# G80 IHS removal



## infrared (Feb 26, 2008)

Well, the modding bug has bit me again. I knew it wouldn't be long!

I'm getting sick of the high temperatures on my 8800gts 640mb.. At the moment with 100% fan it will reach a load temp of 68c @ 675mhz core, which isn't too bad I suppose, but I'm also planning to volt-mod it and bring teh vgpu up to at least 1.5v, hopefully yeilding ~750mhz with better cooling.

So, when I get paid i'll be ordering a ThermalRight HR-03 GT, and removing the IHS. They did it on a dead card over at VR-zone, looks simple enough to do since the core isn't glued or anything. I'll just have to be carefull with all the tiny surface mounted caps/resistors so close to the edge.

http://www.vr-zone.com/articles/Stripping_The_GeForce_8800_Heatspreader/4352.html

Hopefully i can do a nice lapping job of the cooler first, but i'm not sure where to get any _really_ fine sandpaper, up to 1500 grit +. Any ideas?

Is anyone else here running a naked G80? I'd like to hear how much of an improvement it made.

Cheers, Simon


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## infrared (Feb 26, 2008)

Nice one, thanks.

Haha, look at the lapping job he did on the stock intel cooler! A very nice job, but what a waste of time!


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## exodusprime1337 (Feb 26, 2008)

looks like my thread on ihs removal is getting people in the mood.  i've got a 320gts that i'll be retiring here in a week or two when my 8800gts g92 comes in.  let me know how it works out i may pull mine off as well


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## Steevo (Feb 26, 2008)

Auto painting shop or napa/autozone should have some wetsand and dry sand fine grits for finishing, or check with a lumberyard/paint store.


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## erocker (Feb 26, 2008)

Hmm... sell my GTS or remove the IHS and v-mod it?  I'm not sure if my hands are steady enough.


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## Random Murderer (Feb 26, 2008)

erocker said:


> Hmm... sell my GTS or remove the IHS and v-mod it?  I'm not sure if my hands are steady enough.



it's a g80, sell it and go for a g92 if you don't feel like going to the red side.


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## Beertintedgoggles (Feb 26, 2008)

In the past I've bought all my 1500 and 2000 grit paper at autozone; however, you can get much better deals on the stuff if you search around a bit online.  Just make sure to buy it before or when you get your cooler....  as much as I buy online, I hate to wait!!!


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## erocker (Feb 26, 2008)

Random Murderer said:


> it's a g80, sell it and go for a g92 if you don't feel like going to the red side.



Lol, I have two red cards sitting here lookin at me!  I do own a crossfire motherboard after all.  My eVGA G80 card (which was made in the final 2,500 card batch) currently does 726/1087 and idles at 48c Load 67c.  I'm doing it.  If I screw it up, oh well, if it works, I'll sell it at a premium.


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## Wile E (Feb 26, 2008)

erocker said:


> Lol, I have two red cards sitting here lookin at me!  I do own a crossfire motherboard after all.  My eVGA G80 card (which was made in the final 2,500 card batch) currently does 726/1087 and idles at 48c Load 67c.  I'm doing it.  If I screw it up, oh well, if it works, I'll sell it at a premium.



Do it, DO IT!!!!!








Oh, and post pics. lol.


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## largon (Feb 26, 2008)

It is one tough bugger... 
But as usual, there's no better solution than _brute force 'n' violence_. 

My A3 cored eVGA 8800GTS 320MB I had sometime ago:






G80 stock TIM between core and IHS is utterly horrible cr@p:


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## infrared (Feb 26, 2008)

ooo, nice pics largon. Was that a dead or working card? Temps?

There's a trade outlet for car stuff called maccess or something like that. I think my dad's business has an account set up so i could try there for the sandpaper.



erocker said:


> Lol, I have two red cards sitting here lookin at me!  I do own a crossfire motherboard after all.  My eVGA G80 card (which was made in the final 2,500 card batch) currently does 726/1087 and idles at 48c Load 67c.  I'm doing it.  If I screw it up, oh well, if it works, I'll sell it at a premium.



Nice one! Teh EVGA cards are great clockers, but you've got a real diamond! Will be great to see how far you can take that once the ihs has been popped off.


