Quieter Quad (7800GT cooler)
I've always been convinced that if they'd used a double height cooler on the 7800GT in my Quad that it'd be a much quieter machine. As it was always dominated by the high pitched whine of the half height cooler with small fan.
In vain I've tried a couple of times to get a cooler that'll quiet it down, but have always been scuppered by the fact that they all protrude too much from the bottom of the card so won't fit in the case. Until now...
Enter the Zalman VF-900Cu. It doesn't fit with the standard retaining bolts sure, but replacing them with some tiny bolts works great. Then just take the speed sensor line out of the power lead and graft on a 2-pin plug. Plug it into the card, the card back into the machine and switch on.
Oh my god, it's quiet!
I didn't even bother with the FanMate that comes with it to drop the speed of the fan as it simply wasn't neccessary. Temps are also a good 5 degrees below what they used to be. A total win-win situation.
-JuanSolo
(I asked if he had any photos of the card/cooler install. Here's 4:)
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I welcome other Mac 7800 owner comments on cooling/fan mods, performance, etc. - please include your system/OS version and details on apps/games, etc. you used in reports. Thanks.
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