I just built a new computer centered around an i5 Haswell CPU. For the GPU, I was trying to grab the fast disappearing Radeon 7870s and ended up with an on sale XFX 2 Gb model, which works fine but the reviews for this card sure weren't kidding when they reported a loud fan. Any slight load on the GPU (say an ancient game like Half-life source) will turn the fan speed up to 100% and it sounds like a small leaf blower is going off under my desk.
So I decided to install aftermarket cooling, and ended up buying an Arctic Accelero S1 Plus passive cooling, since the whole reason for all of this is the loud active cooling on the stock board. I was kind of worried about how effective a passive cooler is going to be, so I went for the full shebang and got some pure copper VRAM heat sinks as well as the Arctic "turbo module" (basically a low noise 1000 rpm fan you strap to the passive cooler).
It was fairly easy to install, even for a total novice like me. I just disassembled the stock cooler, unplugged it from the card, cleaned the thermal paste off, and screwed the passive cooler on.
I was fairly impressed with the results:
Stock cooler:
Idle: 37C
Half-life (40% GPU load): 50C (with the fan on full blast leaf blower mode)
Furmark (100% GPU load): I stopped the test after about a minute at 65C and the temps still going up with no sign of plateau
New cooler:
Idle: 29C
Half-life (40% GPU load): 40C (fan is always on, but basically silent)
Furmark (!00% GPU load): plateaued at 59C over a 15 minute test
I guess I don't have a "pure" passive cooler, since I did 3 extra things to the stock Arctic cooler:
1. added the "turbo" fan (which is basically silent) - $10 extra
2. chucked the aluminum VRAM heat sinks and replaced them with copper ones - $17 extra
3. I also pried off the plastic cover surrounding the cooler in an effort to aid heat dissipation
So I wonder why there aren't more passive coolers on the market. It seems to achieve the same results with a much simpler design. If you're card is not too hot in the first place, go pure passive ... or choose to add a low noise fan to further help heat dissipation.
Overall, I'm pretty happy with my results. It did, however, turn my $140 graphic card into a $200 card with all the money I spent on the cooler, but I had fun tinkering with it this evening, so it was all worth it in the end!
So I decided to install aftermarket cooling, and ended up buying an Arctic Accelero S1 Plus passive cooling, since the whole reason for all of this is the loud active cooling on the stock board. I was kind of worried about how effective a passive cooler is going to be, so I went for the full shebang and got some pure copper VRAM heat sinks as well as the Arctic "turbo module" (basically a low noise 1000 rpm fan you strap to the passive cooler).
It was fairly easy to install, even for a total novice like me. I just disassembled the stock cooler, unplugged it from the card, cleaned the thermal paste off, and screwed the passive cooler on.
I was fairly impressed with the results:
Stock cooler:
Idle: 37C
Half-life (40% GPU load): 50C (with the fan on full blast leaf blower mode)
Furmark (100% GPU load): I stopped the test after about a minute at 65C and the temps still going up with no sign of plateau
New cooler:
Idle: 29C
Half-life (40% GPU load): 40C (fan is always on, but basically silent)
Furmark (!00% GPU load): plateaued at 59C over a 15 minute test
I guess I don't have a "pure" passive cooler, since I did 3 extra things to the stock Arctic cooler:
1. added the "turbo" fan (which is basically silent) - $10 extra
2. chucked the aluminum VRAM heat sinks and replaced them with copper ones - $17 extra
3. I also pried off the plastic cover surrounding the cooler in an effort to aid heat dissipation
So I wonder why there aren't more passive coolers on the market. It seems to achieve the same results with a much simpler design. If you're card is not too hot in the first place, go pure passive ... or choose to add a low noise fan to further help heat dissipation.
Overall, I'm pretty happy with my results. It did, however, turn my $140 graphic card into a $200 card with all the money I spent on the cooler, but I had fun tinkering with it this evening, so it was all worth it in the end!