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## largon (Feb 26, 2008)

*infrared*,
The card was alive "post-op". It did (does) 729MHz/1899MHz/DDR-2160 @ 1._33_v w/o IHS. I wish a proper OCP mod was available back then, I bet 800MHz+ should've be doable on water with this card...


Unfortunately I can't really say about temp gain as I removed the IHS as soon as I put it under water. And since stock HSF is useless with a IHSless GPU... It's definitely worth removing - considering the fact that G80 TIM is a thick, _rubberish_ that actually prevents any silicon-2-IHS contact.


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## infrared (Mar 1, 2008)

Thanks for the info largon!

Ok, got paid!! I've ordered the ThermalRight HR-03-Plus, and a 92mm fan

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=FG-011-SY

^ I know it's not the highest output fan in the world, but seems a nice balance between noise and performance. I can also run it from the fan header on the card if i solder the connector from the stock fan onto it.

I also purchased some new ram while i was there! Couldn't resist getting my hands on some new Crucial memory! (see specs! )

Ok... Now after paying rent i'm pretty much back to my overdraft limit


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## Random Murderer (Mar 1, 2008)

infrared said:


> Thanks for the info largon!
> 
> Ok, got paid!! I've ordered the ThermalRight HR-03-Plus, and a 92mm fan
> 
> ...



nice!
btw, that ram will hit 1200 no problem.


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## infrared (Mar 1, 2008)

Yeah, I used to have some pc2-6400 Crucial ballistix which was a review sample. That stuff hit 1260mhz 

Unfortunatly my younger brother toasted it by not slotting it into his computer properly


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## Frogger (Mar 1, 2008)

Frogger said:


> The overclocking monkey will return to sit on your shoulder & you'll be hooked again


Didn't take that long


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## infrared (Mar 1, 2008)

lol, yep. Very accurate prediction!


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## BigD6997 (Mar 7, 2008)

when i get my taxes back im going to do this too!


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## erocker (Mar 7, 2008)

Wile E said:


> Do it, DO IT!!!!!
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Still waiting on my new card first.


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## Wile E (Mar 7, 2008)

erocker said:


> Still waiting on my new card first.



Ehh, wuss.


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## erocker (Mar 7, 2008)

Oh, and then poor erocker is stuck with no working computer if he screws it up.  The new card shall arrive soon!  Pics will be posted!  I just hope this doesn't lead to a screwed up resistor and/or stitches in any thumbs or fingers.  Either way... THERE WILL BE PICS!


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## BigD6997 (Mar 7, 2008)

erocker said:


> Oh, and then poor erocker is stuck with no working computer if he screws it up.  The new card shall arrive soon!  Pics will be posted!  I just hope this doesn't lead to a screwed up resistor and/or stitches in any thumbs or fingers.  Either way... THERE WILL BE PICS!



what im waiting for too!
getting 8800gts (or 9800gtx if its worth it) with the tax return lol
and then off comes the ihs


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## hat (Mar 7, 2008)

largon said:


> *infrared*,
> The card was alive "post-op". It did (does) 729MHz/1899MHz/DDR-2160 @ 1._33_v w/o IHS. I wish a proper OCP mod was available back then, I bet 800MHz+ should've be doable on water with this card...
> 
> 
> Unfortunately I can't really say about temp gain as I removed the IHS as soon as I put it under water. And since stock HSF is useless with a IHSless GPU... It's definitely worth removing - considering the fact that G80 TIM is a thick, _rubberish_ that actually prevents any silicon-2-IHS contact.



Largon... on a DIFFICULTY scale of 1 to 10... rate it
and on a DANGER scale of 1 to 10... rate it
please


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## infrared (Mar 7, 2008)

Danger at least 8 looking at how close those smc's are to the edge of the IHS.

For comparison i would probably say 10/10 is difficulty for de-ihs'ing an intel LGA chip, but it is doable.

Update anyway:

Got the Lapping kit, so my 8800 should be IHS free within a week


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## infrared (Mar 9, 2008)

Ok, heatsink lapped! Took about 3 hours, but it's perfectly flat and a mirror finish. I havn't tried taking the ihs off yet, but the temperature difference just by lapping is amazing! I litterally applied such a thin layer of Ceramique that you could still see the nvidia logo through it. 

