Tech Tip: $5 VGA Cooler

MediaManMediaMan Powered by loose parts.
edited November 2008 in Science & Tech
An expensive VGA cooler could be the answer to VGA heat but we built our own for under $5.

Read it here

Comments

  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited November 2004
    Ghetto Hardware v2.
  • Geeky1Geeky1 University of the Pacific (Stockton, CA, USA)
    edited November 2004
    That is soooooooo not ghetto. If it were cardboard, it'd be ghetto. Either way, it's sweet. :p
  • ShortyShorty Manchester, UK Icrontian
    edited November 2004
    ahahaha.. wicked ;D
  • edited November 2004
    what about the ram on the other side of the board
  • primesuspectprimesuspect Beepin n' Boopin Detroit, MI Icrontian
    edited November 2004
    Totally sweet, Doug.

    /me gets out a fiver and heads to Home Depot
  • MediaManMediaMan Powered by loose parts.
    edited November 2004
    what about the ram on the other side of the board


    Give me another Sunday afternoon and I'll have that figured out for you. I still have plexi left over and another fan. Modding supposed to be fun...especially for 5 bucks.
  • edited November 2004
    Why not just get an old pci card that you don't need, cut a hole in it and mount
    your fan?
  • CyrixInsteadCyrixInstead Stoke-on-Trent, England Icrontian
    edited November 2004
    Good guide!!

    ~Cyrix
  • ShortyShorty Manchester, UK Icrontian
    edited November 2004
    Why not just get an old pci card that you don't need, cut a hole in it and mount
    your fan?
    But where is the fun in that ;)
  • edited November 2004
    what if you had it suck cold air from the pci slot and vent the hot air up using the fan. It seems like it would be much more efficient to pull the hot air up then to force it out the back of the case.
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited November 2004
    It's not so much about creating a turbulent airflow over the GPU, it's more about removing the dead air pockets that reside over almost the entire PCI/AGP region. It's just the way most ATX cases work. Even if no "Cool air" is being drawn in, there's still tremendous benefit from circulating the warm air away from the GPU.
  • MediaManMediaMan Powered by loose parts.
    edited November 2004
    Now this is what it's all about. Now you're thinking like a modder. I suggest heading down to the nearest Home Depot, pick up that 3 buck 8x10 sheet of plexi and create one on your own.

    I know that I'm going to revise my simple mockup to see if I can get more elaborate and keep it under $5. Glad the article got you thinking!

    :)
  • edited November 2004
    Just super glue some fans on both sides of the card!
  • Geeky1Geeky1 University of the Pacific (Stockton, CA, USA)
    edited November 2004
    Doesn't cyanoacrylate do nasty things to solder masks? :hrm:
  • MedlockMedlock Miramar, Florida Member
    edited November 2004
    Geeky1 wrote:
    Doesn't cyanoacrylate do nasty things to solder masks?
    .........

    I really should learn to expect these things. :shakehead

    Let's see. dictionary.com says... "An adhesive substance with an acrylate base that is used in industry and medicine."

    Do hospitals use super glue? :eek:
  • MediaManMediaMan Powered by loose parts.
    edited November 2004
    Plastic...plexi...glue worked the same way in either case. If Geeky starts quoting off chemical equations I think he's been sniffing the glue instead. ;D
  • Geeky1Geeky1 University of the Pacific (Stockton, CA, USA)
    edited November 2004
    That's contact cement tho. Which I don't think is cyanoacrylate. But then maybe they call super glue "contact cement" up there.

    What I wanna know is what superglue does to solder masks. For some strange reason, I seem to remember reading or hearing somewhere or something that they don't get along well.
  • MediaManMediaMan Powered by loose parts.
    edited November 2004
    I think what Geeky's getting at is "will the fumes from 'super glue' (cyanoacrylate) break down the solder or PCB material?"

    Have I got that correct?

    A CSI Miami trick is that super glue fumes will adhere to surface areas such and can reveal fingerprints. Place the object in a sealed space with an open amount of super glue..wait...fingerprints will be revealed.

    In a PC there is constant air movement. The super glue will have dried thus no fumes. To the best of my knowledge there will be no harm. I have read nothing about the dangers of cyanoacrylate around solder masks.
  • Geeky1Geeky1 University of the Pacific (Stockton, CA, USA)
    edited November 2004
    Almost, but I'm not talking about the fumes. You ever left a nasty solvent like Goof Off on say, ABS plastic before?

    It does things. Very Bad things. Like melting the plastic. Cyanoacrylate (or superglue, whichever you prefer) is not a nice cocktail of chemicals. I was simply wondering whether putting superglue on a PCB would cause any harm to the PCB while it's drying.

    For some reason, i seem to remember that the two don't mix very well. Oh well. Maybe my memory is just going. (Don't say it Prime, I'm downloading it now... :rolleyes:;))

    Oh, and that thing on CSI isn't just a movie trick. ;)
  • MediaManMediaMan Powered by loose parts.
    edited November 2004
    Geeky1 wrote:
    Maybe my memory is just going. (Don't say it Prime, I'm downloading it now... :rolleyes:;))


    20 second "huh? time before I got that one. Varrrry good....Varrrrrry good. :)
  • edited December 2004
    why not use Epoxy?
  • shwaipshwaip bluffin' with my muffin Icrontian
    edited December 2004
    why not use Epoxy?

    hard to take off if you want to switch cooling systems...and depending on how large the heatsink you attach is, you may rip the gpu off the card.
  • RADARADA Apple Valley, CA Member
    edited January 2005
    OFF TOPIC ALERT!!! ;D
    TheGr81 wrote:
    .........


    Do hospitals use super glue? :eek:

    They sure do Gr8. They use a milder form of "super glue" in place of stitches all the time.

    1. Seals wound against infection

    2. Less scarring that stitches.
  • Sledgehammer70Sledgehammer70 California Icrontian
    edited September 2005
    dude this gives me ideas for a new cooling soultion :)
  • edited November 2008
    Well instead of leaving that slot open why dont you glue the plexi to the piece of metal that slides into the slot. It would help hold it in place,
  • SonorousSonorous F@H Fanatic US Icrontian
    edited November 2008
    3 years later? lolwut?
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