GTX 480 cooling - Page 3

Originally Posted by Art Vanelay 

I was more wondering if the fan would actually do anything without the heat sink; it seems like it would just shoot air everywhere. It appears to be designed only to push air inside of the card housing.

Originally Posted by DerComissar 

I've been running 480' s since they were released, and currently have two in sli with AC Accelero Plus II coolers on them.
However, I have tried two other coolers on the 480's. The Prolimatech MK-13, which couldn't handle the heat output of the 480's under load, and the Zalman VF3000F, which was a good cooler and did get similar results to the Acceleros.
Based on what you were originally asking, if you choose to stick with a good aftermarket air cooler for the 480, I would recommend the Zalman cooler because of the ease of installation of the one-piece vrm/memory cooling plate. It is also far more secure than the stick-on heatsinks that come with the Accelero.
I modified the original heatplates that came with my 480's to fit on the cards, as I wasn't satisfied with the Acceleros stick-on sinks or the rubbery glue they use for them.
With the Zalman cooler you'll have no such problems, the included plate bolts right on to the card. It's a bit tricky putting the thermal compound on the small vrm's, but once done, the plate is very secure.
But you should also consider if you want to try using a cpu "water" cooler such as the Antec 620 or a Corsair unit as in "the mod", it really does work well, and the bracket such as DWood's will allow you to mount it without straps and have the extra fan for the vrm's and memory.
Beyond that, the best results come from using a custom water cooling loop, with a good water block. Which is a very expensive proposition if you buy your radiator, pump, reservoir, gpu water block, etc. new.
Edit:
Also, the Zalman plate can be easily removed, unlike using stick-on sinks. I've messed around with various sinks and thermal tapes, as well as thermal glue, and was never satisfied with the results.