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The FX 5900 runs cool as a cucumber

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First post, by Kahenraz

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I know that the stock FX 5900 heatsink is a pretty terrible design, but I was unprepared for just how loud the fan is on this thing. It really does sound like a tiny jet engine. It's funny how this was lauded as such an improvement over the FX 5800, I've never owned or heard one in person, so I can only imagine what that was like.

I noticed during testing that the card doesn't get got at all, so I modified the fan header with a Noctua resistor accessory. It's barely audible now and only manages around about 60C when running 3DMark 2001.

The motherboard I'm testing it in right now is a very underpowered Pentium 3 650-100 Mhz, and the AGP slot is only 2x, so it's definitely being held back. I wonder how it would fare unrestricted.

This is the basic FX 5900 128MB model with OEM heatsink, clocked at 400 / 425 Mhz (core/memory).

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Reply 1 of 8, by Joseph_Joestar

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Kahenraz wrote on 2022-04-23, 09:05:

I noticed during testing that the card doesn't get got at all, so I modified the fan header with a Noctua resistor accessory. It's barely audible now and only manages around about 60C when running 3DMark 2001.

At default settings, 3DMark 2001 is not a very demanding test for that card.

You need something newer like Doom 3 or Far Cry with AA and AF turned on to put it under heavy load.

PC#1: Pentium MMX 166 / Soyo SY-5BT / S3 Trio64V+ / Voodoo1 / YMF719 / AWE64 Gold / SC-155
PC#2: AthlonXP 2100+ / ECS K7VTA3 / Voodoo3 / Audigy2 / Vortex2
PC#3: Athlon64 3400+ / Asus K8V-MX / 5900XT / Audigy2
PC#4: i5-3570K / MSI Z77A-G43 / GTX 970 / X-Fi

Reply 2 of 8, by Yoghoo

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Joseph_Joestar wrote on 2022-04-23, 09:12:
Kahenraz wrote on 2022-04-23, 09:05:

I noticed during testing that the card doesn't get got at all, so I modified the fan header with a Noctua resistor accessory. It's barely audible now and only manages around about 60C when running 3DMark 2001.

At default settings, 3DMark 2001 is not a very demanding test for that card.

You need something newer like Doom 3 or Far Cry with AA and AF turned on to put it under heavy load.

On a Pentium 3 650? If it runs at all it won't be playable.

Reply 3 of 8, by Joseph_Joestar

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Yoghoo wrote on 2022-04-23, 09:24:

On a Pentium 3 650? If it runs at all it won't be playable.

Just noticed the system he's using. Yeah, that's a huge mismatch between the GPU and the CPU.

You want something like an Athlon64 3000+ or better in order to properly drive that card.

PC#1: Pentium MMX 166 / Soyo SY-5BT / S3 Trio64V+ / Voodoo1 / YMF719 / AWE64 Gold / SC-155
PC#2: AthlonXP 2100+ / ECS K7VTA3 / Voodoo3 / Audigy2 / Vortex2
PC#3: Athlon64 3400+ / Asus K8V-MX / 5900XT / Audigy2
PC#4: i5-3570K / MSI Z77A-G43 / GTX 970 / X-Fi

Reply 4 of 8, by The Serpent Rider

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Quick reminder that GeForce FX 5900 coolers are actually software controllable.

I must be some kind of standard: the anonymous gangbanger of the 21st century.

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