BGA Ramsinks with GPU watercooling

[Docta_Z]

I was thinking about getting BGA Ramsinks to mount on my 9800xt when I watercool the chip.

In particular I was looking at "OCZ VIDEO CARD COPPER BGA RAM SINKS 8 PACK W/ THERMAL TAPE"


Since I am watercooling, I am wonderingsince both copper and aluminum ramsinks are listed, could there be any advantage whatsoever to using aluminum over copper? The copper heatsinks seem to have fins while the aluminum sinks seem to have a bit more passive cooling...

Since it is a watercooled system and I don't have intake fans.. what the heck should I go with?

http://www.ocztechnology.com/products/accessories/OCZ_BGA_Ramsinks

or

http://www.ocztechnology.com/products/accessories/OCZ_Copper_BGA_Ramsink

Thanks for the help.

[Ri0]

I've read that the copper are the best to get, so I got em and I am happy.

[Ad Rock]

Ya copper has better thermal properties so it lends itself better to cooling. Also those OCZ have more surface area so they will definetly cool better. Now whether you will be able to notice any actual results of the copper over aluminum remains to be seen...

[quicksilverXP]

I'd recommend these, they're much more heftier than the standard ones and are all copper.

http://www.frozencpu.com/cgi-bin/frozencpu/ram-19.html

[mightymouse]

http://www.sidewindercomputers.com/tweakrev4ram.html I would get a set of these. Yes they are not the correct size, but think about it, it has more surface area. I have them on my 9800pro and they are HOT to the touch so BGA ramchips dont run as cool as some people claim.

[Cerberus2k7]

I have the OCZ Copper sinks and I like them. And as to that frozenCPU link, those fins look too thick to do anything.

[Docta_Z]

Thanks for the responses guys.

Copper it is!!

[Thornbrand]

Copper does have slightly better thermal properties, and is likely to be a better choice for any heatsink application.

Just to add a side note...

Make certain that the mating surface of the heatsink is indeed flat before attaching it to the chip. This, I believe, is probably more important than the material that the heatsink is made of. I've noticed many of the ramsinks on the market are not even close to flat on their mating surfaces.

For example, here is a picture of a TweakMonster BGA ramsink after about 15 licks with 600 grit paper...

...as you can see, it was about as flat as a minimum maintenance gravel road. Just something to keep in mind if you're looking to get the most performance from any heatsink, whether aluminum or copper. Just to clarify, I'm not knocking the TweakMonster ramsinks here, they work very well. In fact, as long as it's not made of cheese, any choice in ramsinks will likely give you better results than nothing.

Good luck with your project.