Accelero Xtreme GTX 280 mini review and support

[OnBoard]

b: My bad. You're absolutely right. A P5B is a single card mobo. I meant a P5B Deluxe.
The case is an Centurion 590

I know. I only asked because I was curious if You continued modding it.
So I reccon You're happy with the mod as it is now.

I'll gather al the components mentioned in post 270 for the 275 card and will start modding after I reached the 5 million points in F@H (about 2 weeks from now).
Will report back with results and pics, or questions if I run into problems.

Thanks in advance for all your hard work to make it easier for others to mod their video cards.

B: P5B Deluxe is 16x/4x running 2 cards there will seriously lower the performance. I'd upgrade to P45 and you'd get PCI-E 2.0 8x/8x that would be the same as 16x in your current motherboard for 1st card. If you just fold, maybe it doesn't affect performance that much?

Anyways they'll fit fine there, as both slots have 2 spaces below. Coolers will just block all the expansion slots, but not much use for them (at least for me).

Yep, post #270 should cover everything you might need/stumble on. If not ask

Regarding the mod, yes I'm happy with the temps. Was hoping for lower, but the time and work it would take to test if I could get lower would be too much for the possible gain. If I'd do it again I'd file down the VRM plate for better contact to the pipe and would suggest others to do that from the beginning, if they were to test out the last mod.

And no problem, glad this thread was of use to few

 

[OnBoard]

Is there an Accelero thread for the 4870x2? I figured this would be the best place to ask. Any word on the vrm cooling on those? Sorry for the ot.

There was a short one, but it never picked up. VRM cooling should be fine on the ATI version, it has proper aluminum sinks on them.

Here it is: http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?t=95583
This is related: http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?t=100056

 

[BababooeyHTJ]

There was a short one, but it never picked up. VRM cooling should be fine on the ATI version, it has proper aluminum sinks on them.

Here it is: http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?t=95583
This is related: http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?t=100056

Thank you sir. Sorry for the derail but I knew that you would know.

 

[OnBoard]

Thank you sir. Sorry for the derail but I knew that you would know.

Nah, it's not derailing. I asked one owner to post installation pics on this thread when it came out, but he never did. You're welcome to do so if you take some, would be just interesting to see it too.

 

[AsRock]

Added stock cooler VRM sink removal+installation pictures.

edit: added stock cooler VRM part temperature results.

Don't understand why you cut the stock cooler up unless you could not fit it on with the AC cooler too.

 

[OnBoard]

Don't understand why you cut the stock cooler up unless you could not fit it on with the AC cooler too.

Hmm, it's under there? Maybe I don't get the question.

Stock cooler VRM portion is cut and fitted under Accelero cooler for better VRM temps compared to VRM sink included in AC cooler.

 

[BababooeyHTJ]

Nah, it's not derailing. I asked one owner to post installation pics on this thread when it came out, but he never did. You're welcome to do so if you take some, would be just interesting to see it too.

I definitely will but I have to test the card out on a few of the games that I play before I pick up a new sink. I got a good deal on the card so it was worth the risk (multi gpu).

 

[OnBoard]

I definitely will but I have to test the card out on a few of the games that I play before I pick up a new sink. I got a good deal on the card so it was worth the risk (multi gpu).

Yeah, I know what you mean. Year ago I said I'd never go multi gpu, but SLI & Crossfire performance has really picked up in last couple years. Before you were lucky to get 50% boost with another GPU and isn't it something like 70%+ depending on games of course (were you could still end up with 20% or less).

I still prefer one GPU option, but with i5 boards supporting both multi GPU options quite cheap, you never know about the future. At least it would be fun to try sometime

 

[notanazi]

 

[Daleraith]

Way back in post 554 I talked about trying the Uni-Sink approach...

After much messing about, remeasuring and some frustration I finally had to opt for option 3 from Post 554 (as suggested by Onboard to Retro), but discarded all the Uni-Sink's middle section and used ramsinks.

The Uni-Sink bits had to have their fins (spikes?) cut back, which involved aggressive lapping with coarse grit wet'n'dry until there was clearance. There was also some very cautious bending of the heatpipes to provide another small increase in clearance. This was all done in advance of pulling the 280 to pieces. All the measuring was worth it, there's now about a millimetre between the Uni-Sink bits and CM Accelero's fins.

Of course while I had the gear out for lapping there was a rough looking CM Accelero heatsink base that could do with some polishing.

