# My failed 7870 XT Mod



## silkstone (Jul 7, 2013)

So, after getting a 7870 myst edition, I figure I will try to sort out the High VRM temp issue. 
I was getting temps of around 72 core 73-74 VRM when using the Heaven benchmark tool at 1200 core.

As the Powercolor Myst edition only has one fan, I figure that I can easily remedy the situation by taking off the shroud and attaching 2 x 80mm fans, replace the TIM and use a different thermal pad on the VRMs.

Deepcool fans are the only ones I can get hold of that aren't 120mm, but I figure that they are advertised at 26CFM each at 12 V so they should work well enough.







A bit of sleeving later






Then I go to remove the shroud and fan from my 7870 and disaster!






I really should have known better than to use pliers. 

I carry on ahead, hoping that it'll work well so I won't have to worry about the broken cable on the original fan. I get the fans mounted along with some Xigmatec Freezing point on the gpu and some EK 1mm thermal pads on the VRMs and mount the whole assembly on the card.










Time to test it.
The GPU temps hold nice and steady at around 70 C, in Heaven, not awful, but not a great sign as I was expecting a little more. I scroll down to the VRM temps and watch them gradually rise to close to 100 C. 

Failure  the fans just don't move enough air in the right direction to cool the VRMs properly. I tried putting the original thermal pad back on the VRM and re-test to get the same result. I tried moving the fans to be sure that the VRMs were directly under them, again no go.

So in the end, I solder the broken cable back together and force the (now bulky) pin back in the fan header. Re-assemble it all and test it out. 

Temps are now at 73 C GPU and 79 C VRM. I'm going to see if the ek pads take some 'burn in' time before trying to reapply a new cutout as a loss of 5-6  C was the opposite of what I was going for. 

Does anyone know what the cable I cut, did?

I'm not sure whether to try again with 120 mm fans that I have lying around. If I try again, could anyone give me any advice for what I should be looking for in a fan?


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## Nordic (Jul 7, 2013)

The vrm's do get hot on these. 79c is fine though, I think they can get to 110c before problems.


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## natr0n (Jul 7, 2013)

Use a game based benchmark. I use Lost planet 2.

Heaven and others like it over stress your card beyond what a normal game does.
you can add a 3rd fan for better cooling of vrm.
you cut the pwm cable.


You could add some TIM on both sides of your vrm thermal pad.


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## silkstone (Jul 7, 2013)

I keep a log from FC3 as well, It also gets to 78-79 C.

I just re-checked my logs, and it seemed to balance out at 74 C for 10 mins with the original thermal pad. So, 78 C at the moment isn't that bad. Although I am considering taking it apart again and replacing the pad with the old one.

I don't think a 3rd fan would make any difference, even when one of the fans is dierctly over the VRMs, not enough air is getting down to them. I do have an old, ridiculously strong 92 mm fan that I am thinking of trying though.


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## natr0n (Jul 7, 2013)

The 92mm would make a big difference.Noise would be only issue.


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## Jstn7477 (Jul 7, 2013)

Umm, that's a Pitcairn chip, and that VRM heatsink is incredibly tiny. Have a GPU-Z screenshot?


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## silkstone (Jul 7, 2013)

I put the original thermal pad back on, same results now. 78 C, but possibly going higher . . . I need to monitor it a bit longer to see.










(It's a Tahiti XT chip btw)

The 92 mm fan is really noisy, making the lack of pwm on it a real issue. One of the reasons that I wanted to do this mod was to stop my video card from sounding like a jet engine when playing games.


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## de.das.dude (Jul 7, 2013)

ahh, if i had known earlier, i would have helped design heatsinks. i am a senior in mechanical engg, and we covered heatsink design and heat transfer in the 3rd year 


scratch that.

i see you are using thermal pads... have you tried... copper shims with TIM?
might even try arctive silver epoxy.


