Well, I think it's time I made a tutorial on something. Haven't really contributed to PR in a while, so here I present to you a Heatsink modding tutorial.

NOTICE!!!

This mod will NOT work on Radeon 9600 and up due to the design of the GPU, the core is exposed and epoxing a heatsink may rip it off. The same goes for the Nvidia exposed core chips.

Epoxying heatsinks onto your card or anything else onto it may VOID YOUR WARRANTY! yada yada yada you already know all that warranty crap....

As many of you know, I have a knack for 3dfx. I originally started modding 3dfx cards because they run hot and I use them for display adapters on my servers and the occasional Halflife or CS frag session. Driver support is pretty rampant and the Voodoo 3's are the most stable and best supported. They are a good balance between gaming and general display.

Since all of my Voodoo cards are already modded , I will be using a Radeon 7200 64mb w/TV Out/In. This is a really interesting card, because most 7200's do not have the TV capture function.

Materials and Prep...



For this mod we will have:

1 ATi Radeon 7200 AGP
1 AAVID 50MM SuperSocket 7 Cooling Fan
1 Craftsman 3/4" flathead screwdriver
1 Loctite 384 Thermal Epoxy Adhesive
1 Loctite 384 Thermal Epoxy Accelerator
1 scrap PC board from work
18 Hail Mary's that I don't mess up the only TV tuner card I have.

Notice: When working with PC hardware, always ground yourself to a metal object such as a case or workbench that comes in contact through the frame or through grounding wire with concrete. Exercise Anti-ESD (Elecrostatic Discharge) precautions to avoid damage to your video card or other hardware. Use grounding straps or a wrist strap to ground yourself properly, and if you do not have either, touch the exposed metal of the case often to avoid ESD damage. Use Anti-ESD bags to contain any hardware you may come in contact with.


Prep:

Place all your materials on an ESD bag on your work area. This will not only act as an anti-static precaution but will catch any epoxy that somehow doesn't make it on the card.

Removing the stock heatsink:



Some videocards run hot enough that it weakens the epoxy. For these cards, just run the card like you normally would within Windows. Shut off your computer and remove the card. Place a credit card between the PC board and the heatsink and place a 3/4" Craftsman flathead screwdriver between the credit card and the heatsink. Gently twist around the edges of the heatsink until it pops off. If you twist real fast it may rip the core off. Older Radeons used some pretty weak epoxy, so they are easy to pop off.

However if you are modding a 3dfx card, the epoxy they used is a lot stronger and I have heard horror stories of Voodoo 3 / 4 / 5 cores being ripped off from this method. The freezer trick works but from experience, heat seems to work better in weakening the epoxy.

Here is some ATi pr0n for Chrome....



Test-fitting the new heatsink:



When choosing your heatsink to be modded, make sure you have enough PCI slots to clear the heatsink.

A good rule is if the physical HSF takes up 2 PCI slots, leave a third PCI slot free for cool air intake.

Clean the bottom of the new heatsink to be modded onto the card and the GPU of the card. This helps create a strong bond between the heatsink and the GPU. Usually hydrogen peroxide or 75% rubbing alcohol will do the trick.

Now that the surfaces are cleaned, let's test-fit the heatsink.

Most videocards have a crystal near the GPU. It is VERY IMPORTANT that the heatsink does NOT come into contact with the crystal or it may short it out and you will have a dead videocard.

Test-fit the new heatsink simply by placing the heatsink onto the GPU. Check under the heatsink to make sure it clears all capacitors and resistors.

Make sure the heatsink is centered onto the GPU or it may transfer heat unevenly.

Epoxying the heatsink:

Now that we have test-fitted the heatsink, it's time to epoxy the heatsink onto the GPU.

First, take the Loctite 384 Thermal adhesive and squirt some onto the GPU. Don't use too much especially if it's electrically-conductive, it may spread out onto the PCB and short out resistors. Usually a thickness of 1 to 2 millimeters is safe. Spread it evenly over the GPU using a screwdriver or other small flat object.

I used some scrap PC board from work that gets cut from de-panelizing boards on the assembly line. When finished spreading, it should look something like this:



Then, take the Loctite 384 Thermal Accelerator and spread it onto the heatsink. The epoxy will NOT harden until it comes into contact with the accelerator.

When you are ready, place the heatsink on the GPU evenly just like you did when you test-fitted it. Different epoxies have different set / cure times. Loctite 384 sets in 5 minutes and cures in 4 hours.

When the epoxy is set, it is hard enough to not be moved easily. It can still be pried off or weakened easily from excessive temperatures but after it has cured, it's pretty much stuck there for good. While it is setting, you can move it around and center it.

While it's still soft, you will have to hold it down or it may slide off. Apply firm pressure on the GPU evenly. Slowly wiggle the heatsink to see how much it has set. When it has set, leave it on the ESD bag and let it cure.

DO NOT USE THE CARD UNTIL IT HAS CURED!! It may be set but heat can still weaken the epoxy.

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heheheehhh ATi pr0n!!

Nice tutorial there dogg

One question though - do you really need all that epoxy? I'd be concerned that a layer that thick would limit thermal transfer, & if you squish it down, isn't there a high risk of contaminating the board?

I didn't use too thick a layer, it's like 1 mm but when the heatsink gets pushed down it's like .5mm, 2mm is really overkill. Generally .5 to 1mm is safe. Kinda eyeballed it.

my pore old video card what did it ever do to you

What did it do to me? Absolutely nothing at 166 mhz

I love mods like this, but I am always a bit disapointed when they don't post more complete results from the mod. I have seen many mods on things like North Bridges, or extra Mossfett cooling, and they usually post the temp drops, but did it help with Overclocking?

This is not against you J-Dog, more of a commentary in general, I think this is very well done, and I learned a few new tricks..love the credit card/screwdriver idea

So were you able to push it much farther than the stock HSF? do you have plans to cool the memory? I would love to see a before and after test, maybe with a bench mark or 2, or even better, framerates from your favorite game!
Keep up the good work, I always look forward to your threads

Well I just got home from work and we are trying to find a cat now I'll put up some benchies on this card later, expect some high OCing because it's sitting in my A7N8X-E Deluxe.

Quote: Originally Posted by j-dogg Well I just got home from work and we are trying to find a cat now I'll put up some benchies on this card later, expect some high OCing because it's sitting in my A7N8X-E Deluxe.

Awesome thx!

I just love the old 3DFX stuff, its classic and timeless, like a 57 Chevy

Oh, and good luck on finding the kitty

Well I got good news and bad news. Good news is we just now found the cat as I was typing this. Bad news is for some reason the card won't clock. I can take the RAM to 215 MHz where it fragments and I have to restart but I ran the GPU at 334 MHz in 3DMark01on stock voltage and not a single change in FPS.

I know this is an old thread and I don't really care, but many people have been asking me to dig up this thread and I was wondering if I could have it stickied

J-Dogg, any chance that the reason you had no increase in FPS with the OC was that V-Sync was enabled ? That is what happens when it's on

You know I'm not sure but next time I'll remember to disable that

if u get this stickied i want my thread on OCing or 6800 unlocking stickied! IM so selfish