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Mac Pro's ATI X1900 Fan Cooling Swap?

D

De'Mello

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jan 20, 2007
25
1
I am about to swap the fan on the ATI X1900 as it is too loud for my needs.

I have not taken the card out yet but I estimate you get 5mm between the card and the case.

The problem is that the "X1900" sits at the bottom of the mac and there is little room underneath the card for bolts or braces that come with the coolers.

Many cats have used the "Artic Cooler2" and are happy but some are not.

To be safe I would like to exuast the heat with the Jetart "VC3600"...
http://www.cdrinfo.com/Sections/Reviews/Print.aspx?ArticleId=17269
http://www.guru3d.com/article/content/356/8/
http://www.xsreviews.co.uk/reviews-47-page6.html

Q: But will there be room underneath the X1900 to secure the screws and can I plug it into the 3pin on the X1900?


QPTION 2
Q: If not, how about using the "ArticCooler2" with the "Jetart VC1000" to improved air circulation so I can sleep at night?
http://www.xsreviews.co.uk/reviews-43-page4.html
http://www.overclockers.com/articles1347/index.asp

Q: But can the "VC1000's" 4pin be pluged into the mac pro's board?
The conections dont look right to me.

This is the 1st time I have modified any part of the mac pro and so I want to get it right. Please can anybody shed some light?
 
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De'Mello said:
I will take a risk on the "Jetart VC3600" if there are no posts here to say its a bad idea?
I still think the bolt on for the bottom of the card will be to big but I will find some smaller matching bolts before I begin installation.

This cooler is sold as a Vantec CCB-A6C Cooler
http://www.amazon.com/Vantec-Iceber...r_1/103-4433763-4676651?ie=UTF8&s=electronics
Click to expand...

If you absolutely need more room below the card you can move the card up and take up two of the PCI-E slots. The pci-e config utility will detect a change has been made and launch on next startup and give you options to configure the bandwidth of the slots.
 
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Jeez, De'Mello... what's up with all of the cross posts? You aren't going to get better responses by posting the same question on multiple threads. If anything, you're just going to annoy people. If you aren't getting the answer you want, did you ever think that maybe people just don't know?

I suggest you try the card yourself and then get back to us with your findings. I get the feeling you are trying to talk someone else into installing the card so you don't have to take the risk. Good luck with that.
 
waremaster said:
If you absolutely need more room below the card you can move the card up and take up two of the PCI-E slots. The pci-e config utility will detect a change has been made and launch on next startup and give you options to configure the bandwidth of the slots.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the tip.

The apple documentation seems to indicate that x4, x8, x2 can be switched but does not give x16 as an example.
Can this new slot be configured for the x16-lane that this graphics card needs or is it just the bottom slot that can deliver PCI-e -x16?
 
The Cooler is in the post.

maybe people just don't know?

I am leaving links and solutions to this problem so that when someone else is looking for a solution to this problem like I was, they will quickly get up to speed.
My last post states that I will give it a go myself, so Stay Cool.
The Coolers in the post.
 
Does it run into Cable problem? Is the Accerelo x2 the only cooler out there that work on Mac Pro? Ahhh!! I hate the noise on the ATI X1900 XT, but don't want to go with the Accelero X2. What to do!?:confused:
 
Tangerine said:
Does it run into Cable problem? Is the Accerelo x2 the only cooler out there that work on Mac Pro? Ahhh!! I hate the noise on the ATI X1900 XT, but don't want to go with the Accelero X2. What to do!?:confused:
Click to expand...

After reading some posts about the Accelero x2 it does seem like quite a risk as the heat stays within the mac, but the noise is just to much for say quiet photoshop work.
I havent seen any posts on the web about people using anything but the Accelero x2 but there is no reason why you can't use another cooler so long as the conections are the same. There is a 3pin connnection on the Card itself that most coolers can connect to so there are alot of options;

http://www.cdrinfo.com/Sections/Reviews/Print.aspx?ArticleId=17269
http://www.guru3d.com/article/content/356/8/
http://www.xsreviews.co.uk/reviews-47-page6.html
Any Cooler that has above 3pin, I'm not sure that the motherboard has the right connections?
http://www.xsreviews.co.uk/reviews-43-page4.html
http://www.overclockers.com/articles1347/index.asp

I have orderd the Jetart VC3600 but as no one else here has used it, I'm not convince it will have space for the bolts under the card but a risk worth taking for exaust cooling.
If the card can be moved as in the above post says than I can't see a problem. The apple docs dont seem to indicate that you can swithch the x16-lane bandwith to another slot?
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=304122

Anyway the choise is yours, I will post my result when my Jetart VC3600/Vantec arrives.

http://www.amazon.com/Vantec-Iceber...r_1/103-4433763-4676651?ie=UTF8&s=electronics
 
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Time vs Money.

