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I beg to differ, you can get a good passive cooler from Thermalright that actually cools better than the stock cooler.

OP: please read the following review from anandtech on the Thermalright HR-03 cooler for the 8800GT. I had this cooler for my old x1900xtx and with a fan it literally cooler my GPU 20C better than stock. Passively it should be at the least comparable to the stock cooler.
http://www.anandtech.com/casecoolingpsus/showdoc.aspx?i=3249
Just make sure if you use this that you clean everything VERY well with q-tips and alcohol. Some people have issues getting the heatsink adhesive to stick. I had no issues what so ever but I thoroughly clean everything.
 
I was looking at the Arctic Cooling Accelero S1 Rev. 2 (on the ECS 8800gt). I'm debating between getting that card or getting another and adding the passive cooling. What I've read/seen is the stock coolers aren't that great, temps are high, but folks who have used the passive cooling have had much lower temps. My system is a Gateway Intel Q6600, 4GB Ram, and I measured inside the case, and it's got enough room to hold the 8800gt (I only have a 400w psu so I'll probably have to upgrade to 500w at least, so long as the amps are good).

Mike
 
My 8800gts isn't that loud except while gaming the fan kicks in a little. can't hear if much over explosions though. The stock 8800GT fan does get loud because its a hot little card. Look at that puny cooler...
 
Well, I have personal experience with a passively cooled GT. I had it @ 700/2000, and had a 53c idle 70c load with the HR-03

I recently got a 92mm fan for it, which doesn't allow the load temperature to exceed 60c. I'm sure even if you wanted to go as far as volt modding the card, the HR03 could handle it.

I recommend getting the HR-03 + a super low RPM Scythe fan. I can't tell the difference with it on 100% or off.
 
I just put a Accelero S1 Rev.2 on my 3850. I didn't want to go passive so I straped on two 100mm Scythe Kaze-jyu fans (can't hear them at all - they're really quite).

My idle temps on the card are 28-30C and try as I may, I can't seem to break 35C under load (I've tried Ati tool artifact tests, oblivion, witcher, etc.). I've got the card clocked at 705/850 at the moment and I'm going to go higher and see what happens to the temps.

Anyway, I know the 8800GT runs alot hotter then the 3850, but given the results I've had so far, I'd say this is one really good cooler (and its half the cost of the HR-03).

sdrac
 

I'm not sure about the ECS brands. I like to stick with the eVGA, XFX, etc brands that I know have good warranty support. It looks like the ECS just has an Arctic Cooler Accelero S1 cooler on it stock. It could be a good deal.

Just to be curious, what is the outcome you are looking for? Are you looking for the quietest system you can get? I stear away from passive cooling for gaming cards for the most part. How about a quiet fan setup? I hear the MSI 8800gt is pretty much the greatest cooler you can get stock and shouldn't be loud either. You probably won't be able to hear it over your PSU fan anways.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127329

Oh yeah and Monst0r gave some first hand experience with the Thermalright HR-03, good call man.
 
referring to anandtech article "Again, please note our test system had excellent ventilation and represents a best-case scenario, but even so this is quite impressive. Without a fan mounted on the HR-03 GT, RAM sink temperatures climbed to about 57C maximum"


i said what i said, referring to this http://enthusiast.hardocp.com/article.html?art=MTQyMywxMSwsaGVudGh1c2lhc3Q= so if u are okay with high temp with passive cooling. i would say get the passive cooling.

otherwise, get the HR03 with a fan. of course, it wont be called passive. but it will be silent to some very true extend.
 

WoW, nice temps. I'm thinking about getting this HS but with a fan it takes up 3 slots. 🙁
 
@m2moore: Instead of spending $ to add a oem cooler to a 8800GT, why not buy a 8800GTS-512-G92? It is a bit faster, and has a very good stock cooler that sends the hot vga air out the back of the case instead of recirculating it.
 
I don't think the 8800GTS will fit in my case... isn't it longer than the 8800gt? I have about 9.5 inches to slot a card in length wise, and the 8800gt is about 9 from what I've seen. My system is a Gateway GT5636E, so I'll need to upgrade the psu as well. I was looking at a passive cooling option, like the artic one, with the turbo fans for a quiet & cool performance.
How difficult is it, if I went the route of an EvGA or XFX as Jay suggests to take the stock fans off & replace w/ passive cooling? Or, am I going to void the warranty. The biggest concern, and granted I'm somewhat of a novice, with the regular cards is the amount of issues I've read up on about heat & noise... the xfx is reportedly set at a 100% and can't be lowered, while other ones, evga included, have all had reports of various issues. Just trying to make sure I get a good return on investment here. appreciate everyone's time here.

Mike
 
@m2moore: The 8800GTS-512-G92 is 9.0 inches long, exactly the same as the 8800GT and many other cards. You may be thinking of the 8800GTX which is 10.5 inches long, and will not fit some cases. I have had no noise issues with my EVGA-8800GTS-512. The fan spins up at boot time for about 5 seconds, but I never hear it after that.

Passive cooling will not work for any high card that will be good for games. A lesser card might work, but you would need a case with superb cooling.

It is not hard to replace a vga cooler. With EVGA, you will not void your warranty, just so long as you re-install the stock cooler if you ever need to return it for warranty. EVGA even sells a "akimbo" replacement cooler for the 8800GT. It is about $30, I think. It looks like the same cooler that is standard on the 8800GTS-512.

It is the 12v amperage capability that determines if the psu will suffice, not the wattage. The oem builders usually do not put in more capacity than is needed, but you may be lucky. There should be a sticker on your PSU that details the amps for each 12v rail, and perhaps the total it can deliver on all them. If it totals to 26, you should be ok. Can you find it?
 
my current psu is a delta electronics dps 400rb a rev 01f

+12v1 16A +12v2 16A
+5v 14A +5vsb 2.0A
+3.3v 20A -12v 0.3A
+5v + 3.3v 140W max
12v1 +12v2 can not exceed 30A

measures 5.5l x 3.5H x 6w
 
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