Radeon 8500 cooling

[DigVideoGuy]

I just bought the radeon 8500 and i'm looking to cool it because i've hear how hot they get- i am going to get Thermaltake ramsinks but i also want a fan for it and i'm not sure which one to get- also i think i may overclock it- any suggestions??

 

[Overclocker456]

look back in past threads, you'll finds tons of stuff..

and don't do the VMOD.. it's death to your card...

 

[WyrmMaster]

Im not sure if the thermaltake sinks will work without moddification because the 8500 has capacitors between the ram chips. You might be better off getting a heatsink from http://www.allelectronics.com and cutting it up into the sizes you need. I think the 3in square one would work quite well.

 

[DigVideoGuy]

I was on that sight but i have no idea which one would work- also do you know what kind of tool i would need to "Cleanly" cut it??

 

[Silversinksam]

The copper or Tin coated ramsinks fit perfectly

This is about the cheapest you can by them for $18 for 8

A crystal Orb fits the 8500 nicely or you can go crazy like me



PS The Cooljag is one of the best GPU coolers, but to get it to fit on an 8500 will require modification to the top left corner.

 

[GravY]

Here is what I have done to my Radeon8500..

First I put a ThermalTake Blue Orb cooler on.. However this is the worst piece of junk cooler I have ever seen, warped and a waste of money..

I also got set of 2 ramsinks from ThermalTake as well, I cut these into individual pieces to fit ram.. used a dremel to cut them..
I then replaced my Blue Orb with a CPU cooler with a 6000rpm fan.. attached with Artic Alumina..

Hardware Volt-Modded the card after that.. you can see the resistors in the rear view picture..

Before All of this I had a Lemon of an Overclocker.. I could not overclock this card past 275.. Not even 1mhz more or it would Lock.. The ram prior would do 290mhz..

After the Ramsinks Ram would do 295..
After Volt mod V-core would do 297 Clean and 305 not so clean..
Ram 300 clean and upto 312 not so clean..

So my final overclock speeds, clean without any artifacts or tearing.. is 297/300...

What your card will achieve will depend on how well it does from the start, some people can get 305/305 or more without doing anyting to their card.. Wish I was that lucky.. =)

If a volt mod is needed, take your time and do it right.. and you will not have any problems..

See pics..

 

[GravY]

Side view

 

[GravY]

Rear view, showing Volt Mod..

 

[GravY]

Front pic..

 

[RangerJoe]

YIKES, that heatsink is big, looks like my friends gf2 ultra...old p2 heatsink on the core....and soem huge ramsinks

 

[GravY]

I have some PCI slots that don't mind being covered.. =)

 

[Big Nuttz]

look back in past threads, you'll finds tons of stuff..

and don't do the VMOD.. it's death to your card...

I did the vmod with no problems and was able to take my 250/250 oem up to 290/320. I used pencil.

 

[DigVideoGuy]

Thanks for the info - i'll prob go with the blue orb and some ramsinks- i'll post again once i overclock it (if i can)

 

[CSaddict]

If I were you I'd with the crystal orb isted and if you want to take it a step further you can lap those. I did the same thing with the thermaltake Ram sinks. Had to cut them up.

 

[Arkaine23]

blorb and ramsinks

If you feel adventurous or get the urge to do something crazy like silversinksam...

That Blorb can become a Slorb with maybe $8-10 and a couple hours of work.

 

[GravY]

Save yourself the trouble, don't get the blue orb.. Im telling you.. Mine warped, my friends also warped.. its not even close to being flat on the bottom..

 

[Arkaine23]

Blorb modding

...Which is exactly why you should consider popping out the Blorb's base, sanding down a silver coin to replace it, and thermal epoxy-ing that sucker onto the gpu!

Or get a Crystal orb or cooljag instead. The average blorb is hardly worth it.

 

[DigVideoGuy]

you may call me a newbie for this but what exactly is a slorb and is lapping?

 

[DigVideoGuy]

what is lapping?--- sorry about that

 

[Silversinksam]

what is lapping?--- sorry about that

Lapping :
http://forum.oc-forums.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=67230&highlight=lapping+instructions

Slorb:

http://www.overclockers.com/tips759/


PS Arkaine23's method is much easier using a fine silver (.999) coin, as it takes me hours to make a Slorb....In fact its a royal pain in the @SS. His method is easier and faster than mine...