Cooling Radeon Heat

Though my OEM Radeon was fairly cool running with the stock ATI heatsink, I added my trademark Silversinks.
Copper ramsinks to the left; copper/silver ramsinks to the right.

I then made a SLORB (SiLver-based Blue Orb)

(Send a note if you’d like me to explain how I make these.)

Then I decided my Radeon deserved an Alpha Pal 15u instead.

To make an Alpha Pal 15u fit on a Radeon 8500 you need to make two one-centimeter cuts to the upper left-hand corner in a stepped configuration, like this:

Here’s some tips for getting an IU cooler onto a Video card:

1. Buy some Arctic ALUMINA adhesive, and use it to affix the ramsinks and the Alpha 15u. Unlike Arctic Silver Adhesive, Arctic Alumina is ceramic-based and won’t short out your card if you get it on your RAM pins by accident. Arctic ALUMINA Adhesive is also cheaper and cools just about as well.

   Arctic Alumina dries very fast, so just mix what you can use for about 2-3 minutes.

2. When applying adhesive on your ramsinks, get some masking tape and tape the areas where you don’t want the adhesive to go (i.e., the ram pins). Tape both sides of the ram chip (just on the pins).
3. Most importantly, PREP THE GPU AND RAM CHIPS AND RAMSINKS.

   Go to the hardware/Walmart/any Auto Parts store and get 1000 or 1500 grit (1500 is best) silicone carbide sandpaper. Just rub each surface lightly to clean any foreign matter on it. Spray it with a can of compressed air and clean all the surfaces with alcohol. Then wipe it with a fine cloth.

4. When affixing, add pressure to the connection for a better fix, especially to the GPU. A clamp is best, but a big dictionary will work.

Good luck, and I hope you end up with as least as decent temps with these mods as I do.

Email Sam