Ever had that sinking feeling when you realise your vid card is getting rusty in the GPU? Ron Prouse shows you how to get some meat from your aging card with this mod.
You probably remember the day you sold your Grandma to buy that uber-fast, expensive video card that you just had to have. . . and the truth is now, that it's. . . well, old. A GeForce dinosaur, if you will.
Two options -- learn to live with one kidney and get 'the latest optical experience,' or spend a satisfying afternoon improving the performance of the card that you already have. Selling body parts is so Neuromancer, so let me walk you through the alternative.
ABOVE: Everything that an air-cooled graphics card really needs ….
As most of us have accepted, the main obstacle to overclocking anything PC is the unavoidable increase in heat -- beat the heat, and you have a new envelope to push.
Overclocking a graphics card is no different to overclocking a CPU, and the cooling method used is exactly the same -- a more efficient heatsink fan (HSF). The idea is to lower the temperature of the chip and RAM to acceptable levels while running at speeds well above default.
Now, many of you may have already replaced the cards OEM HSF with a heavier-duty 'Blue' or 'Crystal Orb', and gained some performance, but now is the time to get industrial!
The HSF used here is a low profile IU (rack mount server) unit, and the combined weight of the micro-fin copper heatsink and 60mm/23.5cfm fan is a hefty 220g -- with this mod you don't just block PCI slot 1, you'll obstruct it from view completely.
* An Ocelot 2 HSF, $36.00, kindly supplied by Below-0 (www.below-0.net).* TweakMonster RAMsinks -- eight for $59.40; Artic Silver thermal epoxy -- $22.00, supplied by PC Case Gear (www.pccasegear.com).* A 1.59mm drill bit and drill -- preferably a drill press.* A 2mm thread-tap, four 2mm X 16mm screws and nylon spacers -- $6.00 (Dick Smith Cat# H-1799).* Your old GeForce 2, 3 or 4. . . any card that has the 4 x 2.2mm holes around the perimeter of the GPU.
ABOVE: If your card has these mounting points, mod on!.
I will assume that you know how to remove the standard HSF -- if not, you should probably consider if you want to proceed! First step is to strip off the fan and shroud and ascertain the best orientation for the bare heatsink -- that is, make sure that the base makes flat contact with the GPU, but has clearance between it and everything else around it (capacitors, diodes, AGP slot, etc). You also need to make sure that the 'step' in the base is off to one side of the GPU core. Once it is in place, use a small nail to mark the position of the four holes, and drill corresponding holes right through the base of the heatsink. Use a larger drill bit to countersink the holes slightly as this will give the tap a better starting point. Drill two holes to start with, and drill the other two after the next step, as this will help to line them up perfectly.
Using the thread-tap, carefully cut threads into the holes, one and a half to two turns in at a time. Back the tap out of the hole regularly to remove the excess Copper, and use a lubricant like WD-40. Don't use too much force, and take your time; small drills and thread-taps are brittle and break easily. Then you will discover the fun of trying to get the bits out -- if you can!
Once the four holes are drilled and tapped it is time to clean off the card with isopropyl alcohol, reassemble the HSF (minus the clip mechanism), apply a thin, even coat of thermal paste, and bolt it all together. To protect the card, use nylon spacers under the heads of the screws. There are two important rules when attaching the HSF -- do the screws up a little at a time, in an 'X' pattern. This will keep the contact area flat, and apply an even pressure across the GPU. The other rule is to only do the screws up to 'finger tight' plus a tiny bit more – going sick with a screwdriver could easily damage the GPU, so take it easy.
ABOVE: The finished article. . . all 440 grams of it.
With the GPU taken care of, it's time to give the RAM some attention. The RAMsinks here are the 'Rev.1' type -- obviously use the later 'Rev.2' type if you have Ball Grid Array (BGA) memory. The biggest danger in fitting RAMsinks to older-style RAM is when conductive thermal epoxy oozes across the 'legs', creating paths that will cause short circuits. Artic Silver also make a non-conductive epoxy -- 'Alumina' -- which might be a good alternative if you haven't quite got the hang of the term 'thin layer'.
With DDR-RAM, epoxy the four RAMsinks on one side, and allow 30 minutes for it to dry before turning the card over and gluing the other four on. It's a good idea to use a magnifying glass to check that the 'legs' haven't got any conductive epoxy on them -- it can be carefully scraped off with a razor blade when dry.
Replace the card into your mobo, load up some 'quick' drivers (42.09s) and start pushing the limits of a new envelope! The results for this Gainward Ti4200 64MB, measured against default, were:
* An increase in stable core speed from 250MHz to 325MHz (30%), * Memory went from 513MHz to 581MHz (13%),* Core temperatures dropped by 10c, * The card will now run happily at 150MHz FSB (from 145MHz).
Benchmark scores in 3DMark2001SE Pro v330 went from 10279 to 11716, an overall gain of 14 percent.
ABOVE: Keep the main HSF base centred on the GPU, with the 'step' off to one side.
ABOVE: Don't get any of the epoxy mix on to the RAM 'legs' as it can cause
Issue: 133 | February, 2012