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MingoDynasty   02-12-2007 at 01:37:04 AM

Hello. I have a X1900 XT card, overclocked 650 core/800 mem. It has a stock cooler with 50C idle, around 65-70 load. I'm thinking of getting a cooler, because when it hits those high temps, the fan really kicks in and get uber loud :o
What's the best cooling system to get, while on a budget? Or the best value cooler?[/list]

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MingoDynasty   02-13-2007 at 06:05:13 AM
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Quote :

IMO the Zalman VF900 is the best GPU air cooler on the market. I run an OCed 7900GS. Idle temps where around 56C to 58C with loads up in the 70s. After installing the cooler the idle dropped to about 38C with loads no higher then 44C. But then the stock cooler on the 7900GS is relly poor.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6835118001



I heard that the Thermalright HR-03 is the best, but it's also pricey and doesn't come with a fan. Is that one better, or shud I go with your Zalman?

Ps. What does "IMO" mean?

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sarsoft   02-13-2007 at 08:02:54 AM
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Thermalright HR-03 is the best VGA air cooler on the market when used with a fan. It is a bit pricy and you will also have to get a fan for it (if you want best results).

http://www.tomshardware.com/2006/1 [...] erformance

IMO = In my opinion. :D

Reply to sarsoft
MingoDynasty   02-14-2007 at 02:31:13 AM
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Quote :

Thermalright HR-03 is the best VGA air cooler on the market when used with a fan. It is a bit pricy and you will also have to get a fan for it (if you want best results).

http://www.tomshardware.com/2006/1 [...] erformance

IMO = In my opinion. :D



If I had teh HR-03, how big of a fan can I put on it? (or have to put on it)

Reply to MingoDynasty
Amon   02-14-2007 at 07:46:44 AM
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I think the AC's Accelero X2 is one of the best VGA Coolers, I like it. :D

Reply to Amon
sarsoft   02-14-2007 at 07:52:19 AM
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Its good... but blows hot air into the motherboard hence heats up inside of the case (makes other components hotter). Thats a big NO.

Reply to sarsoft
MingoDynasty   02-15-2007 at 05:21:29 AM
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If I got teh HR-03, can I be assured that if I upgraded in the near future (ex: upgrade to 8800 GTX or something), that I can reuse the HR-03? I wouldn't want to blow 50 bucks on it just for my X1900XT, and then lose both the card and the cooler when I upgrade :o

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sarsoft   02-15-2007 at 04:39:59 PM
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HR-03 does not fit on 8800... There isnt any air cooling solutions at this point for 8800... (probably in couple of months). I seen couple of vga waterblocks for it.

Reply to sarsoft
MingoDynasty   02-16-2007 at 10:10:30 PM
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Where's teh cheapest place to get a HR-03? :P

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sarsoft   02-17-2007 at 01:15:41 AM
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Here is one. Thats the only one i can find lol. I guess they are short on supply.

http://www.svc.com/hr-03.html

Reply to sarsoft
MingoDynasty   02-17-2007 at 01:46:51 AM
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Quote :

Here is one. Thats the only one i can find lol. I guess they are short on supply.

http://www.svc.com/hr-03.html



What happened to Newegg? :o

Reply to MingoDynasty
sarsoft   02-17-2007 at 04:18:35 PM
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I know that they had it a week ago or so. Now you can rarly find it anywhere. svc.com is secure website nothing to worry about. I order from there couple of times.

Reply to sarsoft
MingoDynasty   02-18-2007 at 12:43:03 AM
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Quote :

I know that they had it a week ago or so. Now you can rarly find it anywhere. svc.com is secure website nothing to worry about. I order from there couple of times.



I've never heard of svc before :o

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NamelessMC   02-20-2007 at 04:07:35 AM
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Quote :

I know that they had it a week ago or so. Now you can rarly find it anywhere. svc.com is secure website nothing to worry about. I order from there couple of times.



I've never heard of svc before :o

I bought a case from SVC. Came in 2 days, great condition. Customer service was also really good. They constantly replied to my emails with the information I asked for.

Reply to NamelessMC
mcain591   02-20-2007 at 04:45:26 AM
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If your going for cheap, great performance, and quiet, go with the zalman VF900.
If your going for top of the line performance, go with the Thermalright.
IMO, I would go with the Zalman, cause the performance advantage with the Thermalright is only slim.

If you want to switch this onto an 8800, for example, go the watercooling route. You can set up a near top-of-the-line set-up for your cpu, gpu, for about $300 USD.

I will be doing a review of the VF900 next weekend, if you're willing to wait.

Reply to mcain591
MingoDynasty   02-20-2007 at 09:05:16 PM
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Quote :

If your going for cheap, great performance, and quiet, go with the zalman VF900.
If your going for top of the line performance, go with the Thermalright.
IMO, I would go with the Zalman, cause the performance advantage with the Thermalright is only slim.