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## silkstone (Jul 7, 2013)

de.das.dude said:


> ahh, if i had known earlier, i would have helped design heatsinks. i am a senior in mechanical engg, and we covered heatsink design and heat transfer in the 3rd year
> 
> 
> scratch that.
> ...



TIM on the GPU but a 1 mm pad on the VRMs. I think the pad is there as a cushion against the thin Heatsink on there. The VRMs are small and look to be easily damaged by the heatsink. They are about 1 mm by 2 mm so any kind of epoxy is a no-go.


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## Brusfantomet (Jul 7, 2013)

try 7 volt on the noisy fan, could help get the speed (and noise) down)


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## silkstone (Jul 7, 2013)

Brusfantomet said:


> try 7 volt on the noisy fan, could help get the speed (and noise) down)



I'm thinking of doing that. The fan has a back panel controller.

Just to confirm. The little things behind the heatsink in the red box are the VRMs, right?


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## Jstn7477 (Jul 7, 2013)

silkstone said:


> http://gpuz.techpowerup.com/13/07/07/eeg.png
> http://gpuz.techpowerup.com/13/07/07/95q.png
> 
> (It's a Tahiti XT chip btw)








Below is a Tahiti chip. How they got 1536 shaders out of a Pitcairn is beyond me, unless AMD has simply fused an entire block off this whole time.


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## silkstone (Jul 7, 2013)

Jstn7477 said:


> http://img.techpowerup.org/130707/P1020003.jpg
> 
> Below is a Tahiti chip. How they got 1536 shaders out of a Pitcairn is beyond me, unless AMD has simply fused an entire block off this whole time.
> http://tpucdn.com/reviews/HIS/HD_7950_X2_Boost/images/front_small.jpg



It's the cut down version of the Tahiti chip. 7870 XT AKA 7930


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## Jack1n (Jul 7, 2013)

Its a Tahiti LE actually.


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## DarkOCean (Jul 7, 2013)

Jstn7477 said:


> unless AMD has simply fused an entire block off this whole time.
> http://tpucdn.com/reviews/HIS/HD_7950_X2_Boost/images/front_small.jpg


for amd its like gtx 760, with 25% less shaders than the full chip.
Tahiti le also uses different, smaller bga package.


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## Jstn7477 (Jul 7, 2013)

Sorry, didn't realize they repackaged the die onto a different substrate, though I guess that makes sense now if it fits on what looks like a 78xx PCB. It's a shame TPU doesn't have a review of one as most of the other review sites suck and don't even tear down the card.

My bad.


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## silkstone (Jul 7, 2013)

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/VTX3D/Radeon_HD_7870_XT_Black/
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Club_3D/HD_7870_jokerCard_Tahiti_LE/


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## de.das.dude (Jul 7, 2013)

silkstone said:


> TIM on the GPU but a 1 mm pad on the VRMs. I think the pad is there as a cushion against the thin Heatsink on there. The VRMs are small and look to be easily damaged by the heatsink. They are about 1 mm by 2 mm so any kind of epoxy is a no-go.



no no no.
the chips is more sensitive. vrms are typical mosfets. they use pads because vrms are not made very strictly, so they are of varying lengths. also soldering may lead to little bit different height.

i used an ample amount of TIM on something, and it worked, better than the pads. was a long time ago, so i cant remember what it was.

and anyways, most of them are rated for around 115C.


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## Velvet Wafer (Jul 7, 2013)

de.das.dude said:


> i used an ample amount of TIM on something, and it worked, better than the pads. was a long time ago, so i cant remember what it was.



using MX-2 instead of a pad yielded better results, in these kind of cases


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## de.das.dude (Jul 7, 2013)

yesH!!


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## McSteel (Jul 7, 2013)

Perhaps you could try somehow directly connecting the VRM FETs to the main (GPU) heatsink? The tiny heatsink resting on them isn't increasing the heat dissipation surface area by an awful lot... Changing that unfortunate fact seems more important (and more productive) than getting more raw airflow. Does the VRM heatsink touch the main heatsink in any way already?

