Mod Corsair H70 to a gpu- The easy way

[cravinmild]

Hey all,  here is a easy mod for you.  You can use any Corsair closed loop cpu cooler and mod it to your graphics cards using zipstraps.  Super easy, super cool, super cheap.  Ive done two cards now. Matrix gtx 580 and Zotac 560ti.  Many peeps are doing this now after reading this guide.  A few have sli/mod their setups also. Kuhler 620 will also work.
   Just read this guide and youll be doing it too.  Crazy cool temps even at crazy high overclocks on your cards.  Read my thread then check out the same section at all the other users who have posted their pics of the mod they did to their cards and what they have to say about this.  
  
This is so crazy stupid easy youll be laughing once you see it.

Enjoy, hope it works for you also.

Link to OCN> graphics cards > nvidia > cooling

Here is a pic of my zotac 560ti after being modded

_IGP9527 by cravinmild, on Flickr

Link to Overclock Article:
http://www.overclock.net/nvidia-cooling/1086286-complete-build-log-zotac-560ti-corsair.html

[Dark Mantis]

Hi

It looks interestying and I would have liked to have read more but you haven't put your full link into your post. Perhaps you could alter that so interested people can actually use it.

[absic]

Hey DM I think you may need a cup of coffee as the OP has posted a link under the last image! 

[Dark Mantis]

Thanks absic, I did see the first link just to the photo but failed to scroll down further for the other one. It would be so much easier if people made the pictures the correct size to post without all these scroll bars everywhere.

[absic]

@cravenmild
Edited your post to make it easier to view and to find link to your article.

@DM
There you go. Now stop complaining and get on with some proper work! 

[cravinmild]

My sincere apologys,  the pic was an after thought and i edited the post to add it.  It must have pushed the link downwards to the bottom under the pic.  Stupid, Stupid, Stupid lol

thanks for fixing 

Funny, i can mod a card but cant seem to figure out how to post the pic correctly.  Someone should do a buildlog (with pics) for us who have never been shown how lol-facepalm to myself.

Thanks for looking. Ive hit 1027max core so far.  Saddly my 1055 holds me back from true glory

[absic]

A how to for posting pics.... now where's the fun in that?  I still get it wrong and I'm supposed to know what I'm doing.

Interesting cooler adaptation by the way and it's nice to see a little initiative about this kind of thing. Just one concern  about doing this though, it will of course probably invalidate any warranty and that is always worth bearing in mind when it comes to such modding.

[cravinmild]

That could be the case but Zotac has not said anything yet and i got a big thumbs up from their mod over there....unoffical of course lol.  I posted (Asus ROG forums) my Matrix 580 mod as a link to OCN but i was asked by tech to post all the pics right in their forums for other users to see.  The mods/tech loved it and when asking questions to them are very forthcoming with answers.  Main question from members there is about pcb heat/video ram heat causing card failures but it was assured that the cards are very well build and they see no issues with this mod adding it could handle it without problems.

Now for me I dont see it as an issue with regards to warranty as its pretty much switching the card to watercooling which is acceptable by most companys BUT this is a "do at your own risk" type mod and with that said its up to the companys to decide what is acceptable and what is not.  Most companys will allow you to oc the card to death and still accept rma on it.  Its an interesting time to be into pc building, lots of great ideas coming out and fantastic aftermarket products to tweak and improve over stock.

Ive yet to see my ram temps go above 67c and board temps always stays below 27c.  PC ram is rated for over 120c.   I do have the fans attached as do the others who have done this mod.  My zotac card had the fan removed and other than some fans i set to blow on the pcb from a distance away it was no cooled at all other than the chip itself.  I reached 1275core and 1.150v, im sure i could have gone more but the slider bar was maxed on MSI Afterburner, it would not allow for my to oc the card farther.

[Dark Mantis]

Just wanted to say what a nice mod especially the Zotac.

What makes it even more special is that it looks like it belongs and not just something that has been stuck on afterwards. Congrats!

