Arctic coolers; advice required for Radeon 9600 Pro

[Stef]

Been looking here:
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/Arctic_Cooling.html

But with so many to choose from, which is the best for my card.....?

The card is a Peak Radeon 9600 Pro

Do all these coolers fit all the cards, even from different manufacturers?
I am not looking for the cheapest option, so please advise me which is the
best if you have first hand knowledge of these coolers.... I understand
they take up the space of the next PCI slot down, so I have left this one
clear.... The reason I am upgrading is that the fan on the card has started
to become noisy after (wait for it) 6 weeks !!! Pathetic!

Oh and secondly, are they easy to fit? Whats the procedure? Does the old
heatsink usually come off easily? Is the Artic cooler likely to last a
good while?? I find that many small fans are crap and a few weeks of heavy
use and they`re stuffed! Just like the Christmas turkey!

Thanks
Merry Christmas to one and all....

 

[Bratboy]

Not to put too fine a point on it but did you even read the descriptions of
the coolers at the link you posted?

Quote:
"The Arctic Cooling ATI Silencer 1 is ideal for ATI Radeon 9600/9700/9800
based graphic cards. It offers substantially better cooling performance over
the ATI reference cooler."

They also mention that the
The Arctic Cooling Revision 3 VGA Silencer also now adds further
compatability so it can now also be used with ATI Radeon All-in-Wonder based
cards and ATI's 9600XT based cards too. (this one not sure if will work too
but sounds like it)

 

[Stef]

Not to put too fine a point on it but did you even read the descriptions
of the coolers at the link you posted?

Quote:
"The Arctic Cooling ATI Silencer 1 is ideal for ATI Radeon 9600/9700/9800
based graphic cards. It offers substantially better cooling performance
over the ATI reference cooler."

They also mention that the
The Arctic Cooling Revision 3 VGA Silencer also now adds further
compatability so it can now also be used with ATI Radeon All-in-Wonder
based cards and ATI's 9600XT based cards too. (this one not sure if will
work too but sounds like it)

Oh I read the blurb sure enough, yes, and it seems that there is more than
one option/choice to make for my card. (as you pointed out above)
Thats why I asked the question 'Which is the best?'

I specifically asked for a response from someone who has first hand
experience of these coolers. It seems to me that all you have done is read
what I have read and have no first hand knowledge of which is the better
option.

If anyone would care to comment, (only if you have something useful to say),
I would appreciate it.

 

[J. Clarke]

Been looking here:
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/Arctic_Cooling.html

But with so many to choose from, which is the best for my card.....?

The card is a Peak Radeon 9600 Pro

Do all these coolers fit all the cards, even from different manufacturers?

I don't think anybody would stick his neck out far enough to say "all the
cards, even from different manufacturers" because there is always some
loony outfit that does something nonstandard, but most video boards these
days have mounting holes for the heat sink and fan and are designed so that
it is easily replaceable. So any reasonably well established 9600 cooler
should work on nearly all of the 9600-based boards out there.

I am not looking for the cheapest option, so please advise me which is the
best if you have first hand knowledge of these coolers.... I understand
they take up the space of the next PCI slot down, so I have left this one
clear.... The reason I am upgrading is that the fan on the card has
started
to become noisy after (wait for it) 6 weeks !!! Pathetic!

You've got a 9600 Pro? There is a small fanless heat sink in existence for
that board (Sapphire uses it on their "ultimate" board, but I can't
identify the manufacturer--it is different from the much larger Zalman that
they use on their 9800 boards).

In any case, for a 9600 Pro any of the Zalman ZM-80 models should do fine,
and being fanless it is as quiet as it gets. Others are going to tell you
to use the Arctic Cooling heat sink, which has a fan but it's really
overkill for a 9600.

 

[johns]

If anyone would care to comment, (only if you have something useful to
say),
I would appreciate it.

Considering that it is just a 9600, it doesn't run all that hot anyway.
I would just replace the cooling fan that you have. Sometimes you
get a bad one. Big deal. I think the Artic Coolers are way overdone.
There are better, cheaper, and more efficient ways to cool your
entire computer. Start with an Antec case with the side port
directly over the cpu fan. That alone will drop the cpu temp 20
degrees, and maintain it in the range 37 to 43 C. Then the big
slow case fan running at 2500 rpm is very quiet, and will keep
the case itself cool. Add to that the 2 fans on the Antec Smart
supply with 21 amps on the 12v rail, and you have plenty of "cool"
power. And finally the dinky little fan on the ATI card is more
than enough to cool a 9600. Note: all the fans I mentioned are
"smart" and run at 2500 ( quiet ). If you get a stupid setup ..
the type being hacked by know-it-alls .. you will have 4500 rpm
fans raising hell in your case. Plus, your sooper-dooper 500 watt
psupply will probably give 10 amps on the 12v rail, and you will
crash constantly in games from overheat, and the Artic Cooler
will not work in a system like that. The side-ported Antec case
is the best cooling system out there, and nothing else can touch
it. How can I say all this? I'm a computer tech 8 hours a day,
5 days a week, and I've seen it all.

johns

 

[santa@work]

Been looking here:
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/Arctic_Cooling.html

But with so many to choose from, which is the best for my card.....?

The card is a Peak Radeon 9600 Pro

Mine is a connect 3d card, fan started howling after 15 months, so I
got Arctic 2 rev 4.

Do all these coolers fit all the cards, even from different manufacturers?

No, mine didn't quite fit. There was a metal thingie at one corner of
my 9600 that prevented a flush fit. Used a stanley knife to cut open
the plastic exhaust tunnel, 3mins work.

I am not looking for the cheapest option, so please advise me which is the
best if you have first hand knowledge of these coolers.... I understand
they take up the space of the next PCI slot down, so I have left this one
clear.... The reason I am upgrading is that the fan on the card has started
to become noisy after (wait for it) 6 weeks !!! Pathetic!

Why don't you exchange under warranty?

Oh and secondly, are they easy to fit? Whats the procedure? Does the old
heatsink usually come off easily? Is the Artic cooler likely to last a
good while?? I find that many small fans are crap and a few weeks of heavy
use and they`re stuffed! Just like the Christmas turkey!

Just follow the instructions, moderatly easy even if you've never done
something like this before. Use pointy pliers for removing pushpins on
old fan, You may be suprised to find out just how crappy the old one
is including method of fit.

Warrantied for six years.

http://www.frozencpu.com/vid-36.html?id=NK2Z8SDx

user reviews
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=35-186-114&depa=0

 

[Bratboy]

Actually I owe you an appoloy when I read you 1st mssg I didnt see a
scrollbar so only saw the first bit. I have used both the origonal VGA
Silencer and now have a ATI silencer 4 for my xtpe. Their nice...some like
em some don't but sound wise their very good. As for all fitting thats the
rub. Most of these coolers are designed to fit the default spec board, if
the manufaturer varied sometimes you can work it sometimes not. As for which
is best you might actually want to email them from their site. They have
always been very helpful and as they are familiar with all the cards they
will be aware of any issues. Again sorry for missing the rest of your post
and all.