So..MCW60 or Maze 5 on 5850?

I have had my Maze 5 for ~2.5 years and don't want to have to get a new GPU block but......

It's hard to tell if the Maze 5 is compatible with the HD 5850s I am looking to purchase. It seems that the MCW60 IS compatible.

Otherwise it's a $100+ FC block for it.

THere are some on other forums that hail the FC blocks as a better solution for "overall performance gains" but I don't really believe in FC blocks anyway and I change my VCs ~2 yrs

I have a 120mm blowing over the VC and have had Ramsinks on the Mem (although I do wonder about that as well since over time they have fallen off but I still OC'd the card fine).

So the question is.
1) Does the Maze 5/MCW60 fit with the 5850?
2) If you all were me would you do the GPU block w/Ramsinks or FC Block

Thanks in advance......

1. not sure, but likely both would work. i would opt for the MCW60 if you didn't have the maze 5 block already.
2. if i had alot of money then i would opt for full cover. but i don't so i went with the mcw60 for my card and made some heatsinks for it.

wait until you get the card then see if your block will fit.

One thing talked about quite a bit is some of the other parts on the 5800 series needing major cooling. Might read up on that. Seen discussion at Xtreme Systems about it. To the point where the full cover blocks needed a water channel over them, not like old full cover blocks where the copper was enough as long as the block was watercooled. So dunno what kind of air heatsink will suffice.

I used a MCW60 on my 8800 GTX with heatsinks for memory and all those other points. While it mostly worked out, it was a pain if one fell off (I felt obligated to epoxy them back on once I noticed). Since I'm a bit OCD with trying not to harm hardware, it was a relief to spend the $100 on a FC block on the new 5870 and not have to worry about moving the comp around.

One thing about the points on the card that need contact with the block (albeit a 5870) is that some of them are very very small, so I'd imagine it'd be difficult to get some kind of sink on them.

Xymurgy said:

...it was a pain if one fell off (I felt obligated to epoxy them back on once I noticed).

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Yeah I had 3-4 fall off over time on my 8800GTX (who didn't have that card???) but never really was that concerned about it. I do wonder if ramsinks (among other things) are another snake oil of the industry......

Went over to Xtreme and saw the HD-5850-HS. Not bad but it's a ~$76 proposition when you put everything together.

Aww who am I kidding I guess I'll just order it.....sheesh. I knew the MCW60 had been around but I just went with the DD Mazes since I figured I would mostly be getting ATIs. Look @ me. 2 8800GTXs later (although they still fit those cards) I am SOOOO....glad I kept researching as I was on the verge of getting a GTX 275 SC for an upcoming build. Whew!!! Well the HD-5850HS Just came out last week though so I don't see inventory yet @ PerformancePCs.

thanks for the quick responses guys..

Research and working it is the key. Glad ya got it figured out.

Cleaning the chips is what I learned. Never had a HS fall off anything once I learned to clean the things right and get uber good TIM Tape.

Conumdrum said:

Research and working it is the key. Glad ya got it figured out.

Cleaning the chips is what I learned. Never had a HS fall off anything once I learned to clean the things right and get uber good TIM Tape.

Click to expand...

I don't know about tape type ramsinks.. If they are too "good", it's hard to get them off. If they are not good enough, they fall off. I have a 5850 as well and a MCW60. I am going to wait for the uni ramsink when its in stock.

Tape type ramsinks come off fine. Take an exacto knife and seperate them, works every time.

The biggest problem I see is peeps don't clean the rams and mosfets off right time and time and time again. The Ttape the card builders use leave a silicon payer that can't be cleaned with alcohol. You need the better stuff.

I use Seksui tape for all my TTape applications. Incredibly thin, very strong.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Sekisui-5760-...5309575QQihZ008QQcategoryZ46322QQcmdZViewItem

Conumdrum said:

The biggest problem I see is peeps don't clean the rams and mosfets off right....

Click to expand...

Quick question then....How do you clean the RAM right?

Thanks for the replies gentlemen.....

There are some easy purchasable things. Goof (p?) Off removes the gunk, but you need to clean the Goof Off very well with many wipes of alcohol.

Myself, I bought Artic Clean, a two bottle setup. One to clean the stuff on and another bottle to 'purify' the surface. The bottles last a longg time, I bet I use 10 drops to clean a full GPU off and 5-6 more of the purifier. Have the same bottles for over a year and a half now.

For example, when I air heatsinked my 8800GT and used Seksui tape, I could lift the whole card by a heatsink on a ram chip. Hehe, not really recommended, but I did it.

hmm...

Good to know. Thanks very much. There are several brands of DS thermal tape so is Seksui Tape that much better or just what you've worked with?

Kind of off this topic but what types of tubing and barbs/fittings do you all use?

Thanks again for the replies....

bump