A section of the fan shroud had to be trimmed to allow it to fit against the backplate (where the DVI outputs are). The shroud has a little section that sticks out about 2mm at each end and one had to be carefully cut back so that it sat just above the backplate.

There's been no adjustment to clock speeds or voltages from the stock card and the VRM temps appear to be much the same as the stock cooler. Overclocking will come later.

The tests run were FurMark at 640 by 480, which seems to be more stressful than anything else I've thrown at the card - probably even Crysis.

I'm very happy with the results - even though a slight miscalculation with the final length of the card resulted in the purchase of a bigger case

 

[OnBoard]

Daleraith: nice temps, is that a 3 min run on FurMark? I'd suggest you softmod the fan to speed up a bit, should improve results even more.

Core is a bit on the high side, contact might not be the best currently. Oh and sleek looking card you ended up with

Also on a general note, be careful with the pipe bending on the longer end. My fan ended up grinding on the heatsink, once it had settled in couple weeks. There's not much clearance between the fans and the fins.

 

[BababooeyHTJ]

Yeah, I know what you mean. Year ago I said I'd never go multi gpu, but SLI & Crossfire performance has really picked up in last couple years. Before you were lucky to get 50% boost with another GPU and isn't it something like 70%+ depending on games of course (were you could still end up with 20% or less).

I still prefer one GPU option, but with i5 boards supporting both multi GPU options quite cheap, you never know about the future. At least it would be fun to try sometime

If you check the FS/FT section apparently I'm not a fan of multi-gpu solutions either.

My GTX280 is here to stay.

My 280 spanks that x2 in way too many games and I can't even describe how much more overclocking headroom my 280 has.

 

[Retro*]

If you check the FS/FT section apparently I'm not a fan of multi-gpu solutions either.

My GTX280 is here to stay.

My 280 spanks that x2 in way too many games and I can't even describe how much more overclocking headroom my 280 has.

So you aren't going to go to the other side yet then. Good
I don't necessarily worship any particular camp either, ATI was my card of choice back in the 9800 Pro and X1900 days. But for overall longevity, the Nvidia 200 series has been a fun ride.
And it isn't over yet. I got back my 280 last week when the guy I sold it to decided to get an Asus 5870. The 5870's are in short supply here still, so he jumped on it when he had a chance to get one. I don't blame him! But I am glad to get back my old friend.

Now I regret not looking for another 280 rather than the 275 I bought, as SLI is now doable for me with the P55 setup I just built. I have been pleased with the 275, but in spite of some reviews I've seen, my 280 is just as fast, sometimes even performing better. As far as SLI goes, I dabbled with it years ago when I had two 7900GTX cards, and more recently a 9800GX2. Wasn't thrilled with either, the 7900's crapped out on me after only a month (bad ram I was told) and the 9800GX2 had the famous stuttering issues.

So you just continue to have fun with that 280 of yours, Babs

And now I can go back to playing with my 280's vrm cooling. As Daleraith has done, I think I will cut the vrm section off the Unisink and bolt that sucker on. But it will have to go with the stock heatsink for now, hopefully the clearance is ok. No Accelero for now. Yet

 

[Retro*]

Way back in post 554 I talked about trying the Uni-Sink approach...

After much messing about, remeasuring and some frustration I finally had to opt for option 3 from Post 554 (as suggested by Onboard to Retro), but discarded all the Uni-Sink's middle section and used ramsinks.

The Uni-Sink bits had to have their fins (spikes?) cut back, which involved aggressive lapping with coarse grit wet'n'dry until there was clearance. There was also some very cautious bending of the heatpipes to provide another small increase in clearance. This was all done in advance of pulling the 280 to pieces. All the measuring was worth it, there's now about a millimetre between the Uni-Sink bits and CM Accelero's fins.

Of course while I had the gear out for lapping there was a rough looking CM Accelero heatsink base that could do with some polishing.

A section of the fan shroud had to be trimmed to allow it to fit against the backplate (where the DVI outputs are). The shroud has a little section that sticks out about 2mm at each end and one had to be carefully cut back so that it sat just above the backplate.

There's been no adjustment to clock speeds or voltages from the stock card and the VRM temps appear to be much the same as the stock cooler. Overclocking will come later.

The tests run were FurMark at 640 by 480, which seems to be more stressful than anything else I've thrown at the card - probably even Crysis.

