ATI X1900XT - Who has installed the Artic Cooling Accelero X2?

[NATO]

Hi,

I'm thrilled with the performance of the X1900XT installed in my Mac Pro, but I do notice that when playing WoW the fan does spin up and down periodically which isn't overly noticeable, late at night it does detract from the otherwise totally silent system

My question is targetted towards those who have upgraded the stock heatsink/fan assembly with the Artic Cooling Accelero X2. I'm looking to know just how easy it was to install, your thoughts about the installation and of course the result afterwards in terms of noise. Any photos of the card installed in the Mac Pro itself would also be a huge bonus.

Many Thanks.

 

[FocusAndEarnIt]

On that high spec'd machine, I wouldn't touch it; you'll loose AppleCare.

Just leave it be...

 

[Origin]

I did it without any problems and I'm far from a real specialist
The Accelero X2 is a dream to install, it excatly replace the original cooling system. My hands were shaking a bit while screwing but finally, the job was easy

There's some photos of the X1900 XT with the accelero in my MacPro here :
http://www.killy.net/photos/main.php?g2_itemId=16329

Now, my X1900 XT is nearly silent, even while playing games under XP or Mac OS X

 

[topgunn]

I was a bit concerned that it wouldn't fit. That and the reviews I read didn't seem to be very pleased with the noice it emitted. Afterall, it is no longer a Silencer.

It's great news to hear that a) it fits and b) it's quiet.

 

[knome]

doesn't that fan blow air into thee case. Thats the main reason i haven't done it yet it looks like it would mess with the case air flow.

 

[Abulia]

Incredibly easy. Like a 10 min job at worst.

Makes the X1900 dead quiet at full load. Also gets rid of the "whirl" when you reboot/wake from sleep.

I highly recommend.

 

[Origin]

doesn't that fan blow air into thee case. Thats the main reason i haven't done it yet it looks like it would mess with the case air flow.

No, the fan get the "fresh air" from inside the case and blow it away to the holes of the bracket of the X1900XT, like the original cooling system. I don't know if I'm clear ... sorry for my poor english (French guy inside)

 

[lowfi]

i did...

getting 690mhz vpu core & 725 memory in windows. Death silent.

Installation took me about 20min.

 

[novagamer]

i did...

getting 690mhz vpu core & 725 memory in windows. Death silent.



Installation took me about 20min.

What program are you using to overclock the card? I can't get the o/c to stick in the Ati Control Center and ATi Tool reported my clocks as being outrageously high, in the multi-thousands of MHz.

 

[NATO]

Wow, great posts and pictures - many thanks! Only thing I need to do now is consider the loss of Applecare on the card vs the completely deathly silence and the loss of the 'whoosh' when starting up etc.

 

[lowfi]

What program are you using to overclock the card? I can't get the o/c to stick in the Ati Control Center and ATi Tool reported my clocks as being outrageously high, in the multi-thousands of MHz.

Ive only use the card to play games in windows to be honest Ati control center in windows has a buildin overclock tool.

About the guarantee.... its easy to put the old cooler back on again.

 

[Origin]

Yes, as easy as replace it by the Accelero, in fact

 

[Jiddick ExRex]

Why do you lose AC when using this? Can't you just pick it off when sending it to them?

 

[Glen Quagmire]

Why do you lose AC when using this? Can't you just pick it off when sending it to them?

Of course you can, so long as you didn't mess up the old cooler when you took it off to install the new one.

I'm quite tempted to join the Accelero fray - my Mac Pro is not as quiet as I thought it would be.

 

[Origin]

Perhaps we could found a guild

"The Guild of the Maccelero's geeks"

 

[James_C]

I had exactly the same problem - stock cooler on the X1900 became to noisy when the GPU was put under load.

I purchased the Artic Cooling Accelero X2 and installed in 20 mins. The Mac Pro is almost silent - the only part that makes a noise is the Hard Disk. Very happy with the upgrade.

For those people that are worried about AC you have a couple of options either

1. Replace the old fan (you would need a new set of thermal pads and paste)

2. You could always buy a new X1900 from Apple

Really AC should only be invalidated for the graphics card, not for say the hard disk or motherboard failing.