Idle: 36c Load: 45c.

EDIT: Maximum overclock has improved to 702/1620/1053. Looking forward to seeing how much i can get out of it with more voltage!


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## erocker (Mar 9, 2008)

Wow, that's a full 10c difference than my 8800 with the fan at 100%!


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## largon (Mar 11, 2008)

hat said:


> Largon... on a DIFFICULTY scale of 1 to 10... rate it
> and on a DANGER scale of 1 to 10... rate it
> please


Difficulty scale: 8
The _epoxy_ that holds the IHS on is very strong, requires a nasty amount of force to pry it off... 

Danger scale: 5
Pretty much the only actual risk is the possible collateral damage to the board PCB (scratches, etc.). That's because there's no use to cut the epoxy that holds the IHS on -  or rather there is no such blade that will cut it. So, in the end, the SMDs under the IHS are perfectly safe just be careful not to slip the screwdriver...


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## infrared (Mar 11, 2008)

So you're just levering it off, rather than cutting around the edges?

Hmm, if i clamp the IHS in a vice, and carefully twist, would that pull it off or pull the two pcb's apart?


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## largon (Mar 11, 2008)

Yup, the epoxy is way too hard to cut with any blade. 
Twisting it while clamped would put some nasty strain on the BGA solder balls, I wouldn't dare risking ripping the whole GPU out. I popped mine like this: first slipped a thin razor blade under one of the corners, then forced the gap wider with another, thicker blade. Finally I levered it with a flat screwdriver until it popped. The razor blade was there just to protect the GPU substrate from the screwdriver's tip while prying.


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## infrared (Mar 11, 2008)

Ah, nice one. I'll give that a go 

Thanks


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## infrared (Mar 11, 2008)

IT'S OFF!!! W00T!!!

I did what you said largon, got some razor blades under the corner, and i used a sharp chisel to lever it up. You're right about the force required, i was really worried. Started hearing a ripping noise, and i thought.. well, this is the make or brake moment, and it poped off!

I Don't think i've applied the TIM very well though, because of the sheer size of the die, but temps are now:

34c idle 43c load 

I'll upload the pics!

EDIT: Ok, pictures!!






















^Oops, fitted the cooler the wrong way round. Need sleep lol!









EDIT: ^ I removed the two ramsinks that were getting in the way. I've put the larger ramsinks on the back of the pcb, which should keep the chips cool enough.


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## infrared (Mar 11, 2008)

I reseated the heatsink, and applied the thinnest layer of TIM i can. I found after a few re-seats that the stock thermalright stuff that comes with the HR-03 Plus is really good! It's like ceramique, but a lot less viscouse (sp?), so it's easier to apply.

New temps!! 32c idle, 39c load, 42c max o.c. load.


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## newtekie1 (Mar 11, 2008)

infrared said:


> Hopefully i can do a nice lapping job of the cooler first, but i'm not sure where to get any _really_ fine sandpaper, up to 1500 grit +. Any ideas?



I get mine from my local autoparts store, they usually carry 2500+.  If you want higher, try your local autobody shop, they usually have 10,000 or higher on hand, and if you ask nicely they will usually give you a few pieces for free.


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## erocker (Mar 11, 2008)

Wow!  Nice job man!


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## infrared (Mar 11, 2008)

Cheers dude, hurry and do yours!!! 

Going round one of my mate's dad's house soon to get the voltmods done. He does very fine pcb soldering for a living, and his soldering is top-notch.


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## sneekypeet (Mar 11, 2008)

42 Friggin Degrees Celcius Load?????

Thats just truely amazing!!!!!


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## CY:G (Mar 11, 2008)

Thats unreal, keep up the good job Infrared


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## infrared (Mar 11, 2008)

Thanks guys!


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## Wile E (Mar 11, 2008)

Holy crap!!! What an amazing temp difference. Makes you wonder why NV decided to use an IHS to begun with?


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## hat (Mar 12, 2008)

I dunno there's no IHS on my 8500

You lapped the core infared?


