Good cooler for Sapphire HD 4870

[Skinny]

I recieved my Sapphire HD 4870 yesterday, but I'm a little disheartened.
Admittedly, I've only run it for a an hour or so last night, but first impressions:

1. Its bulky
2. It's noisy
3. It's damn hot!

If I'm going to persist with this card, I'm going to have to change the stock cooler.
Any suggestions?

Zalman VF900 maybe?

[Kelainefes]

Don't buy that Zalman, if you fancy that kind of coolers grab a Zerotherm GX815.
But, the Accelero S1 Rev2 provides right about the best value for the money of all coolers, performing on par or within a couple of degrees C compared to the much more expensive Thermalright's HR03. Adding a HR011 would increase costs but also shave off some degrees, i estimate 3 to 7 C.
Only drawback of the Accelero is size, your card will become a trislot solution when you add a fan, and it requires a deep case, if it's too slim it will hit the side panel.
A full tower should be ok, but smaller cases could pose a problem, expecially if they have side fans that are mounted inside and not outside (like in the XClio Xindtunnel).
On the other hand the HR03 could be worth its price because you can put the fin array on the back of the card or facing downwards like the Accelero, and this versatility could be of great help, depending how many other cards you have in your slots.
My preference stays with the Accelero, though, because of its memory cooling ability when coupled with a 12 or 14 cm fan: its fins are spaced enough so that the air flows through easily and cools the GDDR chips, while with Thermalright solutions the tightly spaced fins and the heatpipes that pass over some chips lead to higher memory temperatures.

[Skinny]

Thanks for the detailed reply Kelainefes.
Gives me a couple of options there.

There's plenty of room underneath the card. I have two free slots underneath and then a sound card sittiing on the bottom PCI slot, so that shouldn't be a problem.

I've never know a card get quite so hot as this one.
Placing your hand on the card can only be done for a second before it burns and the amount of hot air coming from the air vents is amazing. I'm sure my DVI cable was warm too!

I'm actually worried having this running for a few hours.
The control panel gives temp readings which I'll take tonight, idle and load.

[Skinny]

OK, having had a play, I've managed to cool down the card significantly but have had to sacrifice the audible side of things a bit.

The card was running at 71C idle, little too hot for my liking.
I've adjusted the profile XML file from automatic to manual fan setting and stuck that on 40% fan speed. Temps have dropped by more than 20C, now idling at 48C.

I did get the card temp down to low 40's, but the noise was too great.
This is a decent compromise until I buy a quieter more effective cooler.

[Kelainefes]

Yeah taking control of the fan is generally a good idea, I'm not sure gpus would last much more than a couple of years at those temps.
As a matter of fact, i think it's BS that no card is sold with a decent GPU cooler at a decent price.
At least they should sell cards with no cooling solution, leaving the choice to the end user.

[Skinny]

My temps seemed fairly low compared to others who were getting 80C+ on first run. According to the manufacturer these GPU's are designed to run at these temps. I'm not convinced myself. Of course we get a choice whether to use the stock cooler or buy our own but of course that leaves the end user out of pocket again!

Selling the cards without a cooler is a great idea however there will always be a minority who buy the card without the cooler because its cheaper, bang it into their machine and it blows within hours. Don't think they could get away with selling it without a cooler. Then again, you can buy OEM CPU's without coolers. Hmm..

They just need to make more of an effort with their cooling.
Think I'm going to go with the following:

• Arctic Cooling Accelero S1/S2 Turbo Module
• Arctic Cooling Accelero S1 Rev. 2 VGA Cooler

[affiliate13]

Originally Posted by Skinny

My temps seemed fairly low compared to others who were getting 80C+ on first run. According to the manufacturer these GPU's are designed to run at these temps. I'm not convinced myself. Of course we get a choice whether to use the stock cooler or buy our own but of course that leaves the end user out of pocket again!

Selling the cards without a cooler is a great idea however there will always be a minority who buy the card without the cooler because its cheaper, bang it into their machine and it blows within hours. Don't think they could get away with selling it without a cooler. Then again, you can buy OEM CPU's without coolers. Hmm..

They just need to make more of an effort with their cooling.
Think I'm going to go with the following:

• Arctic Cooling Accelero S1/S2 Turbo Module
• Arctic Cooling Accelero S1 Rev. 2 VGA Cooler

The S1 is a champion cooler, i have it on my 4850 which was idling at 73ishC with the stock cooler. I coupled it with a 120mm fan instead of the turbo module as i wanted something quieter with more airflow. my temps never go over 50c under heavy load (gaming 4hrs straight).
Maybe you have a spare 120mm fan lying around you could use instead of the turbo module?

[Skinny]

yes, affiliate13, ive got quite a few 120mm lying around. does it need anything custom fitting to it to attach the fan or will it attach quite easily on its own?

[affiliate13]

Originally Posted by Skinny

yes, affiliate13, ive got quite a few 120mm lying around. does it need anything custom fitting to it to attach the fan or will it attach quite easily on its own?

Most folks use cable ties, like you use when you kidnap someone.
Have a look at this thread it might give you a few ideas:
HD 4850 With AC S1 Rev2 Inc 120mm Fan

[Kelainefes]

Yes, cable ties are a good idea, you can also add a second 92/80 mm fan blowing over the voltage regulators if you want, they get quite hot under load.
It is also wise to downvolt the fans, the accelero really doesn't need high airflow or pressure to perform admirably, from full throttle to 900-1000 rpm you'll lose maybe 1-2 C.