[cravinmild]

I have to agree, the zotac is the nicer looking mod of the two cards.  The first time I did the Zotac card the shroud was left off, i noticed the way the water lines came off the card it maybe was possable to keep the shroud.  I cut the zipstraps and reapplied the TIM, took all of 5 minutes to add the shroud.  Very glad I took the extra time to do so, the finnished look made it appear as though it was a stock card and shipped this way.  Very sexxy imo.  I like it more than the Matrix looks wise, too bad the Matrix is the better card, i was a bit sad to take it apart again to use the H70 on the Matrix.
   Here is a shot of the Zotac card installed.  The pump is perfectly flush with the top shroud.

_IGP9531 by cravinmild, on Flickr

You can also check out my Flickr page as ive got many other shots of various stages of the mod, more than show in my build log.  Sorry its a mess there... im not much of a cleaner.  I also have some shots of how to cut sleeving and wrap your waterlines with it to match your wiring,  apply color film to your case to change the color...if your not into painting and various other stuffs.

[Dark Mantis]

Thanks for that cravinmild. I would agree that the Zotak mod could easilly pass for a factory built card and the good thing is that it can be moved onto your next card when you upgrade. I will have a look at your other mods later when I have the time, thanks. This new idea of braiding the pipework is something I have been looking into for some time as it is quite catchy.

[cravinmild]

Well if i didnt void my warranty before with attaching my H70 ive most certainly have now.  I pryed off the heatspreader and lapped the surfaces on both sides plus adding Artic Silver 5, also the surface of the H70.  Temps this morning were 20c, thats a drop of 7c off my max lows.  I also benched the card at 1015core with temps peaking at 61c @ 1.293v    I cant get any higher on the core but im sure its from the fact im using the latest drivers and not the best ones for benchmarking.  The card will not crash drivers at 1067 but its not stable, i can also run Heaven 2.5 @ 1050core but only the flyby mode, not the benchmark......

I do like the sleeving on the waterlines also,  the corrigated stock ones were so ugly.  I wish i could find a way to finnish the end points as black electic tape does not do it justice and looks pretty sloppy imo.

  Check out my added pics to the link i posted earlier, pretty cool WOOT

[Dark Mantis]

Yes very interesting. You must be very pleased with the results so far and they may even improve as the TIM cures. It all certainly needed lapping though didn't it.

[cravinmild]

In that same section over on OCN the fellow how did the original post of the heatspreader removal (cakewalk) is starting a chart to track results.  Its interesting that one of the users who also did this mod mentioned that his idle temps can fluctuate a good deal.  It should be noted that i also can see lows at 20c but i can move a single item on my desktop and have temps shoot upwarts of 26c.  Its only for a second but still, it was not tendancey of this chip before.  It would obviously move but not increase that much or with doing such minor things such as moving an item on the desktop...well see.

My next mod will be to remove the fan directly over the 580 chip as its not needed.  This hopefully will allow me to run the waterlines out that hole.  Im hoping to limmit the angles in the tubing and get a smoother flow.  Ill leave on the rear fan, i see no reason not to.  Temps this morning were 22c on startup and sitting at 23c right now,  highs being that spike to 26c.  Cpu temps are 15c at start and sitting at 17c right now, highs of 19c.  This is a 1055t chip so it has that temp monitoring issue at lower temps.  For those who do not know you can add 8-10c to that temp for idle,  higher temps will show the temps truer..but still its out.

Im also thinking of mounting the H70 (more lapping first) to the chip directly and forgoing the heatspreader completely.  Im still uncertain on this and need to search the web for info in this subject.  Seems few have ventured down this road im on.   Little info to go on  WOOT im a trail blazer.


Thanks for reading and hope its of good info.....or entertainment.    Ill say this now, the H70 mod is pretty tame,  i would not suggest prying off the heatspreader.  The op i pulled the guide from said 9/10 will distroy the chip doing this, its EXREAMLY complicated process.

[Dark Mantis]

Some heatspreader removals are worse than others. A lot depends on how the manufacturer has fixed it in place. If it is just glued then it isn't too dangerous but there are other ways and these can prove lethal to the chip. The other problem with removal is that there is not mechanical protection for the chip and they crack very easilly especially if the pressure is kept perfectly balanced.

Anyway you seem to have done well so far and everything seems to be working still!