Tangerine said:
I hate the noise on the ATI X1900 XT, but don't want to go with the Accelero X2. What to do!?:confused:
Click to expand...

Oh, and also I would not be suprised if after spending weeks of trying to solve this problem, just as I put the cooler into the mac pro a new Ati x1950 for the mac becomes availible with a quiet cooler on it!
Murphys Law.
 
De'Mello said:
Oh, and also I would not be suprised if after spending weeks of trying to solve this problem, just as I put the cooler into the mac pro a new Ati x1950 for the mac becomes availible with a quiet cooler on it!
Murphys Law.
Click to expand...


Let hope so!? :eek:
 
OK I have just got the cooler and as I suspected there is not the room under the Graphics Card (when it is in the bootom slot 1) for the cooler bolts and as I can not find any replacement bolts with the same thread I'm abit stuffed.

The only option left for a quiet mac is to move the card to slot 2 but dop from pcie x16 to x8.
Slot one is the only slot for x16 that this card needs to run at its best dropping to x8 will incure a little performance hit.
http://www.barefeats.com/quad14.html
What I've decided to do is install the the x1900 with the new cooler in slot 2 but only when the hopefully quieter x1950 becomes available.
I will install that in slot 1 for x16 performance and it will run my 2 display's and then use the x1900 for say Broadcast monitor, projector... whatever.
 
OK I have just got the cooler and as I suspected there is not the room under the Graphics Card (when it is in the bootom slot 1) for the cooler bolts and as I can not find any replacement bolts with the same thread I'm abit stuffed.

The only option left for a quiet mac is to move the card to slot 2 but dop from pcie x16 to x8.
Slot one is the only slot for x16 that this card needs to run at its best dropping to x8 will incure a little performance hit.
http://www.barefeats.com/quad14.html
What I've decided to do is install the the x1900 with the new cooler in slot 2 but only when the hopefully quieter x1950 becomes available.
I will install that in slot 1 for x16 performance and it will run my 2 display's and then use the x1900 for say Broadcast monitor, projector... whatever.
 
1 last Question?

Ok, 1 last thought before I give/crackup.
Tangerine you mention this cooler;
https://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?name=FAN-CLG076&show=p
Thermaltake CL-G0076 TMG AT1 VGA Cooler For ATI.
The brace on this cooler is perfect for the mac pro as it is the same as the stock.
The problem is this cooler has a 4 pin conection and the x1900 has a 3pin.
Q: Can this be modified to fit a 3 pin or is there more than 3 wires?
 
De'Mello said:
Ok, 1 last thought before I give/crackup.
Tangerine you mention this cooler;
https://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?name=FAN-CLG076&show=p
Thermaltake CL-G0076 TMG AT1 VGA Cooler For ATI.
The brace on this cooler is perfect for the mac pro as it is the same as the stock.
The problem is this cooler has a 4 pin conection and the x1900 has a 3pin.
Q: Can this be modified to fit a 3 pin or is there more than 3 wires?
Click to expand...

The coolor work perfectly on my Mac Pro. Only thing is you need to cut the wire and re-wire it through the Optical Drive because it use a Molex Adapter for the fan. Cut the wire and run it through the small little hole where you put the hard drive in, then rewire it and plug it in the optical drive molex. If you cut it, it easy to re-wire since it only 2 wire for it. Red and Black. Can be any easier.
 
Has anybody thought about or tried the Sytrin Vf1 Plus?? http://www.sytrin.com/3b-II-2-b.html it looks like it is an amazing cooler and is ranked higher then just about every other aftermarket cooler out there.

Articles i have read seem to indicate that it is pretty good.
http://www.madshrimps.be/?action=getarticle&articID=497
http://www.tomshardware.com/2006/04/14/is_the_kuformula_vf1_plus_the_formula_for_graphics_cooling/
http://www.xsreviews.co.uk/reviews-87-page1.html
There are many more if you search google

Does anyone out there have this product?? and if so how does it work on the Mac Pro with ATI X1900 XT??
 
I just removed the fan off my x1900 and it's a joy to listen to now. Dead silent.

Here are some photos of how easy it was. Take off memory heat syncs, take off electric heat syncs, and then the fan off the chip. Wipe it with a tissue. Then take an eraser and rub until all residue is gone. Then just stick and peel the heat syncs where they fit.

The only trick was getting the clips to fit on the board. I had to take off the long metal piece that ran the length of the board so the clips could fit around it.

Anyway hope this helps someone out there.

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