GeForce3/DealExpress

[Joel Pelletier]

I have had my new modified GeForce 3 in my Cube now for 3 days. 
Here's what I did:

I removed the fan and the side-row (when viewing the card as it would 
st in the case) RAM heatsink (the fins go in the wrong direction for 
cooling). My first test involved installing a longer heatsink w/fins 
in  the cooling direction over the RAM chips (with thermal tape), and 
a larger CPU block haetsink over the VGA chip.

Two days later at Fry's I saw and purchased a ZALMAN VGA Heatpipe 
Cooler kit (ZM50-HP). It seemed to have LARGER heatsinks, and some 
sort of front/back mounting system specifically for these cards. I 
removed the 2 heatsinks I installed, and used inly the FRONT mounting 
block from the Zalman kit, with the LARGE rear Zalman heatsink 
attaching to it (the back side heatsink setup, designed to take heat 
from the front via the heatpipe setup, won't fit in the Cube). I used 
the thermal fluid included in the package for the Zalman heatsinks, 
and Arctic Silver thermal epoxy for the RAM heatsink. I then 
installed the card WITHOUT the end plate (as suggested in many 
postings).

Under the base of my Cube I placed a Panaflow fan (usiing volts as 
little feet - also from a list FAQ), using a resistor to keep the 
speed/volume down. Here are the temp results a digital thermometer 
and software:

(top temps listed)
CENTER VENT	47c	117f
BACK VENT		60-63c	134f
Thermograph (OS9)	40-44c
ThermInDock (OSX)	43-47c	109-116f

I would love to see comparative readings for stock Cubes w/Rage Pro 
128, as well as w/GeForce 3 stock (w/fan). Based on the FAQ section 
listing some measurements, these temps are very similar to stock 
fanless machines, but w/64mb video RAM and NO video card fan, 120gb 
Seagate Barracuda V  and 1.5gb RAM. I will test WITHOUT the fan as 
well, but if the numbers go up appreciably I will turn it back on. I 
will post photos of the heatsink setup shortly. I am also interested 
in the whole Heatpipe thing, and the possibility of using the pipe 
somehow to get extra heat passively up and out of the case.

DEALEXPRESS: I purchased a Motherboard and chassis from them late 
last year (when I had my Cube disaster0. The products arrived 
quickly, but the Motherboard was DOA. They agreed to replace, but not 
refund, and it has been almost 2 weeks since I returned the bad 
board. At that time I will have a BRAND NEW motherboard for sale to 
listers (if interested). We'll see...

Joel Pelletier
http://www.joelp.org