[DJ_Izumi]

I run two Kodi PCs which also run Steam for gaming and I have a 'hand me down' process setup between and my workstation for graphics cards. When my workstation gets a new GPU, that GPU will go to the living room HTPC, and the living room HTPC's GPU goes to the bedroom HTPC/Server. The living room machine is an i7 3770K with a 1GB Radeon HD 6950 for graphics. I bought the HD 6950 used off a friend last spring and I've been using it since, I expect it to be in use for another two and a half years. The 6950 having been running for four years already, it's cooler is a little worn and it runs a bit loud even when idle. I think this is just the fan wearing out more than anything but it's time to refurbish it!

As you can see here, it also had some cooling issues as shown by the FurMark stress test pushing the GPU to 97'C to deal with, though the 6000 series known for running hot. This is also a stress test, not a benchmark.



The Arctic Accelero Mono PLUS was chosen for it's compatibility and promises of lower noise compared to stock coolers. ( Link )


The original graphics card with it's stock cooler:




Stock cooling assembly removed:




The Accellero kit included thermal adhesive and heat sinks to apply to the RAM, the stock cooler did not give any special cooling to the RAM chips but why not add some, right?




And after one hour for the adhesive on the heat sinks to cure I connected the main cooler. It's not pretty, it's big and terrible asymmetrical but it's a nice big fan with aluminum and copper that runs a LOT quieter:




Finally I boot it up again. It POSTS and I didn't screw it up, woot! it's much quieter and it's time to run it through FurMark again and see a nearly 30'C improvement in temperature. Even when under stress testing load the card is MUCH quieter than it was before. Since this machine will operate till Oct 2015 in my living room HTPC and then spend two more years till Oct 2017 in my bedroom HTPC this'll allow it to run that long without issue.




I've used a smaller kit, Accelero L2 PLUS, already on the Radeon HD 6850 that's on my current bedroom HTPC/Server. In that case the cooler fan had formed a rattle even though it still cooled effectively, it would have driven me crazy at night. Since I was pleased with that kit I moved on to this one for another refurb job. The HD 6950 may have come out in 2011 but it's a pretty capable card and it was the third fastest card in the entire HD 6000 series. This living room HTPC not only plays movies but also does Steam gaming and it's effectively a 'Game Console' to me. It should even run GTA5 decently if the game is ever released.

[PatK]

Great tip, I've always had issues with AMD cards after a year or so, they start making heavy noises from the fan (in one case totally stop, and I lost it over a 2 day period from overheat). There used to be a company out that made some great heat pipes for gfx cards, but I suspect they didn't last as hardware seems to change day to day. The next best option is a water block for the gfx chip or something like what you have done, but in my case most of the extra room is taken up with 'sic' drives.

I miss those days of passive cooled graphic cards.

[DJ_Izumi]

Great tip, I've always had issues with AMD cards after a year or so, they start making heavy noises from the fan (in one case totally stop, and I lost it over a 2 day period from overheat). There used to be a company out that made some great heat pipes for gfx cards, but I suspect they didn't last as hardware seems to change day to day. The next best option is a water block for the gfx chip or something like what you have done, but in my case most of the extra room is taken up with 'sic' drives.

I miss those days of passive cooled graphic cards.

In my case the cards continued to operate effectively, the cooling WORKED but it got louder. The 6950 wasn't really THAT bad but the 6850, while effectively cooled, rattled. That thing just needed to be replaced if it was going to be in my bedroom running 24/7 as a server and Kodi machine. The living room wasn't so pressing but I had some spare dollars in this month's budget so I made it happen. Arctic also has liquid coolers and others and their products are multicompatible. They come with multiple screw points and spacers to fit a range of chips, though this leaves the instructions slightly confusing as you want to triple check that you follow the correct instructions for the respective GPU.