Getting the cover off a Geforce 8800 GTX?

MJOMJO Denmark New
edited May 2009 in Hardware
Hi

My Geforce 8800 GTX is "slightly" overheating, well it is always hot when it is doing anything but a temperature around 95 degrees is a bit over the top. ;)
It does work fine at that temperature though, no crashing or anything.
But I still prefer a temperature a bit lower than that.
It reaches the highest temperature when I play World in Conflict, other games doesn't seem to but as much load on the GPU and of course I exit the game before reaching this temperature. :bigggrin:

But how do I get the plastic cover off?
Does anyone have a link to a guide or something?
I have been reading that it is quite difficult to remove, and I would like to be prepared when I clean the heatsink, it is probably filled with dust given the high temperature.

Comments

  • LeonardoLeonardo Wake up and smell the glaciers Eagle River, Alaska Icrontian
    edited April 2009
    Would you please post a link to the exact type of card you are running. If it's a similar shell to my 9800GX2s, I can help you.
  • MJOMJO Denmark New
    edited April 2009
    It is this one:

    Image:
    card_front_big.jpg
    Link:
    http://www.techarp.com/showarticle.aspx?artno=404&pgno=0
    Basically it is a standard 8800 GTX, Asus hasn't made any changes to the standard cooling on the card.
  • LeonardoLeonardo Wake up and smell the glaciers Eagle River, Alaska Icrontian
    edited April 2009
    That's actually not difficult to remove. There should be anywhere from 4 to 8 screws on the back side of the card that need removal. At the end of the card, at the video out ports, you may need to remove the female-threaded bolts on both sides of the ports.
  • GnomeWizarddGnomeWizardd Member 4 Life Akron, PA Icrontian
    edited April 2009
    I believe he wants to leave the heatsink and just take the plastic off am I right? MJO?
  • mas0nmas0n howdy Icrontian
    edited April 2009
    After the entire heatsink has been removed there are a few small screws on the underside that will allow the removal of the plastic cover.
  • MochanMochan Philippines
    edited April 2009
    Just remove the retention clamps/screws, and wiggle the thing off. It may be difficult because thermalpaste might be acting as glue between the sink and the card. But you have to wiggle it off.
  • MAGICMAGIC Doot Doot Furniture City, Michigan Icrontian
    edited April 2009
    I cant imagine taking the plastic duct off would make your temps any better, it directs the heat out of the case. Get an aftermarket heat sink for it.
  • shwaipshwaip bluffin' with my muffin Icrontian
    edited April 2009
    My 8800gts just had a few screws to remove from the top. peel off the plastic stuff and you should be able to find them.

    Also, you want the plastic part. it forces the air from the fan through the fins.

    although, you should look to see if the fins are clogged with dust.
  • airbornflghtairbornflght Houston, TX Icrontian
    edited April 2009
    ^this
  • LeonardoLeonardo Wake up and smell the glaciers Eagle River, Alaska Icrontian
    edited April 2009
    I cant imagine taking the plastic duct off would make your temps any better, it directs the heat out of the case.
    Does that 8800GT have any exhaust vents on the side? The 9800GX2 exhausts most of the heat out the side, turning a computer case into a sauna if there isn't exhaust ducting or a side fan. My cases have ducts - stock and/or fabricated by me. I removed the top and bottom covers of the GX2s in two of my rigs. GPU core temps dropped immediately by 5 to 10C, depending on the work load and the particular GPU. The cases were already optimized for good, directed airlfow and the all the GPUs already had the factory TIM replaced by quality paste (OCZ Freeze, TX-2, or MX-2). I'd really like to modify the covers and just leave them on, but that would probably shoot down value of the cards when I eventually sell them.

    LOOK here - NAKED 9800GX2s! :eek::hair::crazy:
  • MJOMJO Denmark New
    edited May 2009
    Yes it is the plastic cover I want to remove, that would make it a lot easier to clean the heat sink. There is quite a lot of dust in it.

    I actually succeeded in a partial removal of the plastic cover, but there are three or four very small screws I couldn't remove with my screwdriver, they are very small and delicate.
    That prevented me from removing the cover completely and the cleaning was not a thorough as I would have wanted it to be.
    But my temps has dropped roughly 5 degrees in idle and 8-10 under full load, that is quite good considering that I could clean the whole heat sink.

    I have considered a new heat sink as well, but I am afraid that they are too large.
    If the card is much larger than 2 slots it would cause problems with what is occupying the other slots.
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