I'm very happy with the results - even though a slight miscalculation with the final length of the card resulted in the purchase of a bigger case

Good job! As OnBoard said, I think it looks great. Those vrm temps are way lower than I was able to achieve with the Enzo sinks. I am going to try this out, now that I got my 280 back. May not have to do as much trimming as all I have for now is the stock sink and shroud.

 

[Daleraith]

I've rerun FurMark for 10 minutes and the GPU temp seems to stabilize at about 55C with 40% fan. I'll look at increasing the fan speed as the weather warms up (it's spring here and the ambient temps will be significantly higher in summer).

BTW anyone interested in (simple) monitoring on Vista or Win7 may want to look at Orbmu2k's NVIDIA GPU Temp gadget: http://blog.orbmu2k.de/

 

[OnBoard]

I've rerun FurMark for 10 minutes and the GPU temp seems to stabilize at about 55C with 40% fan. I'll look at increasing the fan speed as the weather warms up (it's spring here and the ambient temps will be significantly higher in summer).

10min run, wow, those are sweet temps Yeah no need for higher fan speed at the moment. VRMs were really picky on ambient temps last summer, 5c increase was multiplied more than twice.

 

[BababooeyHTJ]

So you aren't going to go to the other side yet then. Good
I don't necessarily worship any particular camp either, ATI was my card of choice back in the 9800 Pro and X1900 days. But for overall longevity, the Nvidia 200 series has been a fun ride.
And it isn't over yet. I got back my 280 last week when the guy I sold it to decided to get an Asus 5870. The 5870's are in short supply here still, so he jumped on it when he had a chance to get one. I don't blame him! But I am glad to get back my old friend.

Now I regret not looking for another 280 rather than the 275 I bought, as SLI is now doable for me with the P55 setup I just built. I have been pleased with the 275, but in spite of some reviews I've seen, my 280 is just as fast, sometimes even performing better. As far as SLI goes, I dabbled with it years ago when I had two 7900GTX cards, and more recently a 9800GX2. Wasn't thrilled with either, the 7900's crapped out on me after only a month (bad ram I was told) and the 9800GX2 had the famous stuttering issues.

So you just continue to have fun with that 280 of yours, Babs

And now I can go back to playing with my 280's vrm cooling. As Daleraith has done, I think I will cut the vrm section off the Unisink and bolt that sucker on. But it will have to go with the stock heatsink for now, hopefully the clearance is ok. No Accelero for now. Yet

I played around with some 260s in sli a while back untill my board died but what else do you expect from an nForce board. Anyways I never noticed any stuttering. I was impressed for the most part. A couple of 280 would be fun.

This 280 has treated me well. This isn't the first time that I played around with a 4870 and compared to GT200 I have allways been dissapointed. They run hot and don't clock too well. Every GT200 that I have owned had more overclocking headroom than the best clocking 4870 that I have used.

How is that i5 working out for you? Have you noticed any differences in gaming?

Those Uni-sink results are impressive. I have to pick one up now when that x2 sells and maybe a couple of 500gb F3 spinpoints.

10min run, wow, those are sweet temps Yeah no need for higher fan speed at the moment. VRMs were really picky on ambient temps last summer, 5c increase was multiplied more than twice.

Your not kidding on a hot day Crysis could drive the vrms on my card close to 100c. I was afraid to play for too long, though. Now with the lower speed fans on my case I have to pick up a unisink now.

 

[notanazi]

i like the coolness

GTX280 @ 700/1500/1200 1.07v , Artc Accelero GTX280 @ ~ 1200 RPM (~7v)

 

[Retro*]

I played around with some 260s in sli a while back untill my board died but what else do you expect from an nForce board. Anyways I never noticed any stuttering. I was impressed for the most part. A couple of 280 would be fun.

This 280 has treated me well. This isn't the first time that I played around with a 4870 and compared to GT200 I have allways been dissapointed. They run hot and don't clock too well. Every GT200 that I have owned had more overclocking headroom than the best clocking 4870 that I have used.

How is that i5 working out for you? Have you noticed any differences in gaming?

Those Uni-sink results are impressive. I have to pick one up now when that x2 sells and maybe a couple of 500gb F3 spinpoints.


Your not kidding on a hot day Crysis could drive the vrms on my card close to 100c. I was afraid to play for too long, though. Now with the lower speed fans on my case I have to pick up a unisink now.

