[mindblowingj]

Hey guys, I have been having this question I cant find any fixed answer to, in a closed case setup, if you cool a GPU with phase (I guess everyone doing it on GPU's in on benches and never closed case), how do you keep PCB and memory cool ? My general idea of it is the fan enclosures that mount in the PCI brackets. The only things I see around running this kind of setup have a water chiller for it instead for the GPU instead of being on it directly. Now what if noise/getting enough air wasn't a problem ? Is my fan idea a plausible solution ? Anyone can point me to alternatives ?

 

[Drewmeister]

In most cases the vram will get all the cooling it needs directly through the cold pcb. The exception would be if you plan to hard vmod the card to push the vram. In that case you would simply add some VGA heat sinks to the chips.

You must add a heat sink/s for the VRM's.. there may also be a few smaller chips that need cooling too. Some cards have a separate vrm sink already installed. You should be able to find everything you need at one of these stores.

http://www.frozencpu.com/cat/l3/g40/c16/s1861/list/p1/Air_Cooling-Chipset_HeatsinksCoolers-All_Passive_Chipsinks-Page1.html

http://www.sidewindercomputers.com/memandvidcar.html

You'll want to provide good airflow on the front and back of the card for cooling.. and most importantly, to help eliminate/reduce condensation from forming when at idle. Depending on temp range, may want to consider a thin film heater for the back of the gpu.

You may want to upgrade to upgrade the thermal tape to Fujipoly Extreme
http://www.frozencpu.com/products/16878/thr-164/Fujipoly_Extreme_System_Builder_Thermal_Pad_-_14_Sheet_-_150_x_100_x_05_-_Thermal_Conductivity_110_WmK.html

Edit: It appears you may be running a 7970. If so then check this thread (post #9) to see where to install the heat sinks. http://www.overclock.net/t/1360993/whats-the-recomemded-7970-oc-voltage

 

[mindblowingj]

Thanks for a detailed response and even noticing the current setup I'm on !(that's just great dedication and appreciated) I did get myself a set of alternative heatsinks already but was under the impression it wouldn't be enough. I'm much more confident following your response, will also most likely give a try to those thermal pads. Now the only thing I have left to worry about is the limited airflow as I'm not using this on a bench but rather a closed case, I feel like I had the question of condensation pretty cleared up but weren't sure about cooling vram. So heatsinks + airflow are enough. Anyone has seen examples of this in a closed case scenario ? Id like to see some pics and ony find people using benches.. Now I understand it should be a minor difference but I'm now a bit concerned with airflow (pockets of air forming in that are for just a short while would be a horrible issue)

 

[Drewmeister]

You really only need to get some good flow directed at the vrm's and chokes. Just a small 80mm @ 30-40cfm fan is fine for that... try and mount it to blow directly at those components. The ram will get plenty of cooling through a combination of pcb and minimal airflow. Side fan/s in the case would help quite a bit.

 

[mindblowingj]

Ok thanks, Ill be using fans as planned. Currently looking into making custom brackets for fans, will make thread once design is complete =)