OpTicaL

If your overclocking, aftermarket cooler is absolutely necessary.

You might want to keep the stock heatsink on like I did to cool the VRMs. Bad VRM cooling is just as bad as bad GPU cooling.

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xxbassplayerxx

I've done no overclocking with it. It was all factory OCed by Diamond. Can I assume it's stable at the specs they gave (925/1050) without a different cooler?

tnaz71

The Heatsinks that come with the 4890 are good at keeping it cool per factory specs. You can drop temps on the GPU a lot with a aftermarket cooler, the vrm's are a different story. Only issue's with the stock heatsink is you need to up the fan speed to keep it cool, which gets really aggrovating because of the noise it makes. Basically up it to 45%-50%+ during gaming and it will keep it under 70C. Higher the better but imo past 50% is annoying as :turd:, But if you like the sound of jets taking off then it's great

If I remember right you can get up to 80C(ish). With a aftermarket cooler you will see probably mid 50's to low 60's under load.

On a side note, I finally ordered the T-Rad2 so we will see how that performs. I am planning on leaving the stock plate on for now. I will post results after It arrives.

OpTicaL

The highest I got with the Scythe cooler was 62C under load using ATI Tool and that was on a 88F day. On cooler days the load temps never exceed ~55C.

I wonder where I can find thermal pads to replace the crusty ones that go in contact with the VRMs on the stock cooler.

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tnaz71

Did you see this post http://www.overclock.net/ati/522149-...870x2-tim.html ? From what I am assuming (but assuming is a bad word) is that he removed the pads and just used TIM grease instead. Not sure if that is the best approach to it or who knows maybe it is better? I am going to have to research it some.

OpTicaL

That link you showed me says nothing about how he cools the VRMs.

He just removed the stock cooler, fixed a sloppy job at the factory, reapplied TIM on the GPU and Memory and put the cooler back on.

I could probably try that with with my buddy's 4890 but I would still need something for the VRMs. I'm not sure if it's a good idea to use any kind of TIM on the VRMs even when they suggest to use AS Ceramique on the memory.

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tnaz71

Ya I think for the VRMs we are stuck with the stock plate until that Thermalright VRM cooler is released.

I was just curious if removing those rubber pads and applying thermal grease such as Ceramique would make the memory cooler. I read some posts on different sites saying that the grease would produce better results that the pads but they were dated from a few years ago.

I would be leary of putting it on the VRMs myself just because I would be afraid it would ruin the card.

OpTicaL

Hey, you can be the first to try and let us know!

It's ONLY a $200 card.

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tnaz71

Hmm ya.. I could always RMA it but it's a pain the the arse to do that. lol

I wanted to ask you approx. how much clearance is there from the top of the VRMs to the bottom of the HS? I was thinking instead of using the sinks that come with the aftermarket cooler get These or These? Maybe they would cool the VRMs a little better. Even if the top of those needed to be bent a bit to clear. I don't know just blabbing due to insomnia.

OpTicaL

No, the heatsinks in your link will not be enough to cool the VRMs.

ATM, the stock cooler is the best at cooling the memory chips and VRM until some company comes out with something better with proven results.

I attached a few pics to show you exactly how much clearance is left.

*edit* - The last pic is with the stock heatsink installed, after the RAMsinks failed.

Attached Thumbnails

       

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