The stuttering was only with the 9800 GX2, apparently a common issue with that card. The 7900's didn't stutter, but then they didn't last very long either
I have avoided buying any NForce boards lately as well. When Intel finally made nice with Nvidia with the X58 and now the P55 boards having SLI-capability, that's when I decided to get a P55. Finally getting a Quad-Core was a big incentive of course. Since I just re-formatted for the new chipset, I haven't put all my games back yet, I decided to mess with the overclocking first, it runs stable at 4000MHz. I first ran 3D06 and Vantage for comparison with my previous E8600@4200. 3D06 score went up 2000 points which was a surprise, but Vantage only increased by about 250 points. I put Crysis back on and it does seem to run a bit faster now. I don't have actual benchmark comparisons, but it is very smooth. Lots more gaming fun to follow.

I had intentions of getting another 275 to SLI with my existing card, before I got the 280 back. Now I'm not sure what I'll do, I can buy a 275 for about $250 here when on sale. Occasionally I see a new 280 pop up at NCIX, they are usually around $300, still.
I have another month or so left on the EVGA Trade-Up, but it doesn't look like any 300 series cards will make that deadline The 5870's are around $450, when you can find one.

Too many choices, yet not enough. Not that I'm suffering with one card, but I would like to make that next leap for some more fps action. Meanwhile, I haven't sliced and diced the Uni-Sink yet, still deciding whether to get another Thermalright cooler or an Accelero for the 280, since it would be a shame to just plop the stock cooler back on it.

You still have that 4870X2 then? Too bad it didn't do that well, I thought they would be quite a fast card. With the Accelero fitted on it, that could also be a fun toy to mod

 

[BababooeyHTJ]

The stuttering was only with the 9800 GX2, apparently a common issue with that card. The 7900's didn't stutter, but then they didn't last very long either
I have avoided buying any NForce boards lately as well. When Intel finally made nice with Nvidia with the X58 and now the P55 boards having SLI-capability, that's when I decided to get a P55. Finally getting a Quad-Core was a big incentive of course. Since I just re-formatted for the new chipset, I haven't put all my games back yet, I decided to mess with the overclocking first, it runs stable at 4000MHz. I first ran 3D06 and Vantage for comparison with my previous E8600@4200. 3D06 score went up 2000 points which was a surprise, but Vantage only increased by about 250 points. I put Crysis back on and it does seem to run a bit faster now. I don't have actual benchmark comparisons, but it is very smooth. Lots more gaming fun to follow.

I had intentions of getting another 275 to SLI with my existing card, before I got the 280 back. Now I'm not sure what I'll do, I can buy a 275 for about $250 here when on sale. Occasionally I see a new 280 pop up at NCIX, they are usually around $300, still.
I have another month or so left on the EVGA Trade-Up, but it doesn't look like any 300 series cards will make that deadline The 5870's are around $450, when you can find one.

Too many choices, yet not enough. Not that I'm suffering with one card, but I would like to make that next leap for some more fps action. Meanwhile, I haven't sliced and diced the Uni-Sink yet, still deciding whether to get another Thermalright cooler or an Accelero for the 280, since it would be a shame to just plop the stock cooler back on it.

You still have that 4870X2 then? Too bad it didn't do that well, I thought they would be quite a fast card. With the Accelero fitted on it, that could also be a fun toy to mod

I have heard nothing but complaints about that GX2.

I have been thinking about going with a P55 as well. It looks like a solid platform. My mouth waters every time that I see an Everest bench (hint, hint). Memory bandwith is just amazing. Turbo speed on the 860 is just insane too but I like the price of that 750 since I really don't see the need for HT for my useage, tbh. I'm surprised about Crysis running faster and it can't be due to the extra cores since that is one game where I noticed no difference going from an e8400 to a q9650. I'm thinking Oblivion or FO3 with a crap load of mods should run well on a P55.

You have got to love the price gouging of some stores. I remember seeing the q6600 at $150 at newegg not too long before it went eol and shortly afterwards it shot up to around $200. Sadly, I doubt that you'll be using the step up plan. Unless you want that 285 with 3 power connectors.

I know what you mean though. I havent found a game to be unplayable but there are a few where some extra perofmance would be nice. Too bad that the games where I wanted the extra speed in actually performed worse on the x2. My results really mirrored this review. Look at the games with texture mods, the x2 doesn't come out looking so good. I did notice considerably higher framerates in Crysis but they still dipped down during firefights. Minimum framerates aren't very good on that card. My old 260s in sli were the only time that I ever played Crysis truly smooth.