In fact, you could also use the solder side of the PCB to slap on a heatsink of some sort, directly below the VRM FETs. Use the thermal pad to prevent shorting out anything. I doubt Powercolor used more than 3-4 layers for that PCB, so it should help significantly, if your case has any appreciable airflow through it.


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## Vario (Jul 7, 2013)

Maybe try two 92x38mm fan?  How high is low noise a priority?

80 cfm http://www.frozencpu.com/products/1...n_-_4000_RPM_FG00-0041-AKS.html?tl=g36c15s700
175 cfm http://www.frozencpu.com/products/7...Fan_-_17503_CFM_PFB0912DHE.html?tl=g36c15s700

Could also try a h60 style cooler custom mounted (zip tie) and some big copper sinks on your vrms.


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## d1nky (Jul 7, 2013)

no wonder the temps got worse, like said before. thats the same vrm heatsink on the same vrms kicking out the same temps!

if i were you id get a bigger heatsink for them, thats a tiny sink which wont dissipate much heat. and modding the fan probably restricted airflow to them.

you posted a pic of exactly what needs changing/modding! and by the counts of it, 4 chokes = maybe 4+2 or 4+1 phase design. 

change that damn silver sink on the driver mosfets and stop wasting time on the core.


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## mm67 (Jul 7, 2013)

My VTX3D HD 7870 Black Edition seems to use the same pcb and vrm heatsink, vrm temperatures are also almost exactly same. I have a universal gpu water block on core that keeps full load temperature at 40 C but vrm temperatures are annoying, I'm wondering if this might work with 7870 XT : http://shop.watercool.de/epages/WatercooleK.sf/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/WatercooleK/Products/17021


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## badtaylorx (Jul 8, 2013)

the VRM area is quite thin tho....you'll hafta cut that watercool one down to size a 'lil...

i did one last year with Koolance and Alphacool blocks...


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## silkstone (Jul 8, 2013)

de.das.dude said:


> no no no.
> the chips is more sensitive. vrms are typical mosfets. they use pads because vrms are not made very strictly, so they are of varying lengths. also soldering may lead to little bit different height.
> 
> i used an ample amount of TIM on something, and it worked, better than the pads. was a long time ago, so i cant remember what it was.
> ...



I'm not really willing to risk damaging the card to try direct contact with the aluminium sink at the moment. As the VRMs are only hitting 80 C, I imagine they are pretty safe. The point of the new fans was to try and reduce noise and help temps, but the VRMs start to go over 100 with the fans I tried. I believe the thermal paste I have is non conductive, but I don't feel that comfortable gooping it all over the PCB. If I had a card I could replace, then I would.

I like the idea of putting a heat sink on the back of the pcb, but making sure it stays there would be an issue. 

The 92mm fan is something I may try at a later date, but the main problem is that the fan housing is circular and blue; it won't work well with the other 2 fans. I may be able to get some stuff from the US come December, I'll have a look around at what I can find.


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## Nordic (Jul 8, 2013)

You only have one card right? I have two of them. When I have the cards in crossfire, while under load the fans can get up to 80% and are loud. When I have either of my two cards in single card configeration they barely get up to 60% fan speed and are not that loud. Anything past 60% just gets really loud.

Maybe the problem is not the fans on the heatsink but the airflow of the case.


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## fkr (Jul 8, 2013)

*look*

http://www.overclock.net/t/1373543/official-7870-tahiti-le-xt-owners-club

this is a great resource for our cards and an active community for all things tahiti LE.  there are some good fan recommendation that have good static pressure and also many users who have done this mod with allot of success.

I will probably not be back this way but I wanted to help another tahiti le user and do not fret your temps can be very much improved


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## silkstone (Jul 8, 2013)

james888 said:


> You only have one card right? I have two of them. When I have the cards in crossfire, while under load the fans can get up to 80% and are loud. When I have either of my two cards in single card configeration they barely get up to 60% fan speed and are not that loud. Anything past 60% just gets really loud.
> 
> Maybe the problem is not the fans on the heatsink but the airflow of the case.



