Aftermarket GPU Air Coolers!

[GordonFreemanInTheFlesh]

I just got an RX Vega 64 GPU at a very affordable price but after playing a couple games I noticed the fan running at 100% all the time, I did clean and repaste it with MX-6 and it only improved tems by 6°C which is not enaugh to cause the fan to slow down.
As of writing this:

GPU-79°C.
Vram-56°C.
Vrm-63°C.

Is it worth it to replace the blower style cooler with Arctic Accelero or Morpheous(kinda expensive).
Any other cooler out there that I don't know of or just ziptie a cpu cooler like DIY perks did ?

 

[Macro Device]

No, it's not worth it. I'd undervolt the GPU and modify the fan curve if I were you.

Just remember the fact your GPU is unique and it may undervolt better/worse than that from the video. You might also opt for more aggressive undervolting but you must also keep in mind this will most probably lead to lesser clocks and performance. But thermals will improve and by a lot.

 

[LabRat 891]

Hah! I'm in the same boat. I've got a 16GB Vega MI25 that I've converted to a WX 9100. Even w/ forced airflow, the stock heatsink is underwhelming. (1100mV 1400Mhz is about the 'best' I can get out of the card, as-is)

Sadly, aftermarket GPU coolers are not even remotely as common as they used to be.
The Raijintek Morpheus (II/Vega) is one of the few. However, they're hardly worth the $, now that Vega is 'older'.

There's also the NZXT Kraken G10/G12 AIO-cooler mount, but it does require modification to mount to the 64x64mm mounting pitch of Vega 10 cards. Also, you'd still need direct airflow over the 'mid-plate' that cools the VRMs, etc. (or you'll have to replace the plate w/ heatsinks on ea. board-mounted component)

In my case, I've been looking to snag a cheap 'for parts' Vega 56/64 with one of the many improved coolers AIB partners used. Unfortunately, most are on non-reference cards, and may require some modifications/additions for it to mount up to a Reference Vega. (BTW, the MI25's PCB is slightly different than Vega 56/64 and FE cards.)

 

[sam_86314]

On the contrary, I would actually recommend it.

I got an Arctic Accelero 3 for my GTX 1070 a while ago, and it made a world of difference in both temps and noise.

With the Vega, it would be better since you wouldn't have to mess around with memory heatsinks.

 

[Vya Domus]

Honestly it's not really worth it for a card of that age, I changed the blower on a GTX 1080 with an AIO and it felt like a waste of money at the time and this was like 3 or 4 years ago.

 

[Vya Domus]

Btw, the fan should not be running at 100%, something is wrong, those temps should not cause it go full speed. Use a custom fan curve, Vega 64 can run just fine in the mid-high 80s.

 

[LabRat 891]

While I cannot find anyone that's tried it, there's a non-0 chance a Radeon VII cooler might at least mount on a Vega 10 card.
Most of the Radeon VIIs are dead/dying, so there's a slim chance of finding one cheap to try it.

Btw, the fan should not be running at 100%, something is wrong, those temps should not cause it go full speed. Use a custom fan curve, Vega 64 can run just fine in the mid-high 80s.

There could be an issue there, yes. I've had both under- and over- ran fanspeed problems across driver installs. Sometimes it was an issue of the driver, other times a 'bad install' (cleanly reinstalling the same driver would resolve).

However, I cannot disagree more about Vega being fine in the high-80s.
At least on my example, when the 'core temps' are in the 80s, the hotspot is in the 90s, and the card starts to throttle.
Higher temps (81-83c+, core) destabilize my WX 9100 and/or force it into lower C-states. On my (Polaris) RX 580s and my Vega 64, a stable OC often 'suddenly wasn't' as soon as temps went over 81c-reported.

I also noticed that most Vega users reporting success with Undervolt+OC, 'worked out best' with Watercoolers and those that shelled-out for a Morpheus.

 

[Vya Domus]

However, I cannot disagree more about Vega being fine in the high-80s.
At least on my example, when the 'core temps' are in the 80s, the hotspot is in the 90s, and the card starts to throttle.
Higher temps (81-83c+, core) destabilize my WX 9100 and/or force it into lower C-states. On my (Polaris) RX 580s, a stable OC often 'suddenly wasn't' as soon as temps went over 81c.

Of course it will start to throttle the idea is that the fan doesn't have to run at 100% if that bothers him.

 

[DR4G00N]

On top of undervolting, lowering the power limit can significantly reduce temps while not impacting performance much at all. Vega scales very well with lower power, 220W (Stock) to 170W only looses about 5% IIRC. I did some tests at just 85W and lost about 20-25% with a 60% decrease in power vs 220W.

 

[LabRat 891]

On top of undervolting, lowering the power limit can significantly reduce temps while not impacting performance much at all. Vega scales very well with lower power, 220W (Stock) to 170W only looses about 5% IIRC.

I fundamentally do not like doing this ('throttling' the card), but it is quite true. You can even tweak PPT with power limiting in mind.
I'm a bit too Tim the Toolman to settle for such reasonable solutions!

 

[Lew Zealand]

My PNY XLR8 TX 1080 came with an inadequate cooler which failed to keep the GPU under 80C with fans at 90% at the stock 180W power limit so for a couple of years I just undervolted it and ran it at 1911MHz 0.95V which resulted in ~135W power use in most games. Coupled with a +800 MHz memory OC, this ran faster than stock at 180W. So I got a good GPU chip and good memory and you may have that as well, please try out a mild undervolt, it may solve or significantly mitigate the problem.

That said, after determining that I got close to a golden sample GPU and memory, I did buy the Raijintek Morpheus cooler for the 1080 when it went on sale at Bezosville (and 2 Arctic 120MM LP fans) and now it runs at 2100+ MHz at around 66C with modest fan speeds. But be warned that it's now a 4-slot cooler and most will find it quite ugly. These things are irrelevant to me as I have the case space and don't spend time staring lovingly at my builds. Well, not much time anyway. And I take great satisfaction with extra effort to make something good become great.

Greater. OK, at least bigger and cooler.

 

[damric]

For old stuff like this I do recommend construction of a sub-$100 cooling loop using cheap new parts from ebay direct from China. The benefit is that said parts can be used again for your next boredom project.