I think that I just have to accept that I'm going to be using the 280 for quite a while. The uni-sink could be a fun mod not that I need it since the change in weather.

 

[Retro*]

I have heard nothing but complaints about that GX2.

I have been thinking about going with a P55 as well. It looks like a solid platform. My mouth waters every time that I see an Everest bench (hint, hint). Memory bandwith is just amazing. Turbo speed on the 860 is just insane too but I like the price of that 750 since I really don't see the need for HT for my useage, tbh. I'm surprised about Crysis running faster and it can't be due to the extra cores since that is one game where I noticed no difference going from an e8400 to a q9650. I'm thinking Oblivion or FO3 with a crap load of mods should run well on a P55.

You have got to love the price gouging of some stores. I remember seeing the q6600 at $150 at newegg not too long before it went eol and shortly afterwards it shot up to around $200. Sadly, I doubt that you'll be using the step up plan. Unless you want that 285 with 3 power connectors.

I know what you mean though. I havent found a game to be unplayable but there are a few where some extra perofmance would be nice. Too bad that the games where I wanted the extra speed in actually performed worse on the x2. My results really mirrored this review. Look at the games with texture mods, the x2 doesn't come out looking so good. I did notice considerably higher framerates in Crysis but they still dipped down during firefights. Minimum framerates aren't very good on that card. My old 260s in sli were the only time that I ever played Crysis truly smooth.

I think that I just have to accept that I'm going to be using the 280 for quite a while. The uni-sink could be a fun mod not that I need it since the change in weather.

That's right, winter is on it's way, a relief for our cards from the heat.
I really recommend the P55 "upgrade". Everest benches, you say? I would like to discuss it more, but probably best in a different thread to be fair to OnBoard and this thread
Back to cards again! The 285 Classified, those are not eligible for step-up, but the 295 is.
I see what you mean about the 4870X2 framerates by looking at the charts in that review. You should still be able to get a good cash/trade deal for it though. I always liked the single pcb design of the 4870X2 which Nvidia finally chose for the newer GTX295.

 

[tjmagneto]

Wow! I thought this thread would have ended quite a while back. It took me quite a while to catch up on reading the posts.

After my experience with my first card I shelved the 2nd 275 project and drank heavily then finally got around to modding card two and it ends up that I can't SLI the stupid things because of GPU1 crowding out GPU2. The upside was once I got the first card up and running my temps and noise levels were drastically lower.

I'm at a loss on what to do next: reinstall stock cooler on GPU2 and swap it with GPU1 so they fit, waste more money on some other air cooler which might not fit, or sink a lot more money into water cooling.

 

[BababooeyHTJ]

I just picked up a used unisink from the FS/FT section and a couple of extra pads from Petra's.

Now to see if I know anyone with a dremel.

 

[OnBoard]

Wow! I thought this thread would have ended quite a while back. It took me quite a while to catch up on reading the posts.

It won't die

After my experience with my first card I shelved the 2nd 275 project and drank heavily then finally got around to modding card two and it ends up that I can't SLI the stupid things because of GPU1 crowding out GPU2. The upside was once I got the first card up and running my temps and noise levels were drastically lower.

I'm at a loss on what to do next: reinstall stock cooler on GPU2 and swap it with GPU1 so they fit, waste more money on some other air cooler which might not fit, or sink a lot more money into water cooling.

Hmm, they should fit? http://www.nordichardware.com/image3.php?id=5592

One slot free on the middle for accelero (that's P6T deluxe, even if it has ATI on).

If the bottom card fits without hitting PSU, then there should be just possible temp issues for the top card. Anyhow it's 3 slot spacing from blue slot to white slot and it's enough. I have another GPU 3 slots away, no SLI or Acceleros, but it's in there.

Maybe I didn't understand something right from the post, picture would be nice of the problem, if possible

I just picked up a used unisink from the FS/FT section and a couple of extra pads from Petra's.

Now to see if I know anyone with a dremel.

Or you could just hacksaw it to pieces and lap the spikes, like Daleraith did.

 

[tjmagneto]

I put the stock cooler back on the second card and installed it in the blue slot in my P6T dlx. The clearance between the fan cages of the card with the 280 and the stock card is almost nil. My temps went up according to MSI Afterburner but I expected that in such cramped quarters. Not as bad as two stock cards but I wish I could do better.