Volt Mod Guide: NVIDIA 8600GTS

For volt mods, from the easy to the extreme, this is a list of some of the tools and general gear you’ll need for the mods:

• 25W soldering iron


• 2B pencil


• Conductive ink pen


• Digital multi meter


• Variable resistors of differing resistances


• K-type temperature probe


• SMD grabber


• Roll of solder


• Spool of light duty black hook-up wire


• Spool of light duty red hook-up wire


• Hot glue gun


• Sea sponge


• Eraser

Not all of these items are necessary, in fact, all are optional with the exception of the digital multi meter – it’s a must. The simplest of voltage modifications can be performed with just a 2B pencil and eraser; they can be as simple as that!

If you’re looking to immerse yourself in the realm of voltage modifications, this is the list of goods you’ll undoubtedly need.

The after effect of a volt mod can be numerous. The two most common of which include increased temperature, either from a voltage regulating IC or from the processing unit, for example a GPU, as well as increased potential performance due to the additional voltage giving stability to higher clock frequencies.

The increased heat output is due to the increase in voltage flow through the IC and/or processing unit (PU). This increased voltage renders a higher waste heat output. Meaning it is important to have adequate cooling for the heat generating part.

The cooling may take the form of additional heatsinks to otherwise bare chips or increased cooling performance, for example moving from air based cooling to water cooling. Inadequate cooling can result in a greatly reduced meantime before failure (MTBF) and product life span.

The gains can be a substantial increase in performance and when taken to the edge, these gains can put the piece of hardware in a league completely of its own.

Be sure to check the manufacturer’s warranty statements, but you can bet that 100% of hard-mods void any warranties. This is a process for the hardcore enthusiast elite who see warranties as being akin to toilet paper.