 card but I had no choice but to buy from a specific online store that only had the Powercolor card.

The good news is it's speedy and the picture quality is brilliant. It's also got fan control.

The BAD news is that its lowest setting (20%) is only barely tolerable - this thing is unpleasantly loud!

I have GOT to jury-rig the cooling on this bad-boy. My Dell C521 would probably fit a 60-80mm fan in there, and its BTX design leaves me TONS and TONS of well-ventilated room to the left side where the card points. (BTX really shines here!)

Can anyone suggest a good heatsink replacement that would clip into the existing board holes? I could then strap on the fan in front or on top or something... a Tricool fan would be perfect here - or something even quieter. The 4650 is supposed to be pretty cool-running from what I read...


Anyways... cheap and dirty solutions WELCOME!

 

[Stoneburner]

there probably is an artic cooling solution for it

 

[bluemax]

Originally posted by: Stoneburner
there probably is an artic cooling solution for it

Maybe... so long as it works low-profile. (with a little headroom.) I'll check it out. I might even try disabling the fan and strapping a good 80mm on right next to it! How's that for cheap & dirty?

 

[lopri]

Is your card this one?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814102829

It's hard to believe that fan should run loud. It's a pretty well-sized fan for a small card. Maybe RMA time?

 

[bluemax]

Originally posted by: lopri
Is your card this one?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814102829

It's hard to believe that fan should run loud. It's a pretty well-sized fan for a small card. Maybe RMA time?

No - it's THIS one. I'd much rather have had the one you linked... it's quiet and well-built. However, mine has less plastic on the heatsinks so an 80mm fan strapped to the side should provide all the cooling it needs without costing anything.

Hey - if money was no object, I'd have a very different rig!

 

[kmmatney]

The heatsink looks like a decent size. I would just remove the current fan, and connect an 80mm fan to it running at low speed. I've done this on a few cards in the past and it works OK.

Edit: it looks like you don't even have to remove the fan - just stick an 80mm on top.

 

[error8]

Originally posted by: kmmatney
The heatsink looks like a decent size. I would just remove the current fan, and connect an 80mm fan to it running at low speed. I've done this on a few cards in the past and it works OK.

Edit: it looks like you don't even have to remove the fan - just stick an 80mm on top.

I was thinking at the same thing. You can use two zip ties to fix the 80 mm fan and this is way cheaper then changing the whole cooler.

 

[bluemax]

Originally posted by: error8

Originally posted by: kmmatney
The heatsink looks like a decent size. I would just remove the current fan, and connect an 80mm fan to it running at low speed. I've done this on a few cards in the past and it works OK.

Edit: it looks like you don't even have to remove the fan - just stick an 80mm on top.

I was thinking at the same thing. You can use two zip ties to fix the 80 mm fan and this is way cheaper then changing the whole cooler.

Cheap, dirty & ugly. But, I don't have cash and I don't care what it looks like since it's inside a steel case with no windows. Ventilation is very cood for a low-profile machine so it'll work like a charm. I've done it before with other cards, so I guess we have another winner. Hooray for duct tape solutions!