ATI X850XT AGP stock cooling solution

[pigdos]

What type of TIM (Thermal Interface Material) does ATI use on the X850XT AGP
cards? Is it worth it to remove the stock heatsink, clean off the existing
TIM and use arctic silver III?

It seems to me that the stock cooling solution for the X850XT AGP cards
flows a lot of air. I've noticed dust and lint being collected in the intake
and I can feel the air flow out the back.

I've heard of people getting good results with Arctic Cooling solutions for
the X850XT but I'm just curious as to whether or not the stock TIM used
could be part of the reason for the much better results seen.

 

[farmuse]

What type of TIM (Thermal Interface Material) does ATI use on the X850XT AGP
cards? Is it worth it to remove the stock heatsink, clean off the existing
TIM and use arctic silver III?

It seems to me that the stock cooling solution for the X850XT AGP cards
flows a lot of air. I've noticed dust and lint being collected in the intake
and I can feel the air flow out the back.

I've heard of people getting good results with Arctic Cooling solutions for
the X850XT but I'm just curious as to whether or not the stock TIM used
could be part of the reason for the much better results seen.

Just get an arctic cooler, my temps dropped from over 80 C gaming,
to < 40 C, rarely over 40 C. IMO the stock cooler is the bare minimum to
cool the card. The TIM on mine was some type of grey paste, and I have a
BBA X800 XT PE.

 

[First of One]

What type of TIM (Thermal Interface Material) does ATI use on the X850XT
AGP cards? Is it worth it to remove the stock heatsink, clean off the
existing TIM and use arctic silver III?

I'm pretty sure ATi uses basic silicone paste on the GPU, and thermal pads
on the RAM chips. After 2-3 years it may be worthwhile to re-apply the paste
because silicone dries and cracks. However, in new condition, I don't think
you'll see more than a 2-deg difference with AS3, if that.

If you take off the heat sink, you'll need replacement pads to take up the
gap between the heat sink and RAM chip surface. Chances are you won't be
able to reuse all the original pads. And yes, pads are absolutely needed,
because basic manufacturing tolerances mean the BGA RAM chips don't end up
at the same height after soldering.

I've heard of people getting good results with Arctic Cooling solutions
for the X850XT but I'm just curious as to whether or not the stock TIM
used could be part of the reason for the much better results seen.

The stock fan spins to 100% at boot, then quickly drop to a very low speed.
On my X1900 I've never seen the fan go faster than 60% even under full load.
The Arctic Cooling units, on the other hand, run at a constant speed. Most
people comparing the two don't force the stock ATi fan to 100%, which is
understandable given its loud noise, but isn't "fair" because the stock
cooling isn't being used to its full capacity.

Keep in mind clamping pressure makes a bigger difference than the type of
TIM. Most TIM manufacturers use extensive compression test rigs with
calibrated load cells. I'd risk saying Arctic Cooling's mounting hardware
clamps the heat sink with more force, and that's contributing to better
temperatures.

 

[pigdos]

Thanks for the info first!

--
Doug

I'm pretty sure ATi uses basic silicone paste on the GPU, and thermal pads
on the RAM chips. After 2-3 years it may be worthwhile to re-apply the
paste because silicone dries and cracks. However, in new condition, I
don't think you'll see more than a 2-deg difference with AS3, if that.

If you take off the heat sink, you'll need replacement pads to take up the
gap between the heat sink and RAM chip surface. Chances are you won't be
able to reuse all the original pads. And yes, pads are absolutely needed,
because basic manufacturing tolerances mean the BGA RAM chips don't end up
at the same height after soldering.


The stock fan spins to 100% at boot, then quickly drop to a very low
speed. On my X1900 I've never seen the fan go faster than 60% even under
full load. The Arctic Cooling units, on the other hand, run at a constant
speed. Most people comparing the two don't force the stock ATi fan to
100%, which is understandable given its loud noise, but isn't "fair"
because the stock cooling isn't being used to its full capacity.

Keep in mind clamping pressure makes a bigger difference than the type of
TIM. Most TIM manufacturers use extensive compression test rigs with
calibrated load cells. I'd risk saying Arctic Cooling's mounting hardware
clamps the heat sink with more force, and that's contributing to better
temperatures.

 

[Mike]

I just changed to an artic cooler and my temps droped 25c idles at 37 c. Use
ati tool to control the fan speeds.
Mike

 

[pigdos]

Mike, I've read that the ATI fan controller can be burned-out/wrecked if you
use an Arctic Cooler. Is this still true? Is there anything you can do to
prevent it from happening (i.e. burning out the ATI fan controller unit)?

--
Doug

I just changed to an artic cooler and my temps droped 25c idles at 37 c.
Use ati tool to control the fan speeds.
Mike

 

[pigdos]

First, if "Arctic Cooling's mounting hardware clamps the heat sink with more
force, and that's contributing to better temperatures." do you think I could
shim the existing X850XT heatsink solution to apply more clamping force? It
would also give me the opportunity to use some potentially better TIM as
well?