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Whats a good 6950 cooler upgrade?

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Outlawstar15a2 said:
Ok I was kinda able to put the GPU in the bottom x16 slot however while doing my wrap up check I noticed the wires for the system panel connector was inside the fan well which means had I closed up and turned it on it would have cut the wires. Having seen it I simply put the card in the top x16 slot for now. So I will have to get a PCI-riser next month. Whats the cheapest protected riser I could conceivably get?

*Crosses fingers* Please tell me I can get a suitable one for around $50.... *Crosses fingers*

So for right now I took out the extra hard drive carriages and moved my three HDDs to the bottom three slots this way the top of the front intake fan will have a clear line of fire to the GPU the air stream doesn't quite hit the card but the intake fans will definitely pick it up that plus the side intake fan it's gonna have to do. I also plan on getting a 2nd top exhaust fan for the case I don't know if the 2nd exhaust fan will help but I might as well. Though the riser will have to take priority first.

Also since the system panel connector is the one thing preventing me from being able to comfortably seat the GPU into the bottom x16 slot would it be cheaper and easier to get a slim profile extender for it that way I can plug it in away from the actual board and then get enough clearance? The connector looks like a standard connector that smaller black connectors plug into from the top. One is for the system speaker, reset button, power on button, etc. So I actually need it if those black connectors didn't have to plug in from the top then maybe.... If I could just shave off maybe a few more cm I could do it easily.
Click to expand...

There might be angled connectors around somewhere... not sure if NZXT did them. Search the electronics sites .. Mauser is a good a place as any to start (also for 3M PCIE risers). Otherwise you have to jury rig something yourself using "universal" angled connectors.
 
So I spoke to Asus a few minutes ago and apparently the white connector for the front panel led lights, system speaker, etc.... Is not needed they only include it for ease of use. So I can plug the system speaker and the front led directly into the motherboard. Considering I only needed a few more CM I think this will work.
 
Funny thing. I got the card into the slot after taking off the white Q connector and plugging the LEDs and system speaker in directly but the card is about, oh.... 1/60th of a cm from locking into place. So I am gonna need a riser card after all.... Damn.

EDIT: I assume this is the website and PCI-E Risers you referring to? http://www.mouser.com/search/refine.aspx?Ntk=P_MarCom&Ntt=162404573

Ok now I remember everyone saying it should be shielded, no problem. But how do I tell if the cable is thick and strong enough for a GPU? Because alot of the sites I went to don't say how thick or heavy duty the cable is. And why do I see so many riser cards where the GPU would be sticking up in the air? Lol.

EDIT 2: Or would it be cheaper to simply add a 2nd top exhaust fan and upgrade the intakes? Lord knows it'd be cheaper. The ones that come with my case are good but a few have slightly better out and inflow I'm just wondering if it'll make a good difference.
 
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Heavy duty enough for xxxx? They plug in. They work just fine. I wouldn't spin the GPU around by the extender ribbon, but it will hold the card and not fall apart...
 
Outlawstar15a2 said:
Are they heavy duty enough for a 6950?
Click to expand...

EarthDog said:
Heavy duty enough for xxxx? They plug in. They work just fine. I wouldn't spin the GPU around by the extender ribbon, but it will hold the card and not fall apart...
Click to expand...

Exactly.

Mining is wayyyy more intensive than gaming or folding. If they work for mining (which they do) then the'll be fine for gaming.

Some extra insurance, would be to shop around for a powered riser. These have a molex connector than feeds the card with extra 12v juice incase it needs it.
 
Some extra insurance, would be to shop around for a powered riser. These have a molex connector than feeds the card with extra 12v juice incase it needs it.
Click to expand...
That is for multiple GPUs and if your board does not have supplemental power plug for the PCIe slots. With a single card, you do not need a powered riser. ;)
 
EarthDog said:
That is for multiple GPUs and if your board does not have supplemental power plug for the PCIe slots. With a single card, you do not need a powered riser. ;)
Click to expand...

Was thinking of the Pcie 1x -> 16x risers lol

Thanks for the correction.
 
Was thinking of the Pcie 1x -> 16x risers lol
Click to expand...
Same story there I would imagine? I am not sure though as my board had a power lead for the PCIe so I always used unpowered.
 
a note on PCI-E risers... the reason for shielded is EMI.. it may play a lesser role for miners, as they use their cards differently. But for the average guy, a surplus of emi results in BSoD.... which can be annoying if you just zoomed in to deliver that last headshot which will put you at the top of the ladder... :)

The "maxxplanck" guy has some issues with PCI-E risers, read his wall mounted build log: http://www.overclock.net/t/1424387/...-wall-mount-rig-maxxplanck-v2-completed/0_100
Thus he also did some testing of PCI-E risers... and had some input from 3M also: http://www.overclock.net/t/1427731/pci-express-extender-cables-benchmarked/0_100

.
 
Good news!

Ok I ran Archeage again today. I now know the exact reason why the card overheated and the best part is I didn't have to wait for the card to commit suicide.

Remember when I said the MSI Afterburner temp was 79C when it crashed, it was. However because I didn't record the other temps nor were I monitoring them at the time I only had part of the picture. So this time I went in with all my temps showing (Theres got to be a pun in there somewhere). Turns out the other core temps run about 10-12 degrees higher then the one Afterburner reports.... So 79+12 gives me 91C which is where my card would cut out.

However with the new cooler those secondary temps held at around 76C and the main temp was 63C. I'm gonna load it up tomorrow and do a full day of Archeage gaming. The strategist in me tells me to withdraw from the field while I'm still in good order and come back rested.
 
'other' core temps? There is just one GPU core. So you then added the CPU core and figured out it was the CPU?

Im hella confused.
 
EarthDog said:
'other' core temps? There is just one GPU core. So you then added the CPU core and figured out it was the CPU?

Im hella confused.
Click to expand...

No HWinfo has several temps for this GPU. Shader, MemIO, DispIO, and then two temps for VRM that I found out it does record but I was watching the wrong VRM temps. Lawlz (Four VRM temps total, two are not recorded).

From what I can tell though all the above temps are located in the GPU core so why there is a difference I don't know. All I know is that the card's temps are all green with a good buffer to the alert temp. Right now the highest temp is only 73C. Which is phenomenal.

I'm gonna play the rest of Archeage's CBE3 event monitoring the temps. Though I want to see this thing on a hotter day as today is pretty cool due to the thunderstorms that passed through this week. If the temps remain good I'll just upgrade the chassis fans in the future to make the GPU's life easier.
 
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