I modded my 9800 non pro with an P4 heat sink

[siranthony]

Hey all,
Of cource I wasn't happy with the overclock I got on my 9800 non pro. I was going to buy some kind of after market cooling solution. Then I thought na why waste more money when I have this big ol P4 heat sink I didn't use. So I took it to work and cut it to cutom fit my 9800. Drilled some holes to mount it. Well it works but not as well as I'd hoped. I had it at 391 core 324 mem. But that was without much testing. I still had small amounts of speckeling. With the mod I get 391 core 335 mem. I ran it for 32 hours with no problems. This card has the infineon memory so 335 is very good. The heat sink seemed to help the memory more than the core. My theory is that the core transfers heat to the memory trough the card. That is why putting heat sinks on the memory doesn't always help. Heat flows down hill or the path of least resistance. If you put heat sinks on the memory and no additional cooling to the core. You are actually drawing more heat through the memory than you would have before. I don't see any reason to put heat sinks on the memory because the memory is only a little warm to the touch. The only drawback to this heat sink is it takes up 3 PCI slots and adds a little more noise. No biggie for now. I don't need the slots. I'm kinda dissapointed though. You hear all these people claiming 420 or 450 core overclocks. Sounds a little high to me. Oh well I got a moderate O/C again. Can't complain but coulda been better.

P4 2.4c @ 3.0 ASUS P4P800 dx Geil Golden Dragon PC4000 2.5,3,3,6 250FSB 1:1 Radeon 9800 non-pro 2 Maxtor 60gig 7200rpm 8mb cach in raid 0 SB Audigy 2 Antec True 480

 

[speeduk]

Have you flashed to pro bios? The 9800np could have a lower voltage to the core and memory and will probably be limiting you rather than cooling.

<A HREF="http://service.futuremark.com/compare?2k1=7000747" target="_new"> 3D-2001 </A>
<A HREF="http://service.futuremark.com/compare?2k3=1284380" target="_new"> 3D-03 </A>
<font color=red> 120% overclocker </font color=red> (cheapskate)

 

[siranthony]

I did alot of reading on flashing to the pro bios. Everyone says flashing to the pro bios won't do anything for my card with the infineon memory. Theres alot of theories why it doesn't work. Like the infineon can't take the tighter timngs and such. But no one really knows. Anyone buying a non pro should get a saphire not a bbati. Most of the bbati come with the infineon. There are some people hoping that someone will do a bios hack for the infineon mem. It hasn't happened yet.

P4 2.4c @ 3.0 ASUS P4P800 dx Geil Golden Dragon PC4000 2.5,3,3,6 250FSB 1:1 Radeon 9800 non-pro 2 Maxtor 60gig 7200rpm 8mb cach in raid 0 SB Audigy 2 Antec True 480

 

[darko21]

I think you are right in regards to the memory improving along with the core. I pulled the shim off my 9700 pro for better contact and used actic silver3 my core then gave me 10 - 15 MHz but to my supprise the memory overclock much better as well.

 

[siranthony]

So removing the shim makes that much difference? I put a straight edge across the shim and core. The straght edge was making contact with the core. So I didn't think it would make a big diff. Plus I would viod my warrantee. I noticed that the core was not perfectly level though. Kinda had a crown shape. The new style heat sinks are different on the 9800 vs the 9700. They stick out in the middle for more contact. Seems like it defeats the protection of the shim.

P4 2.4c @ 3.0 ASUS P4P800 dx Geil Golden Dragon PC4000 2.5,3,3,6 250FSB 1:1 Radeon 9800 non-pro 2 Maxtor 60gig 7200rpm 8mb cach in raid 0 SB Audigy 2 Antec True 480

 

[darko21]

I'm not so sure about the 9800 but it definatly makes a difference with the 9700.
Check out this link
http://www.frostytech.com/articleview.cfm?articleID=1288

 

[Crashman]

What would lead you to believe doing a BIOS flash would raise the voltage levels?

<font color=blue>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to a hero as big as Crashman!</font color=blue>
<font color=red>Only a place as big as the internet could be home to an ego as large as Crashman's!</font color=red>

 

[scottchen]

Good job, keep up the good work, just wandering how the heck did you fit a P4 stock heatsink? Those things are huge. We say we got 480 or something is because we have 9800pro. Which runs at higher voltage.

-Intel PIV 2.4C @ 3.84G -Asus P4P800 -OCZ Copper 2x256 4000EL memory @ 275mhz 3-4-4-8 -Sapphire 9800pro @ 490/780 -SB audigy -80G Maxtor Diamond Plus9 Ultra ATA-133 hdd -450 Enermax PSU

 

[siranthony]

I just cut out the bottom with a hacksaw to fit around the capacitors and stuff. Then drilled a couple of big 3/8 inch holes through the fins. Then drilled smaller holes to attatch it to the card. It wasn't hard. The top looks the same with the same fan on top.

P4 2.4c @ 3.0 ASUS P4P800 dx Geil Golden Dragon PC4000 2.5,3,3,6 250FSB 1:1 Radeon 9800 non-pro 2 Maxtor 60gig 7200rpm 8mb cach in raid 0 SB Audigy 2 Antec True 480

 

[siranthony]

Hey all,
I decided to modify my heat sink some more. I didn't want to take off the shim as it would mess up my warrantee. I decided to grind the bottom of the heat sink down where the shim makes contact. I used screws to mount it instead of that plastic pop in thingy. It made a nice improvement. I got another 12mgz on the core. Now I'm running at 403 core 335 memory. I broke 6000 3dmark 03 marks. Woohoo. I had it at 409 with almost no artifacts. But the pixel shader test always showed artifacts on the right hind quarters of the small elephant until i set it to 403.

P4 2.4c @ 3.0 ASUS P4P800 dx Geil Golden Dragon PC4000 2.5,3,3,6 250FSB 1:1 Radeon 9800 non-pro 2 Maxtor 60gig 7200rpm 8mb cach in raid 0 SB Audigy 2 Antec True 480

 

[speeduk]

Nice one. Now get us some pics!!!

<A HREF="http://service.futuremark.com/compare?2k1=7000747" target="_new"> 3D-2001 </A>
<A HREF="http://service.futuremark.com/compare?2k3=1284380" target="_new"> 3D-03 </A>
<font color=red> 120% overclocker </font color=red> (cheapskate)

 

[siranthony]

I wouldn't mind putting pictures up if I could do it here. But I don't really feel like going through the hastle of making a web or finding another place that will let me post pics. Any ideas?

P4 2.4c @ 3.0 ASUS P4P800 dx Geil Golden Dragon PC4000 2.5,3,3,6 250FSB 1:1 Radeon 9800 non-pro 2 Maxtor 60gig 7200rpm 8mb cach in raid 0 SB Audigy 2 Antec True 480