Cooling the 9800Pro

[kenji]

Hi, I managed to acquire a DELL OEM 9800 Pro for a bargain price and flashed it with Mac ROM using a PC. Now it's working great in my MDD FW800. My concern though is the temperature. The MDD is designed in such a way that there is a very small clearance between the videocard and the CD drive cage. I verified this by looking at it while slowly closing the side panel of the MDD. Therefore, I can't use those heatsink with heatpipes and fans because its bulky. What make it worse also is that the CPU heatsink is directly below the videocard so the videcard may absorb the heat from the CPU heatsink. Is the stock 9800 heatsink enough for cooling the videocard? The MDD is one hot computer.

Thanks

[aquamac]

Hi Kenji,
This has always been a problem with the 9800 Pro, the Heatsink does get hot. My best recommendation, if you have not already done so, is to add a couple of 60mm fans to exaust hot air behind the CPU heatsink. I used a 9800 at work in my Gigabit and it had an artic cooler heatsink, but it died the other week in spite of this. If I find any other options I will post back.

[aquamac]

Try here, this may fit, but can't guarantee it:

images.tigerdirect.com/SkuImages/gallery/large/V13-3222-a.JPG

www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1407919&Tab=11&NoMapp=

Oh dear, I think it is bigger than it looks:

www.vantecusa.com/p_ccba5c.html

[kenji]

Thanks aquamac. Almost all VGA coolers on the market today are bulky and thick. To be honest, I'm a bit frustrated with the MDD design. (I wonder, Apple engineers didn't consider the fact that videocards are one source of heat so they could have designed the board in such a way the videocard is not too close to the CPU heatsink . Anyway, I will try to find a solution to solve this issue ;D. I'm also thinking of selling this card in auction and buy the 6600 or 6600GT with temperature sensor from one member of strangedog who sells flashed videocard in Yahoo Japan auction. Is this a good decision? Is the 6600 cooler than 9800? Thanks

[aquamac]

I think you are talking of Tome Japan, am I right? I think he is a good guy & the 6600GT is a good card for the MDD. You have a choice with this card as XFX do a dual DVI version, although most are DVI/VGA. There is also 7800GS 256 which is an excellent card for the MDD although more expensive. I can do these & maybe Tome Japan can too. I would think the 66 is cooler than the 9800 as it is a much newer chip. 7800 runs at around 50 degrees which is much cooler. 9800 can get up to 85 degrees. However with both the 66 & the 78 I would recommend a PCI slot fan, even if you run it at 7 volts to remove hot air.

Good Luck.

[kenji]

Thanks aquamac. I think I found a solution to my problem. I will post the picture after I finished the mod. ;D

[aquamac]

Look forward to seeing those.