How long can a geforce 2 MX 400 run without cooling?

[Wa11y]

I know, dumb question. But I've already replaced the card, so at this point, it would just be a spare.

Basically, I tried to mod a GeForce2MX400, and kinda failed. I posted some pics in another thread, but I think that I exposed some traces (actually, I KNOW I exposed some traces), and I think I was shorting them with the mounting bolts I used for the heat sink. And I don't have any plastic washers or clips to use for testing, so I'm thinking of popping in the video card and getting my system to POST with it in there with no cooling.

My concern is not for the video card. It's served its purpose and has been replaced. I'd like a spare if I could, but no big deal. My concern is for my brand spankin' new Epox 8KHA+. Could I damage my mobo if my GPU decides to let go of it's blue smoke? Would it be worth the risk to try this, or am I just being dumb?

[KILLorBE]

I don't know if the MX400 puts out more heat compared to a 'regular' MX, but I do know some 'regular' MX cards come w/o HS.

I think you'll be fine if you're only going to use it to let your system POST, actually I think you can run it w/o problems as long as you don't play games or OC the card.

But that is just my opinion, I could be wrong cuz I'm just a DDD (Dutch Drunken Dummie;) ).

[Wa11y]

Originally posted by KILLorBE
I don't know if the MX400 puts out more heat compared to a 'regular' MX, but I do know some 'regular' MX cards come w/o HS.

I think you'll be fine if you're only going to use it to let your system POST, actually I think you can run it w/o problems as long as you don't play games or OC the card.

But that is just my opinion, I could be wrong cuz I'm just a DDD (Dutch Drunken Dummie;) ).

Well, I'm not dutch and I don't drink, but I can meet you on the third!

I think I'll give it a go. I know the MX400 gets hot on the back side of the card, but with a concave chip making very little contact, that's no surprise. And I think it'll be safe to just POST. But I didn't know if it was a horribly bad idea, or just kinda dumb. Looks like it's just kinda dumb. Might give it a go.

[o770]

i dont think youll have any problems as long as you not run any 3d app. if you decide to try get your case side panels off and - i dont know how to say this, that big fans that r not for computers but they r supposed to be used in our house rooms when the temp is hot - let one of these standing beside the case and blowing the air inside the case.

[Wa11y]

Originally posted by oTTO
i dont think youll have any problems as long as you not run any 3d app. if you decide to try get your case side panels off and - i dont know how to say this, that big fans that r not for computers but they r supposed to be used in our house rooms when the temp is hot - let one of these standing beside the case and blowing the air inside the case.

You mean a box fan? Yeah, I could stick a fan on there...Guess I'll just have to strip down and use my l33t n3k1d sk1llz and get down to this shiznits once I get home. That'll be in about 2 hours.

[wildone]

I gotta answer this too ;)
The one I installed in my friends was a OEM AOPEN 32mb mx 400 ,I ran unreal tounament for 3 hours to try to burn it up cause it was under warranty.The card is now over a year old and is still running fine ,but I can tell you this ,if you hold your finger on the gpu for a couple of seconds,it will burn you ,they do get very hot.

wildone

[Wa11y]

Originally posted by wildone
I gotta answer this too ;)
The one I installed in my friends was a OEM AOPEN 32mb mx 400 ,I ran unreal tounament for 3 hours to try to burn it up cause it was under warranty.The card is now over a year old and is still running fine ,but I can tell you this ,if you hold your finger on the gpu for a couple of seconds,it will burn you ,they do get very hot.

wildone

So hot enough to hurt me, but not to hurt my system. Phatty. I'll give that a go tonight for sure then.

[wildone]

Well ,when you put your finger on it,it insulates it ,thats why it takes a minute,you can feel it get hot,but only in heavy games.

wildone

[Wa11y]

Originally posted by wildone
Well ,when you put your finger on it,it insulates it ,thats why it takes a minute,you can feel it get hot,but only in heavy games.

wildone

I want to see if it's dead, or if I was just shorting something. So I'll just let it post, perhaps get into Windows. We shall see!

[Wa11y]

Is a 3DMark2K1 score of 2800+ with a 32MB SDR GeForce2 MX 400 without a heatsink a good score?:D

Of course I had to stress it a bit. Looks like, though, that the screws I used to mount it were shorting the exposed traces. Not a problem, the girlfriend is on her way over right now with a bottle of clear nail polish. I'll coat both the exposed traces and the nuts and washers, so they'll all be non-conductive.

