Evercool VC-RE NF4/RDX200 chipset replacement fan + 5% SVC Coupon Code

[lanparty313]

Thanks. Sorry to steer the topic offboard, but the timings on them are 2.5-3-3-6, are these good enough? From the looks of it, they're "Winbond" chips also, as a code on them contains 'BHDC' - still good?

 

Oh, and stop being lazy and test the Vantec If I get my board up and running, I'll let you know what I think of both the board and the Vantec fan. Hopefully my opinion of both will be positive

[Guest Kobalt]

I've still got to get around to installing the Vantec

 

Any initial impressions on size of the unit compared to the evercool one?

[Angry_Games]

Any initial impressions on size of the unit compared to the evercool one?

actually have not even opened the package yet...everything that came in my SVC order is still laying on the floor =(

 

I'm hoping to get around to it by tomorrow or at least this weekend by the latest...been awful busy this week and last week...

[arklab]

actually have not even opened the package yet...everything that came in my SVC order is still laying on the floor =(

 

I'm hoping to get around to it by tomorrow or at least this weekend by the latest...been awful busy this week and last week...

Say, Happy, when you do install it, maybe you could try it on the Expert.

I had a lot of trouble with stable mounting of an Evercool RF.

I've come to think it may have been caused by a combination of the mounting holes being a little too "wide apart" compaired to the motherboard holes.

When the nylon pins with indivdual springs went in I think the downward pressure was unequal.

This allowed a condition that caused the cooler to "rock" or "flop" back-and-forth.

 

The RE (with it's one long leaf spring) seems to press down on the middle of the cooler, just like pressing down on the hub of the fan with your finger - therefore it's stable.

 

So far just a theory I have, but since the Vantec looks similar to the RF, maybe it will have a similar problem?

 

What do you think?

[Angry_Games]

quick update as I've been running ATI Tool on my main rig that this is typed from to clock my watercooled X1900 to 745/846 and testing stability...I decided that in between the long breaks of testing, I would break out one of these Iceberq thingies

 

 

well

 

 

I can say that I am impressed by how little real estate they eat up...with the Evercool, a vid card in either PCI-E slot (on the NF4 Expert which is what I installed it to, so arklab rejoice lol), the vid card's backend would hang over at least a little of the evercool

 

 

with the Iceberq, my X850XT PE doesn't touch it in EITHER slot...the install was a little more awkward than than the Evercool (ok..a LOT more awkward but then this is the very first time I installed one, and it WASN'T THAT bad really...just different lol).

 

 

I decided to go installing it, and looked around the lab and every damn board from NF4 to NF4 Expert to RDX200 to CFX3200-DR all have an Evercool on them already lol

 

but I spotted an NF4 Expert with the stock chipset fan and yelled out HA! and ran to it and snatched it up before an Evercool could attach itself.

 

I could take pics now, but I am honestly waiting until my new Canon A620 digital camera arrives as this is the perfect opportunity to learn how to use the new camera (as I have mastered the old camera as you can tell if you have seen any of my good close-up pics).

 

And the first time I tried to boot it all...the sucker would make my monitor turn solid green light (ie it didnt blink anymore so that means the board posted correctly) but wouldn't show me a screen...so I thought ^%#@#$#@ i must have chipped the chipset (it IS a LITTLE awkward of an install like I said).

 

But I just unplugged the monitor power from the back, waited a second, and plugged it back in and blammo it was the monitor having the problem, not the board (this stupid 17" Samsung CRT has had major problems since the day it arrived and I never bothered to get it fixed because shipping a 17" monitor is like shipping a computer box full of bricks or power supplies).

 

 

ANYWAY

 

 

its on like Donkey Kong yo...I'll throw out some more info in a bit

[Guest LithoTech]

Say, Happy, when you do install it, maybe you could try it on the Expert.

I had a lot of trouble with stable mounting of an Evercool RF.

I've come to think it may have been caused by a combination of the mounting holes being a little too "wide apart" compaired to the motherboard holes.

When the nylon pins with indivdual springs went in I think the downward pressure was unequal.

This allowed a condition that caused the cooler to "rock" or "flop" back-and-forth.

