Quieter cooling for X1800XL?

[TeraMedia]

I'm using an X1800XL inside a Silverstone LC16M as an HTPC. Most of the system is reasonably quiet, but the VPU fan makes a nasty whine a lot of the time. I'd like to see about getting a different cooling system for it (e.g. Zalman VF700-Cu), but am concerned about compatibility, noise (reduction) level, and cooling performance. Anyone have any experience with an aftermarket cooler on this card, and if so, what would you recommend?

Specs:
Silverstone LC16M
Intel D955XBK
Intel D 830 (3.0 GHz dual-core, 90 nm, no HT)
2 GB (??) 667 MHz RAM
ATI X1800XL
4 x WD Caviar RE2 400 GB
HP DVD 740i
Hauppauge WinTV-PVR-500 NTSC dual-tuner
ATI HDTV Wonder ATSC tuner
D-Link Wireless G PCI card
(it all fits!!! Barely...)
Windows Media Center Edition 2005

 

[lanorg]

Hey,
I have not added an aftermarket heatsink to my 1800xl.
Most of the cards i've had in the past with fanless types of cooling solutions added to them make them quieter and slightly hotter. Only a few degrees Celcius in most cases. The fan powered styles cost extra, are just as loud and cool better. So you could run the same temps at quieter levels.
It sounds like you just want noise reduction.
So. You can either get a fan/fanless aftermarket heatsink or play with the fan controls in a software program. I use atiTool. You'll be able to fine tune the fan speeds to cater to what sounds right to you, and be able to tell if the card is overheating.
I just played with my settings and there seems to be a larger difference in sound from the 60% fanspeed zone and up, compared to the 50% and down, say 40%. So get ati tool and play with the fan control settings.
Sure you can picky about certain decibell ratings and what it is at whatever % fan speed, but to you its personal, so play it by ear.
Good luck.

 

[xSunnYx]

You could wait till next month,

Arctic Cooling Accelero X2 will be released. (well, it aint out in europe)

It's a huge cooler for the 1800 and 1900 series, its smaller, more quiet and cools better then the stock on 1800. So i guess it works the same for 1900 series.

It has pre-applied thermal-paste, so that saves a lil bit of effort.

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ArcticCooling/AcceleroX2