Yea, only the one card and I use a custom fan profile to keep the temps under 80 C. The airflow in the case is pretty good. I have 6 x 120mm fans, 1 x 140mm and 1 x 200mm fan an various configurations. The good thing about the HAF series of case is the airflow 

When playing FC3, the fan spins up to 80% or so. It's not as noisy as at 100%, but is definitely noticeable. I can live with the noise, I wanted a mini project for my Sunday afternoon so I'm not too fussed that it failed, I'm just a little annoyed at myself for stupidly trying to remove a fan header with piers.
I'll read through the thread above and see how other people are modding theirs.


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## ne6togadno (Jul 10, 2013)

silkstone said:


> Yea, only the one card and I use a custom fan profile to keep the temps under 80 C. The airflow in the case is pretty good. I have 6 x 120mm fans, 1 x 140mm and 1 x 200mm fan an various configurations. The good thing about the HAF series of case is the airflow
> 
> When playing FC3, the fan spins up to 80% or so. It's not as noisy as at 100%, but is definitely noticeable. I can live with the noise, I wanted a mini project for my Sunday afternoon so I'm not too fussed that it failed, I'm just a little annoyed at myself for stupidly trying to remove a fan header with piers.
> I'll read through the thread above and see how other people are modding theirs.



have a look on this
take one of those SK 81 / 100 SA heatsinks and make horizontal cut on the sink (heatsink should be oriented as at the photo).
use original heatsink to duplicate holes for bolts to new one.
if gpu cooler doesnt fit cut top ends of  ribs of the new heatsinkbut just enough cooler to fit.
try to place new sink with different pads and tim till you get best heat transfer. you may also want to replace standard heatsink screws with spring screws.
if fans you have still cant handle vrm temps try one of those
EVERCOOL  F-EC9225HH12BP  92x92x25mm High Speed Do...
EVERCOOL RVF-2F Ever Lubricate Replacement Fan for...


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## de.das.dude (Jul 11, 2013)

if you can find some piece of spare copper, duplicate the dimensions and design of the current heatsink.  that would be great!


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## ne6togadno (Jul 11, 2013)

de.das.dude said:


> if you can find some piece of spare copper, duplicate the dimensions and design of the current heatsink.  that would be great!



there are avilable premade copper heatsinks but they are too short 2-3 has to be used to cover all vrms. this will require custom bracket and material with good elastic capabilities to be used for it. i think sk81/100sa mod will be easyer for crafting.

ps may be locking bracket from old cpu cooler like this could be moded and used together with enzotech's rads. this solution wont need spring bolts.


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## silkstone (Jul 11, 2013)

Thanks for the input, but in all honesty, the temps aren't worth the effort. I was going for something cheap and quick that I could do on a Sunday afternoon.

They are both excellent ideas, and if I had more time, I would try them. I especially like the idea of milling my own heatsink out of copper.

The gpu temp is sitting at 71 C max and the VRM has now settled at ~75 C.
The card does still get very hot to the touch, and so I am thinking of re-purposing the fans I got to cool the back of the card somehow; I think I will have to do something ghetto.


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## AsRock (Jul 11, 2013)

Looking at the cooler and the crappy heatsink on the VRMs is the issue. The cooler looks like it blocks most of the air flow which is why they made it a single fan so the air be pushed across the PCB.

Might look some what ugly try fitting a fan on the left side to help pull air though passed the VRM's.


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## Beertintedgoggles (Jul 11, 2013)

One of the easiest things you can try which should lower the temps maybe 3-5 C would be to replace the white plastic posts and springs that attach the VRM heatsinks with some metal bolts, nuts and plastic washer to put more mounting pressure which will help compress the thermal pads better.  I also like to put a dab of TIM on the VRMs and the heatsink (essentially both sides of the thermal pads).  It might sound like you will be insulating them more that way but give it a shot, you will be surprised.


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