 

The RE (with it's one long leaf spring) seems to press down on the middle of the cooler, just like pressing down on the hub of the fan with your finger - therefore it's stable.

 

So far just a theory I have, but since the Vantec looks similar to the RF, maybe it will have a similar problem?

 

What do you think?

 

Interesting you should mention this, because I ran into this phenomenon with the vc-re when I mounted it.

 

This spring leaf does indeed apply pressure more in the center, when it is finally in place correctly.

 

Yet when I first had it on, and both pins appeared to be fully in place, I noticed that the heatsink rocked -- more side to side of the leaf, not back and forth. The more I fiddled with it the more I was convinced this will not do. It was only a moment or so into this and POP one side came out! :eek:

 

So it wasn't in place correctly after all! The pins in this leaf are slightly farther apart than the holes in the mobo (and is noted in the video), but it will fit with a little determination!

 

Once I reapplied AS5 and remounted it again, this time it didn't rock, wasn't loose, and will not come off.

 

The point I'm making is, that for all intents and purposes this cooler appeared to be fully in place and it wasn't. The KEY to determining if it is, check if it rocks side to side on the leaf spring. Even a little movement should be a tip-off that one of the pins isn't fully through the hole.

 

So now I am wishing I matched the two coolers' bases together, looking through the holes to see just how close they are a match. I'm thinking the stock DFI cooler is a little large for the mobo holes too, and the individual spring system allows for better alignment of the pins to the holes.

 

So maybe someone else that is still due to install one of these two coolers could check and compare the mounting holes with the stock unit, just for interest sake... it's not like it matters a hole lot like if we have a choice in what chipset cooler DFI ships with the mobo, but good info to know.

[Angry_Games]

unsticking this thread because it has been up here long enough

 

plus I have installed the Vantec Iceberq thingy-ma-jigger today and I like it better and will be giving you more info about that as soon as my new digital camera arrives and I get a couple other machines fixed up for customers.

 

so if you absolutely must have a replacement today, get an Evercool VC-RE as they are still quite fantastic and at $8.99 they will outlast the stock DFI ones and perform better for sure

 

 

but if you can wait a week or so, then do so because this Vantec one is pretty cool and I think $1 more or something.

[xav_B]

Got myself the vantec ccb-1ac, because i couldn't find the evercool one in holland.

Is the included thermalpaste ok or should i go n get as5? How big a temp gap d'u reckon it'll make?

I actually already replaced it with no difference maybe 1-2C, but i'm a noob and prob did something wrong tho eh.

cheers

[Angry_Games]

you can use the supplied TIM...it won't be that big of a difference going to AS5 (i prefer Ceramique or other non-conductive TIM's on my chipsets personally anyway)

[Guest LithoTech]

Got myself the vantec ccb-1ac, because i couldn't find the evercool one in holland.

Is the included thermalpaste ok or should i go n get as5? How big a temp gap d'u reckon it'll make?

I actually already replaced it with no difference maybe 1-2C, but i'm a noob and prob did something wrong tho eh.

cheers

 

Welp, 10+ points for watching your temps and knowing the previous ones!

 

Couple things could be causing that.

 

I had a quick read and look at AH's new pics of his vantec install, and he mentions it is a little more finicky to install, so the first thing you should check is that it is fully seated on the chipset. If you can, pull the mobo (I know /sigh) and check the plastic pins on the bottom, are they fully through and locked? If you insist on not pulling the mobo, press on the sides of the vantec, gentally, and see if it rocks side to side in any way. It should be firm, if there is any sort of play or looseness, it's pull the mobo time.

 

You may have used too much of that TIM, or that TIM is complete crap. If you have verified that the cooler is definately seated correctly, then this is very cool (no pun intended), because we now know that either that TIM is crap or you have too much or too little on the chip.

 

In either case, you are in pull-the-mobo land. Release the pins on the bottom of the mobo and remove the cooler. Note how much TIM there is on both surfaces, did any spill over the edge of the chip? Is there gobs of it on either surface?

 

If it spilled over in any way, you had too much on there, try again.