If you want to switch this onto an 8800, for example, go the watercooling route. You can set up a near top-of-the-line set-up for your cpu, gpu, for about $300 USD.

I will be doing a review of the VF900 next weekend, if you're willing to wait.



I don't quite have $300 to spare though. Since air cooling is more than effective enough for me (my Scythe and case fan ventilation keep my components at a blaazing 30C except for my gfx), water cooling would likely be the last thing I'd invest in. (after buying a new monitor, paying back my debtors, etc.)

According to Tomshardware, the HR-03 drops liek twice as many degrees as the zalman, and is a lot more quieter. Is it worth it? I wouldn't want to buy something that only drops degrees slightly lower than stock.

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scarywoody   02-20-2007 at 10:44:46 PM
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Buy the HR-03! I bought it and I was stock idle 50 and scanning for artifacts with atitool around 90 loaded. Now I am 32 idle and loaded is about 61 degrees. Crazy cooling! That's with a 92mm antec tri cool on the medium setting.

Reply to scarywoody
MingoDynasty   02-21-2007 at 01:56:02 AM
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Quote :

Buy the HR-03! I bought it and I was stock idle 50 and scanning for artifacts with atitool around 90 loaded. Now I am 32 idle and loaded is about 61 degrees. Crazy cooling! That's with a 92mm antec tri cool on the medium setting.



X1900 XT gfx card? And stock speeds or overclocked? Speaking of overclocking, I overclocked mine to 654/801, and I barely get any extra fps according to 3DMark06. (stock 2D - 500/600 3D - 620/720)

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scarywoody   02-21-2007 at 02:39:18 AM
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Yes it's a x1900xt. I started a thread here and you can see some settings and 3dmark scores so far. Haven't really sat down and seriously OC'd it, but I had it running well.

http://forumz.tomshardware.com/har [...] 25118.html

Reply to scarywoody
mcain591   02-21-2007 at 03:40:36 AM
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Oh, I know. Not many people do, including me right now.

However, I stand corrected. The new HR-03 plus has enough cooling power. But, IF I had to buy an 8800GTX, I would buy the one with the advanced cooling stock. I wanna say EVGA?

Reply to mcain591
MingoDynasty   02-21-2007 at 04:55:51 AM
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Quote :

Oh, I know. Not many people do, including me right now.

However, I stand corrected. The new HR-03 plus has enough cooling power. But, IF I had to buy an 8800GTX, I would buy the one with the advanced cooling stock. I wanna say EVGA?



My bro recently bought a BFG 7600 GT, and it is INSANELY loud. I'm thinkin it's cuz BFG packs an uber tiny fan and makes it spin liek 9999999 rpm for some reason.

Reply to MingoDynasty
mcain591   02-21-2007 at 06:26:02 AM
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Well, if he needs a quiet cooler, Zalman is the way to go! (Review... Next weekend.... cough...) :P

Reply to mcain591
sarsoft   02-23-2007 at 05:53:37 AM
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Quote :

Here is one. Thats the only one i can find lol. I guess they are short on supply.

http://www.svc.com/hr-03.html



What happened to Newegg? :o
Here is HR-03 on newegg. i guess it came back to stock hmm.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] T=35109134

Reply to sarsoft
sarsoft   02-23-2007 at 05:55:49 AM
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Quote :

If I got teh HR-03, can I be assured that if I upgraded in the near future (ex: upgrade to 8800 GTX or something), that I can reuse the HR-03? I wouldn't want to blow 50 bucks on it just for my X1900XT, and then lose both the card and the cooler when I upgrade :o


Here is the HR-03 Plus for 8800. But its not selling in any retail stores as of now probably soon.

http://www.thermalright.com/a_page [...] 3_plus.htm

Reply to sarsoft
MingoDynasty   02-23-2007 at 06:39:47 PM
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Is it possible to slap a 120mm fan on that HR-03? What I've heard is that it can only take 92mm fans, but bigger fans are more effective (and less noisier).

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sarsoft   02-24-2007 at 01:21:01 AM
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Quote :

Is it possible to slap a 120mm fan on that HR-03? What I've heard is that it can only take 92mm fans, but bigger fans are more effective (and less noisier).


It would be nice if you could slap 120mm fan but it takes 92mm fan.

I got this from the other post its from RobsX2 his picture and system. You can add what he did in his picture but those dont look like they are 120mm fans but rather 2x 80mm or 90mm or 92mm fans.Oh those take two slots :( .

http://i179.photobucket.com/albums [...] ure030.jpg

Reply to sarsoft
mcain591   02-25-2007 at 09:28:11 AM
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Well, I've got all of the data for my review, just gotta get around to writing it up.

Reply to mcain591
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