 

[vinylator]

To the people with the X1900XT, and with the standard cooler, can you hear your Mac Pro? Becouse I do, I constantly hear the ati cooler humming. Is that normal, it's not under heavy load, i'm just browsing.
Is there a way, that i can turn the cooler on the ati card off for a short period? So that i can be sure its the cooler?

 

[lowfi]

Only way is to unplug it i guess. I also heard my radeon when it was "idle"

 

[miniConvert]

I can bearly hear mine, but then this is all very subjective. I've used many computers in my time and the Mac Pro is exceptionally quiet. When the card is under heavy load yes, the fan can get quite loud - not enough for me to consider changing the cooler though and certainly not the loudest I've heard.

I'd imagine one would need to be pretty bothered by the sounds of the stock cooler to consider changing it.

 

[Zoowatch]

so... relative to the G7300un

is the X1900 noticably more noisy when both are der heavy loads?

 

[MacBoobsPro]

Slightly off topic but Ive got really sensitive hearing and can hear my ATIX800XT actually working. Not the fans, but a high pitched noise as it processes. So spare a thought for me with your 'loud graphics cards' I can also hear if the TV has been left on standby when im in another room It has to be quiet for me to hear it though. Drives me mad sometimes

 

[thagomizer]

Another success story. I installed the X2 in my Apple 1900 XT. I got my card from ProVantage, and the X2 from NewEgg. Ask ProVantage nicely, and they will likely drop the price for you.

Without the X2, the fan does spin up noticeably (from a low hum to a loud whir) when playing Quake 4 at high res. I was able to run timedemos at 1280x1024 and under without the fan spinning up, but anything higher than that, and the stock fan would kick up speed.

With the X2... completely silent. Just the very faint noise of the case fan and hard drive. I ran Quake 4 and Civ 4 for about two hours and it never got any louder. This is 10 times quieter than my previous G5 with X800 XT.

 

[orangezorki]

Sorry to resurrect this thread, but I'm in a similar position. Yesterday, I purchased the X1900xt as the upgrade pack and put it in my Mac Pro. As a shop nearby had the X2 in stock, for not that much money, I decided to get it 'just in case'. Well, it is a bit annoying, and is definitely the loudest fan in the case even when idle, so I'll probably give it a shot. However, I'd only say that I am average in my knowledge of these things. For example, I have built a PC myself, but it took a while and was not that easy. I have a few questions that I'd really like to know before I attempt it:

1. Where do I put the card while I'm doing it? I've heard that the outside of the anti-static bags can be very bad. What about a bare wooden table-top?

2. What's best to clean off the old thermal paste, and how fastidious do I have to be. Would a medical-type isopropyl alcowipe be suitable?

3. When I installed the x1900 the first time, it works fine and clicked into place, but I can't quite get the hole on the bracket to line up with the hole for the lower spring loaded screw on the retainer. Should I worry about this?

Thanks for any help,

David

 

[thagomizer]

I used this stuff to clean the GPU.

I did the swap on a piece of paper on a wooden table top. Don't wear a sweater or socks if you can avoid it, and make sure you've discharged any static from your body (touch the inside of your Mac's case while it's plugged in), and don't move around too much. Avoid touching the RAM chips with anything other than the thermal pads. If you're really worried about it, use a n anti-static wrist strap.

Save your old screws from the stock fan, because you'll need two of the longer ones to put the X2 on. This is because the Mac card has the red board extender, which imparts up some thickness that most of the PC X1900 boards don't have. It'll be obvious where they go once you try it.

I'm not sure how your board is lining up, but I had to bend it about 1 mm (or less) to get the PCIe screw hole to line up. Not a big deal. As nice as the screwless design of the new slots is, it's also a pain because the empty slot covers keep falling out. You can keep them together with some masking tape while you're installing the card, then take the tape off.

 

[phantasm10]

2. What's best to clean off the old thermal paste, and how fastidious do I have to be. Would a medical-type isopropyl alcowipe be suitable?

Acetone (nail polish remover) works well. Easier than an alcowipe.