Thanks for the input, everyone. And for the record, you can run a GeForce2 MX 400 for quite some time without a heatsink. But I wouldn't touch it until it cools down.:mad:

[ken257]

As a saftey measure cut some small plasic or rubber peices to make a backing for the bolts so this can't happen again. Almost any scrap stuff can be made to server well for this.

[funnyperson1]

Originally posted by Wa11y
Is a 3DMark2K1 score of 2800+ with a 32MB SDR GeForce2 MX 400 without a heatsink a good score?:D

Of course I had to stress it a bit. Looks like, though, that the screws I used to mount it were shorting the exposed traces. Not a problem, the girlfriend is on her way over right now with a bottle of clear nail polish. I'll coat both the exposed traces and the nuts and washers, so they'll all be non-conductive.

Thanks for the input, everyone. And for the record, you can run a GeForce2 MX 400 for quite some time without a heatsink. But I wouldn't touch it until it cools down.:mad:

nice score man...yeah, ive ran my pro and let it boot into windows till i realized my attempt at tying on a heatsink with string hadnt worked :rolleyes:

[Wa11y]

Originally posted by ken257
As a saftey measure cut some small plasic or rubber peices to make a backing for the bolts so this can't happen again. Almost any scrap stuff can be made to server well for this.

I've actually coated the nuts and the flanges on the heatsink with clear nail polish. I was going to make "washers" out of electrical tape, but I didn't like the way it looked. Probably twist off as soon as I started cranking the nuts down. I'd rather get some vinyl washers and/or nuts, but Home Depot doesn't seem to carry them, and I don't want to visit all sorts of hardware stores. Bodies at rest and all that....

Funny thing about the 3DMark2K1 score: normally with that 32MB geforce 2 MX 400, I get about 2400+ stock. With the 64MB GeForce 2 MX I bought to replace it, I get about 2600+ stock. I OCed the 64MB card to about 3100+, but turned off riva tuner before I swapped cards (how quickly would an OCed card melt itself without a cooler?), but I still got about 400+ more points at stock.....I'll let you all draw your own conclusions.

[ken257]

I did this myself a few weeks ago cut a few washers out of a scrap of vinal sideing. I bet you can find some suitable material if you look around the house or in the yard. Things like plastic bowls and lids in the kitchen work great. hehehe trying to get you in trouble :D

[Wa11y]

Originally posted by ken257
I did this myself a few weeks ago cut a few washers out of a scrap of vinal sideing. I bet you can find some suitable material if you look around the house or in the yard. Things like plastic bowls and lids in the kitchen work great. hehehe trying to get you in trouble :D

I just bought a tupperware bowl for the purpose of making a channel into my front fans on my case through the bezel, and I was wondering what I could use the lid for. No trouble for me!

[Maximus Nickus]

I've run my MX400 for ages without cooling, it can't damage your board unless ur shorting it out or it melts:eek: !!!!

I mean Passive cooling doesn't really do much more that no cooling on these cards as the HSF's are often so pitifull.

Just stick a blower underneath it and it will be fine!

My mates MX got to 300/250!!! Stock cooling! What a MX-400! Can't wait till he cools that thing (or I do!!!)

[Wa11y]

Originally posted by nick_cw
I've run my MX400 for ages without cooling, it can't damage your board unless ur shorting it out or it melts:eek: !!!!

I mean Passive cooling doesn't really do much more that no cooling on these cards as the HSF's are often so pitifull.

Just stick a blower underneath it and it will be fine!

My mates MX got to 300/250!!! Stock cooling! What a MX-400! Can't wait till he cools that thing (or I do!!!)

I plan on stressing it quite a bit, which is why I wanted to put a better HSF on it in the first place. But with the nail polish covering the exposed traces, as well as the mounting hardware, I don't forsee any problems with this board. Except for the whole concave chipset thing. But I'll just caulk that up with ASII.

[Maximus Nickus]

I had a 3dBlaster 2mx with 32MB DDR Memory that had no cooling at all, not even a HSF, stayed dead cool at max load.

Mx's don't get that hot.

But I stuck a Blorb on it NE ways!

[Wa11y]

Originally posted by nick_cw
Mx's don't get that hot.

They do get hot, but I don't think a heat sink will really matter too much versus without. With just my finger, on the back of the board, I couldn't really tell any difference between with a heatsink, and without. Probably because of the **** poor thermal connection between the concave chip and the heatsink. Which I plan on rectifying with loads o' ASII.