Installation:
Lay the card/Silencer assembly in the G5's card bay. Remove the slot cover for the bottom PCI slot and replace it with the Silencer's vented slot cover. This cover also has the fan's H/L (High/Low speed) switch in it. Use a magnetic screwdriver when removing or installing the slot covers - you don't want to pay a repair facility to find that little screw down in the guts of the G5.

Route the white switch cable under the Silencer's heatsink as shown. Carefully insert the assembly into the AGP slot. Note how the Silencer completely covers the first PCI slot, and there's not much clearance between the Silencer and the second PCI slot. Tighten the slot cover screw and you're done!

(Note: Every VGA Silencer (even the later models) I've seen has a large gap between the blower body end and the vented PCI bracket. You can see that in the photo above (notice the gap between the vented PCI bracket and the blower tube/heatsink shroud.) Personally I think this hurts the efficiency of the exhaust flow as that open air gap means that it's still blowing some hot air inside the case. Some have sealed that with duct tape as I recall. (Not sure why Arctic designed it with that large gap - concerned about some backpressure?) Granted it's still better than the typical fan setup that doesn't exhaust ANY air outside the case - and it's cheap.-Mike)

The outside view. Here you can see why the Silencer is able to work so quietly yet keep the GPU cool: the fan blows the warm air out through the grille, rather than recirculating its own hot air like other fans do. The High/Low switch is on the right. I leave this switch in the Low position and can't hear the Silencer over the other G5 fan noises. It's surprisingly quiet in the High position, too.

A Final Caution:
The R9800 card with its original heatsink weighs 7.0 ounces (198g), while the card with the Silencer attached weighs 16.8 ounces (476g), 2.4 times as much. If you're moving your G5 and it might get bounced around a bit, it would be a good idea to remove the card and pack it separately. This ensures that the card won't be stressed in bending where it goes into the AGP slot.

Other G5/Video Card Related Articles:
See the G5 section of the Systems page and the Graphics Card section of the Video Topics page.