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Tips For Installing A VGA Silencer3

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falcx

Member
Joined
Oct 26, 2003
Location
Regina ,Canada
Im just wondering what tips anyone can recommend when installing a vga silencer rev.3 onto an ATI 9800 pro 128meg card. I screwed my GF4 when putting on a diff fan and have no desire to wreck the 9800. Whats a good surface to work on , etc. I have some AS5 I will be using in place of the other thermal paste. Thx in advance.
 
if you're going to put on ramsinks make sure you do that before putting on the silencer.... you won't be able to get one of them on once the silencer is on.
 
First thing u gonna do is take the old cooling of it. U are going to do this by using a hairdryer on the heatsink so the thermal pad will melt a little so u can take it off. U might wreck your card if u don't do it this way. Now after u have done this, just check if everything will fit, and install the bracket and stuff. Also check if the fan connector is the same, when I installed a VGA Silencer on my GeForce 3 Ti 500 I had to solder the connector of the stock fan to the wires of the VGA silencer. Then install the RAM heatsink, I suggest u don't use the AS5 here because it is a conductor. U better use Arctic Alumina, with some glue. Now do some AS5 on the core and put the VGA silencer on. Doublecheck if everything is in the right place and use the blue clip to tighten it to the board. Don't forget any washers if there are.
 
falcx said:
Yeah, i bought the OCZ copper ram sinks to go with it.

i also used the ocz copper ramsinks... i just used the thermal tape that came with them. removing the heatsink won't be that big of a deal. mine came with thermal paste from the factory so it wasn't difficult to get it off. technically speaking as soon as you take off the heatsink you've killed the warranty (but warranties aren't exactly something we overclockers worry about). I've always used AS5 on my gpu and cpus... never had a problem either way..... also if you really want to get extreme, check the bottom of the vga silencer to make sure it's nice and smooth. I have 2 of them, one i had to lap the other was fine as is..... finally, put your ramsinks on before you mount the vga silencer.... it's just easier in the end. good luck and happy overclocking....


The RaT..... some call me HousE
 
I just installed one of these this morning. After mocking it up a couple of times I found it easiest, contrary to AC's instructions, to place the clamp screws through the holes first and line the heatsink up with the protruding screws, then tighten it up from there.

I also installed some Coolermaster mini heatsinks on the ram.

I have not tested with all apps. but stable performance seems to be 427/804. Up from 415/730. Not bad for a $20 expenditure. :)

Pics.
 
Well, after being away this weekend, I finally found the time do put it on. I was a little scared since I had to buy this card when I screwed my GF4 with a fan mod. But, it works and thats a step in the right direction. Also it is a 360 core on a ATI 9800Pro 128meg, 256 bit. So next step will be a bios flash. I do have a noob question tho.....after I fastened the bracket on and the card, which way is high speed?? Up or Down :) And is there actually much of an exhaust that one can feel from the back??
 
Down. (weird ehh i thought it was up, but if look at the pci bracket closely, there is a l/h)(at least on mine its down)
l = low
h= high
 
Yep, thats right, after I opened my eyes further and grabbed a flashlight , I found the H and L. Thx for the reply.
 
I just did this myself w/ my 9700pro. It was pretty easy once you get the stock heatsink off. <--- That was the scary part.
 
Any recommendations where to get the proper bios?? The site says that it is for the 9800Pro 128meg card.
"Radeon 9800 Pro with R360 core, Hynix memory, 9800 Pro PCB

If you have Hynix memory chips on your card, download this BIOS - (Club3D 9800XT 128MB BIOS)"
 
Well you got the right BIOS. I'm using the same one. But your system reports 256 megs, are you sure it meant 256 megs of ram or 256bit?
 
I tried a Saphire Bios and my system reports it as a Radeon 9800XT now. I was using Aquamark to bench and in the vramm it shows 125meg instead of 128 meg like on every other bench.

This is how the other bios showed up in hardware profile:
Dell 256MB DDR ATI Radeon 9800 XT
 
I was also sure I had the temp sensor chip on the board, but apperently not the correct pcb as I cant see any temps in Ati Tool
 
I'm pretty sure the 128meg PCB's are the Pro PCB's and not the XT PCB. It doesn't have the same form, especially because of the # of ram chips. I guess find a bios that works for you, and as long as you don't have any errors or artifacting you're in good shape :)
 
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