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## infrared (Mar 12, 2008)

hat said:


> I dunno there's no IHS on my 8500
> 
> You lapped the core infared?



lol, no. And don't tempt me!

Nah, i don't think there's any need. It's pretty flat already.


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## Random Murderer (Mar 12, 2008)

infrared said:


> lol, no. And don't tempt me!
> 
> Nah, i don't think there's any need. It's pretty flat already.



i don't think you can lap a bare core...


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## intel igent (Mar 12, 2008)

congrats infrared  glad to see it worked out well for you. thnx for posting the pix


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## Wile E (Mar 12, 2008)

Random Murderer said:


> i don't think you can lap a bare core...



You can on a cpu. That curt guy did it to one of his Opty's, because he was unhappy with the temp difference between cores. It actually worked.


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## thebeephaha (Mar 12, 2008)

I would do this but my Ultra was $750 when I bought it, that is a lot of money to lose if I screw up...


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## erocker (Mar 12, 2008)

Does anyone know if the stock cooler will fit alright when I remove the IHS?


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## infrared (Mar 12, 2008)

Nope. No chance mate.


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## erocker (Mar 12, 2008)

Eh, crap.  Any suggestion for a cooler that will work that won't take up three or fours slots?


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## newtekie1 (Mar 12, 2008)

I don't see why the Zalman VF-1000 shouldn't work, and only take up 2 slots.


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## tkpenalty (Mar 13, 2008)

Please remind me, WHY did nvidia decide to add an IHS?


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## tkpenalty (Mar 13, 2008)

Wile E said:


> You can on a cpu. That curt guy did it to one of his Opty's, because he was unhappy with the temp difference between cores. It actually worked.


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## infrared (Mar 13, 2008)

Yeah, the die itself is just a protective graphite shell around the silicone core. You can lap the die down quite a long way. The trick is not going too far, because the graphite sands away very easily, so some people put a washer under each corner to make sure 1. the don't go too far, and 2. to make sure it's level.

I still think it's a tad on the risky side though! lol

I posted the picture of the die to show that it was flat. You can see there is no distortion in the reflection. 

And to answer your question TK... I have no idea. Maybe so they could cheap out on the manufacture of the coolers, and not have to worry about the base of the cooler being flat?


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## tank187 (Mar 13, 2008)

Do you have to be be real specific on the type of paste used? Is something like Shin-etsu safe?


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## sneekypeet (Mar 13, 2008)

Random Murderer said:


> i don't think you can lap a bare core...



tell that to this  guy and his poor Opteron 180.


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## thebeephaha (Mar 17, 2008)

tkpenalty said:


> Please remind me, WHY did nvidia decide to add an IHS?



I wish they hadn't. We never would have had as many issues with these cards!


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## infrared (Apr 9, 2008)

No one else got the minerals to try this then?


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## sneekypeet (Apr 9, 2008)

I think I have said "minerals"(lol BTW) to do it....anyone care to donate an 8800?????


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## infrared (Apr 9, 2008)

lmao XD


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## chron (Jun 23, 2008)

that's pretty sick infrared.  I remember when I had my gts i had to keep the fan at 100% just to keep idle at 60 lol


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## newtekie1 (Jun 23, 2008)

infrared said:


> No one else got the minerals to try this then?



I would if I had a G80 GPU...who am I kidding...no I wouldn't!


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## infrared (Jun 25, 2008)

Decided i need MOAR megahurtz! A few of the new maps on cod4 are making the fps drop to sub 60 and i'm upgrading to a larger monitor shortly, so i'm going to go ahead and get the voltmods done. I'm hoping for ~775-800mhz core, and roughly 1800mhz shaders, but idk if that'll happen on a 90nm core.

Get paid in a week, so i'll go over to maplins and get the VR's i need 

I'll keep you all posted.


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## Error 404 (Jun 25, 2008)

This may seem like a n00b questions, but what is "lapping"?
I've heard of "lapped" coolers people are using, but never understood what it was...

Nice job on the temps though!


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## newtekie1 (Jun 25, 2008)

Error 404 said:


> This may seem like a n00b questions, but what is "lapping"?
> I've heard of "lapped" coolers people are using, but never understood what it was...
> 
> Nice job on the temps though!



