Official GIGABYTE Forum
Your Tests and Reviews => Your Tests and Reviews => Topic started by: cravinmild on November 03, 2011, 05:25:10 am
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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
(http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6149/6017946711_b12bd51320_b.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/cravinmild/6017946711/)
_IGP9527 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/cravinmild/6017946711/) by cravinmild (http://www.flickr.com/people/cravinmild/), on Flickr
Link to Overclock Article:
http://www.overclock.net/nvidia-cooling/1086286-complete-build-log-zotac-560ti-corsair.html
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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.
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Hey DM I think you may need a cup of coffee as the OP has posted a link under the last image! ;)
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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.
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@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! :D
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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 ;D
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
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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.
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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.
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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! ;)
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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.
(http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6126/5994712499_e4ccd8bab9_b.jpg) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/cravinmild/5994712499/)
_IGP9531 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/cravinmild/5994712499/) by cravinmild (http://www.flickr.com/people/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.
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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.
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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
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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. ;)
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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.
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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! ;)
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what i found intersting is that when viewing the pics others have posted of the IHS being taken off that regardless of the card or vender the adhesive is the same and the location/method used seems to be the same. Strange as my card is non referance, seems the same machine attaches the heatspreader to all vender cards. I wonder if Asus pcb/other venders pcb are shipped to the same plant for assembly then returned to the shipping plant specified by the vender. Nothing but a thought, id like to know more about the manufactoring process, good stuff to learn.
Im also thinking the same about uneven pressure to the chip directly and crushing it. With a proper method to attach the H70....not so much but zipstraps are far from even pressure.
Now that i have completed this IHS removal i kind of wish i had NOT done it at all. Not that i have caused damage but because it was not nessasary in the first place. Im sure that with proper TIM i could have been within a degree or two of what i am now without that mod. This is not to say there is not a place for this mod, the op for this mod had a major heat issue that could not be fixed. When searching a fix he stubbled across this and for him it cured his problem. Its a great mod but should only be used as a last ditch effort when all other methods have been tried. Now that i have done it i can say this and i hope others will heed my warning on this. The old saying of "dont fix whats not broken" could be used here....and well.
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All in all im still happy with everything, ill redo the lines for better water flow and with luck will cure the flutuations in heat, too many changes at once to pin it to any one thing i did. Lapping could have something to do with it as it allows for quicker trasfer of heat, could be what casues the heat spikes so quickly and at such an extream. My temps are still fantastic, cant complain really, better than anything stock offers by a long shot. Just talking here so dont fear the H70 mod, its the best thing i could have ever done. The IHS.....not so much.
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I think you will find that the IHS is the same on all the cards irrespective of make because they are sent that way from the manufacturers. The heatspreader is adhered to the chip before any third party manufacturer gets them I am sure.
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OMG, im such an idiot. Ya, that makes sense lol
I always wondered about that when thay say they binned some chips higher than others, figured it must takes some time to pry all those chips out to try each one.......... wheres the smilely for "im such a loser" lol
Im happy with the temps more so today, less flutuations and rock solid, never went above 55c during 2h of bf3. That was the high for the game, average was 27c-32c looking back over the entire game session (Asus GPU Tweak). Also after resetting the monitor and leaving the pc alone for a few hours i came back to see that my lows are 22c, right now im 24c while doing this and highs are ...... 24c lol. They just changed and were at a high of 22c also untill just now. Seems its holding its temps better.
I only think its fair to add this/continue to add this over the time in this thread as its important for others who read this too.
Did i post my benchmark...cant remember, here it is again if i had.
Max temp of 61c on day two using 1.293v and 1015core clock. Latest drivers, older ones get better oc but its only a test not a challange
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Hey just join the line of us who have made stupid mistakes....you won't find many who are not there!
Does indeed sound like your TIM is curing and the temps are settling a little lower now. Excellent stuff anyway! ;)
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Hi all. I see my thread is still here and that is good to see. Glad so many of you have read my thread on gpu modding.
I wanted to update this thread in order to add another link. A fellow on OCN has started a club to help people out with this mod. There have been an astonishing amount of users who have now completed the mod. The club is to help those who are interested in doing the mod themself or are looking for a good read. It is well organized and has lots of great pointers along with a link to the ati "The Mod" club for those who are rocking ati card. There are well over 40 cards done and a few tri sli and a number of sli rigs.
Thanks again for letting me post here and for all the views ;D
http://www.overclock.net/t/1203528/official-nvidia-gpu-mod-club-aka-the-mod
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Hi and welcome back.
Glad to see that it has taken off so well and so many people are actually making use of it and modifying their GPUs. Thanks for the update and link. 8)
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Thanks Mantis
Its really been fun to see the reactions peeps get after doing the mod. Not one person regrets it and no dead cards (cross fingers) yet either.
Sweat Sweat silence lol
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I always include the graphics card whjen I watercool a system because in a lot of ways you get more benefit from that than the CPU. GPU air cooling systems are inherently more noisy than CPU ones. I think it is a brilliant idea.
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Well, if I did not void my warranty as well as attaching my H70 ive most certainly have now. I pryed off the heatspreader and lapped surfaces on both sides, plus the added Artic Silver 5, as well as surface and H70. Temps this morning were 20c, thats a drop 7c is my maximum MAX lows. I also benched the card at 1015core with temps peaking at 61c @ 1.293v ~ ~ HEAD = pobj I cant get any higher than the basic, but the fact that my instant using the latest drivers and not the best ones for benchmarking.
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nice job thaversonlly
The Mod is a pretty straight forward mod but adding on the fact you have taken off the IHS..... that is an advance mod not to mention very risky to boot. Good Job, nice temps btw as it sounds your running at ambiant temps when idle. Im currently running my H70 directly on the die having removed the IHS completely. Having done it i can say with some certainly if you love your gpu its NOT suggested as the addional few degress drop is not worth chipping/cracking the corner of the gpu.
Ive gotten 1056 now but its not stable across all benchmarks and only with certain older drivers. With most drivers i can achive 1027 stable 24/7 with a whopping 1.293v while remaining under 60c benchmarking.
congrats, nice mod and nice OC/temps
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MODERATOR EDIT: copied text deleted
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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.
I don't think there is any point you continuing to copy other posts. If you can't come up with some useful and sensible comment then I would suggest not bothering. ::)