6950 + Accelero Xtreme Plus length

[chnathan]

Hi all,

I'm wondering if anyone has installed an Arctic Cooling Accelero Xtreme Plus on an HD 6950 or 6970 and can tell me the exact length from the back of the case to the very end of the cooler (by the hard drive bays).

I would like to get one for my new build, but it's in a Fractal Design Define R3 and I kind of doubt it will fit.

Super-awesome points to anyone who has actually installed one - or tried to - in an R3.

Thanks!

 

[joelmartinez]

I haven't tried, but are you sure you really need a GPU cooler, what are your current temps?

 

[joelmartinez]

I assume your worried about temps because you wanna flash to a 6970, try buying aftermarket TIM and installing that on the vid card. shin etsu g751 is $3 per tube at http://www.svc.com/

 

[chnathan]

No, it's more the noise. I have scythe slipstreams in push-pull on a Mugen 2 Rev. B cooling my CPU, an SSD, and a Fractal Design Define R3 case. Even at idle the stock cooler on the 6950 is louder than everything else in the case by orders of magnitude.

Now, if I could get a cooler that will be quiet and fit in the case *while* allowing me to flash to a 6970, and heck, will fit in crossfire in the future, that'd be awesome. But for now I'll setting for sufficient quiet cooling that fits in the case.

 

[joelmartinez]

download msi afterburner -> http://event.msi.com/vga/afterburner/download.htm then report temps, try turning the fan down a bit, my 5850 is super loud at 40% but once it hits 35% it's almost silent, and there is a 1C difference between the temps fiddle around with it

 

[chnathan]

One person's almost silent is different from another's I think. I can control the fan manually in CCC; when I turn it down to the 20% minimum it is acceptable, but the temp at idle is in the 58C range. I can get it down to the low 50s by installing a case fan in the side panel blowing right at the card, but again that increases noise. Plus as soon as I try to do anything I'll need to increase the fan speed anyway. (By comparison the CPU idles at around 30C and its fans are literally silent from where I sit.)

By default the stock fan runs at around 27% at idle, and it's still too loud. I mean, for many people in many applications it would be acceptable, but one of my primary goals is a quiet PC. The stock cooler is efficient, but it isn't quiet.

 

[joelmartinez]

get another slipstream for the side then or sff21f s-flex

 

[chnathan]

Please re-read my last post. I have already tried adding a case fan there. It makes the noise acceptable at idle, but not at load.

Not to mention, the auto fan profile doesn't go below 25%, so to get it sufficiently quiet I would have to control it manually. A decent aftermarket cooler would appear to solve all these problems.

My question is whether this specific one, the Arctic Cooling Accelero Xtreme Plus, will fit in my case. I appreciate the suggestions, but I really think an aftermarket cooler is the right way for me.

Edited for tone.

 

[joelmartinez]

I now understand sorry about that

 

[atomicvai]

Mine have just arrived for my two 6950's... once I pick them up at Fedex I'll let you know. As far as whether these are worth it, I installed my first one on my 5870 a year ago and never looked back. 100% fan speed is inaudible, and the card never even hit 55 at full load in a warm room (if I remember correctly full load raised the temp of the card by 10 - 15 degrees with a 35-38 degree idle)... my load temps before that could reach 90... VRM's were also much cooler. I expect the same from these on the 6950's. I have a nice quiet case so the stock leaf blowers just don't cut it.

Anyhow, will get you dimensions in a bit.

EDIT: Mine are both flashed to 6970's (not the memory) as well, and run great at a 950 core, but the temps are too high. Should easily hit 1000 with these.

 

[atomicvai]

It's just a hair over 12 inches (1/16th or so) from plate to the end of the cooler. It mounts over more from my one on the 5870 which makes it a bit longer on the card. Install was pretty straight forward, though they went to thermal glue for the VRM's this time instead of the screwdown heatsink. Will post you some temps later, but I expect them to be in line with my last one. I idle currently at 45ish with the fan at 45% on the stock cooler. Load temps with fan at 50% on stock cooler hit 88-90 and it's very loud with 2 running crossfire.

 

[chnathan]

Thanks for the detailed info! Unfortunately I have exactly 11 15/16" of clearance from plate to drive bays, so it looks like I'm out of luck. Bleh. They sound absolutely perfect too!

I wonder if the Accelero S1 would be sufficient. Probably not to flash to 6970, but maybe if I leave it as a 6950...

 

[atomicvai]

Darn, well that's too bad it won't fit. have mine installed and running now and they're just what I expected. Top card idles at 38, bottom at 29 (it steals the cool intake air first). Under Furmark they max at 64/55. Games with both working 100% cap at 55/45... plus complete silence now, which is a nice change from the leaf blowers.

 

[chnathan]

I'm sure it would be! I'm thinking now about just selling my existing card and picking up either an MSI Twin Frozr II 6950 or a PowerColor PCS++ 6950. Anyway, thanks for the input!

 

[chnathan]

Best answer selected by chnathan.