Lapping is when you use sand paper to smooth the surface of something.  It removes all the little imperfection in the surface and can help even out surfaces that aren't 100% flat.  It helps with heat transfer.

http://www.techpowerup.com/articles/cooling/39

That article is a good read for the beginner.


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## Error 404 (Jun 26, 2008)

Ok, cool. Thankyou!
So, is it possible to lap the CPU/GPU core? Or is that too dangerous...


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## infrared (Jun 26, 2008)

It is possible, but very risky, and since the core is usually perfectly flat anyway there's no point.


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## giorgos th. (Jun 26, 2008)

lap the gpu core and you`ll instantly have a dead card....
we only lap the ihs..


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## tkpenalty (Jun 26, 2008)

Do NOT lap the GPU core whatsoever, only lap the cooler . Imo nvidia adding the IHS to the G80s was stupid.... (or a marketing trick).


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## Error 404 (Jun 26, 2008)

Lol, ok, DO NOT LAP CORE! 
So, it looks fairly easy. On the weekend, my friend and I are going to buy his PC (parts), and It'll have an E8400 along with the best cooler we can find: would lapping the cooler and IHS be a good idea? (we're planning on taking it above 4 GHz).


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## giorgos th. (Jun 26, 2008)

you`ll go 4+ghz very easily but with flat bases the temps will improve a lot..


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## newtekie1 (Jun 27, 2008)

tkpenalty said:


> Imo nvidia adding the IHS to the G80s was stupid.... (or a marketing trick).



Why does everything nVidia does have to be some kind of negative conspiracy to you?


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## lohoutlaw (Jun 27, 2008)

Here was my adventures of removing the HS on my G80 
It seem to run about 5-7c cooler.
Not much of a change though


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## thebeephaha (Jun 27, 2008)

^ Um... We're talkin about the IHS not HS.


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## rxtech (Jun 28, 2008)

Done it yesterday night on my 8800 gts 320 ...

Stock cooler and frequence : idle 50 full 80

With tt duoorb 7v @ 620/1000/1450 : idle 57 full 85 

With tt duorb 5v + IHS removal @ 650/1000/1533 : idle 49/50 full 75 with ATI artefact test, 70 in game ( race driver grid, hottest game i have now ... ) 

NB : not so hard to do, but take time to do it ... no hurry !!


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## 3870x2 (Sep 4, 2008)

chron said:


> that's pretty sick infrared.  I remember when I had my gts i had to keep the fan at 100% just to keep idle at 60 lol



wow, good job, reviving this one after almost 3 months being dead


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## Wile E (Sep 4, 2008)

3870x2 said:


> wow, good job, reviving this one after almost 3 months being dead



You just did the same thing.


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## Chewy (Sep 4, 2008)

Thanks for reviving this thread now I have another beneficial task to complete on my pc! 

 Whats wrong with contributing to past threads? more knowledge/info the better IMO

Edit: I thought RXtech was the thread reviver, my bad lol


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## infrared (Sep 5, 2008)

Go for it Chewy! Nice card btw.


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## MadCow (Sep 29, 2008)

Wile E said:


> You can on a cpu. That curt guy did it to one of his Opty's, because he was unhappy with the temp difference between cores. It actually worked.



I guess that means I'm not the only one with a massive temp difference between cores. Even my de-IHS'ed X2 4400+ has a >5c difference between cores at load, at idle it can reach 10c. :shadedshu


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## infrared (Sep 29, 2008)

Could just be the sensors aren't reading correctly.


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## Mussels (Oct 1, 2008)

infrared said:


> Could just be the sensors aren't reading correctly.



thats actually very common on intel, no idea about AMD. Realtemp has a testing methodology to allow you to tune in those bad sensors.

This thread intruiges me, as my 8800GTX is nearing the end of its useful life span, and it already has a HR-03 on it


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## infrared (Oct 1, 2008)

That would be very interesting to see. I bet it'd run pretty cool.

I still havn't got round to doing the voltmods on my 8800gts yet, so perhaps i could do that soon as well. Wander if i can push to 14000points in 3dmark06 with it?


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