 

First, start clean, very clean, start fresh, remove every trace of the old TIM. Give both surfaces a final clean with alcohol before the new application, and a short squirt of canned air directly after the alcohol and again directly before applying the new TIM. A few stray snowflakes of dust on your surface can cause hotspots, but I don't think it is as critical with this situation as a CPU, yet some of this dust can be large bunnies. A good habit in this sort of routine, is to always give the work area/case a fairly good clean before working in it, get most if not all the dust out of the equation right from the start. Clean the case outside, not in your work area lol, don't ask me how I know this.

 

Apply a very small amount in the center of the chip. You can go ahead and apply the cooler here, or do a bit of your on spatchula work with a make-shift tool. I prefer to spread the TIM to a very thin layer, and let the cooler do the rest of the work... I don't trust the cooler to evenly spread the TIM across the entire surface of the chip -- this goes for any application for me. I'm also a bit of a perfectionist and neatfreak when it comes to tools and equipment lol. I use a medium sized plastic tie to smoosh it around a bit, and then the best tool is a cheap library card or my favorite: my trusty GCIU Local 525 Union card. They are thinner than a credit card and will flex easier. The trick is to draw the card across the surface of the chip with an even pressure, scraping off excess TIM and leaving a very thin even layer. With practice, it is easy and you can get a very very good smooth thin layer. Try to do the deed in one pass, and it's fine if you mess up: just use the plastic tie to take some TIM off the card and smoosh it back on the chip and take another swipe at it. One more thing to watch for with chipset applications, is when you approach the end of the swipe, you want to lift your hand off the chip so you don't slap the card down on the mobo and smear TIM all over it. If you do, take your time and clean it all off, conductive or not, get some q-tips and a magnifying glass and clean it up! :cool:

 

Wow, that was a paragraph and a half.

 

OK, so if the cooler is seated just fine, and the TIM is applied perfectly, and you still have only a couple degrees improvement, cool! (No pun intended!) Now we really know that TIM is crap! :mad:

 

Get some AC 5 or Ceramic from a place like here (I've no idea if these gyuys are good, I just googled till I found the decent price) who have it for dirt cheap $2.99 a 2.5g tube:

 

Arctic Silver Ceramique High Density Thermal Compound (2.5 gram) $2.99

http://www.nexfan.com/thseco.html

http://www.nexfan.com/arctic-silver-ceramique-2-5gram.html

 

If that doesn't work, I throw in the towel, my keyboard, mouse, and a half-dead power supply and retire from blethering in discussion forums for the next 5 years. :eek2:

 

Please, don't make me do that, I really like my G15 keyboard, the hell with forums, gimme my keyboard!

 

.

[xav_B]

Wow Lithotech thanks for the great explanation..

i pulled out the mobo- there was paste all over the place for one. Also I initially used the dfi fan's pins and now placed with the vantec pins- its slightly more stable now, but still wobbles if u press the pinless sides. the pins defintily came through to the other side. I borrowed some AS5 for this occasion too.

Although temps still look the same. Its also hard to check the temps at the moment because the summer sun's scorching hard since yesterday. Living in the attic, i wouldn't be surpised if its 40 C in here.

 

Was wondering if all these 10C drops everyone's having is before or after TIM settles.

 

cheers

[Angry_Games]

Was wondering if all these 10C drops everyone's having is before or after TIM settles.

 

honestly...it really depends on a per-situation basis

 

you and I might have the EXACT same hardware setup...I mean EXACT SAME

 

and you might get 5C lower temps than me just because of ambient air temp in your room, or because your humidity level is 9% lower etc

 

you cannot really base your results against someone else's because when it comes to temps...there's just too many factors invovled.

 

Also another thing to keep in mind is that you might see no difference in temps between one cooler and another, but 50% of the reason you switched coolers was to cut out all that whiney noise the stock cooler was making

 

Chipsets are capable of doing up to 90C without harm, though I tend to start getting antsy at 70C

 

but if my chipset temps are 55C and the fan is not making noise, and i've got decent airflow that allows that 55C hot air to escape before it 'infects' my other areas that are temp sensitive like gpu or cpu....then I don't worry about the temp

 

Noise was always my biggest concern when I started changing out the chipset fans. I could really care less about temps as long as they were under 70C, and I've never had one go over 50C really after I swapped out to an Evercool or Vantec...but the noise levels have dropped tremendously