VOGONS


First post, by sepp

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Dear Vogons,

I found Ssome older VGA cards in my stock. All of them seem still bto be working but I would feel better doing some revise on them. Fans are getting noisy or even are stuck. And maybe replacing the thermal paste.
So my questions are:
My ATI Radeon 9500 Pro is really getting hot. I am mean really hot.
So I removed the cooler. The former cooling pad was burnt to stone and I am trying hard getting it of the die. I already tried soaking it with isopropanol. But it doesnt seem to work. I am a bit nervous putting thinner on it or scratching with a knife on the die 😉
What would be the best method removing fozzilized cooling pads?
Next question:
The fan on my Radeon 9600 Pro died. The fan on my 9500 also gets noisy. I am no collector at all so keeping the cards originally is not my goal. So I am looking for a suitable source of replacement coolers with a pitch (of the two mounting wholes) of 55mm. I found some on ebay but often I am unsure if these are capable of the needed tdp.
I also found some universal VGA coolers which fit many different mounting environments (different whole pitches) but sadly these are covering double slots which I want to avoid.
Any idea for a good source for VGA coolers with 55mm pitch?

Reply 1 of 8, by texterted

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Phil did a video
https://youtu.be/QodrQadRUOQ

Remove that die shim too!

Cheers

Ted

98se/W2K :- Asus A8v Dlx. A-64 3500+, 512 mb ddr, Radeon 9800 Pro, SB Live.
XP Pro:- Asus P5 Q SE Plus, C2D E8400, 4 Gig DDR2, Radeon HD4870, SB Audigy 2ZS.

Reply 2 of 8, by Repo Man11

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I used one of these on my 9800 Pro, and it works well. The thermal paste was petrified, and I used Arctic Silver thermal compound remover and a single edged razor blade to remove it, using care to not damage the GPU.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bs7Dr3en3zU

"I'd rather be rich than stupid" - Jack Handey

Reply 3 of 8, by sepp

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Repo Man11 wrote on 2021-04-03, 19:27:

The thermal paste was petrified, and I used Arctic Silver thermal compound remover and a single edged razor blade to remove it, using care to not damage the GPU.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bs7Dr3en3zU

Thanks for the hint for the "remover" liquid. I wonder what it is 😉
Also thanks for the hint with the cooler. I already tried this thing but the problem with it, is the size. I loose one of the PCI slots due to its height.
Do you have another recommendation of a "single slot" cooler?

Reply 4 of 8, by sepp

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texterted wrote on 2021-04-03, 19:25:

Remove that die shim too!

I am no native speaker: what does this mean? Whats a die shim?

Thanks for the cooler hint. Do you have an alternative in mind? The problem is the height of the cooler - it covers the next PCI slot on the mainboard.

Reply 5 of 8, by ODwilly

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sepp wrote on 2021-04-05, 07:34:
texterted wrote on 2021-04-03, 19:25:

Remove that die shim too!

I am no native speaker: what does this mean? Whats a die shim?

Thanks for the cooler hint. Do you have an alternative in mind? The problem is the height of the cooler - it covers the next PCI slot on the mainboard.

when you remove the cooler, there is a raised square around the GPU die area. That is the "shim". Basically it interferes with the heatsink making contact with the die. It's original purpose was to provide protection to the GPU die being crushed, and ensure an even fit to the heatsink and GPU die.

Main pc: Asus ROG 17. R9 5900HX, RTX 3070m, 16gb ddr4 3200, 1tb NVME.
Retro PC: Soyo P4S Dragon, 3gb ddr 266, 120gb Maxtor, Geforce Fx 5950 Ultra, SB Live! 5.1

Reply 6 of 8, by Jager

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sepp wrote on 2021-04-05, 07:34:
texterted wrote on 2021-04-03, 19:25:

Remove that die shim too!

I am no native speaker: what does this mean? Whats a die shim?

Thanks for the cooler hint. Do you have an alternative in mind? The problem is the height of the cooler - it covers the next PCI slot on the mainboard.

Die shim - it's a metal frame around GPU die. On 9x00 series it's higher than die itself, thus thick (an ineffective) layer of thermal grease required.
If you want single slot cooler you can try passive one like Zalman VNF 100 (fan still recomended). Titan cuv-3 may be sufficient, as well as stock 9x00 coolers from 9800 series (depends on your pcb though, may not fit).

Reply 7 of 8, by sepp

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ODwilly wrote on 2021-04-05, 07:56:

when you remove the cooler, there is a raised square around the GPU die area. That is the "shim". Basically it interferes with the heatsink making contact with the die. It's original purpose was to provide protection to the GPU die being crushed, and ensure an even fit to the heatsink and GPU die.

Many thanks - now I understand. I thought this shim cannot be removed. I will give it a try 😀
If I cant manage to get rid of it I will use a copper spacer plate.

Reply 8 of 8, by sepp

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Jager wrote on 2021-04-05, 07:57:

If you want single slot cooler you can try passive one like Zalman VNF 100 (fan still recomended). Titan cuv-3 may be sufficient, as well as stock 9x00 coolers from 9800 series (depends on your pcb though, may not fit).

Many thanks for the two hints for altermatives. I will check the data and availability 😀