[sqsisa]

The BGA ram sinks I have http://www.ocsystem.com/octincoatcop.html are slightly taller than the height of the underside of the Zalman non-GPU side plate.

I settled for having the plate rest on the RAM sink. I tightened the plate down so it lifted the non-GPU side base to the plate. Works well just make sure that the channles in the RAM sinks are facing in the correct direction for the air flow.

The contact between the RAM sinks and the plate may dissipate some of the RAM heat to the plate.

BTW - I used a Thermaltake Smart II case fan for the side vent. I attached the thermal sensor to the side of the GPU base to throttle the fan. Works well.

[candy7man24]

So do you have 8 of those heatsinks on each of the BGA ram chips (front and back of the card)? Also, does having the plate sit on top of the heatsinks in anyway lift the contact area of the heatsink to the core? Lastly do you have any pictures of the setup you could share? I am thinking to go for something like that to cool down this hot beast but I am indecisive if it will work.

[sqsisa]

Originally posted by candy7man24
Q#1 So do you have 8 of those heatsinks on each of the BGA ram chips (front and back of the card)?
Q#2 Also, does having the plate sit on top of the heatsinks in anyway lift the contact area of the heatsink to the core?
Q#3 Lastly do you have any pictures of the setup you could share? I am thinking to go for something like that to cool down this hot beast but I am indecisive if it will work.

A#1 Yes, I have sinks on all 8 BGA chips (front and back).

A#3 I did not take any pix, but you should be fine.

Before I forget, the BGA that is right next to the power plug on the card. The plug interferes with the sink. I settled for the slop method and did not cover that entire BGA chip. If you are ambitious, you can build a mod plug that comes off at a 90-degree angle to solve this. But I was lazy that day. I may go fix it later.

A#2 The plate that is hitting the BGA sinks is not on the same side as the core. The non-core side mount for the plate is meant to sit about 1 cm from the surface of the card. Tightening the plat screws down to pulled the mount up ~ 3 mm. The heat transfer to the non-core side plate is very good. Both plates are about the same temp, as specified in the Zalman instructions.

Last – The stock sink and HSF seem to work well for most people, provided you have adequate airflow in the case. The Zalmans were my solution to being stupid and removing the thermal pad that was in place on the stock sink.