How to Pelt your Graphics Card - Pt II, Using the new DD Maze4GPU-1 KIT! Options

[Marci]

K... so most of you will have read the "How to Pelt your Graphics Card" we posted a week or two ago... well since then, DangerDen have brought out the full kit n' kaboodle in the form of the Maze4GPU-1 KIT. (see: http://store.over-clock.com/DangerDen_Blocks.html)

This kit includes the Maze4GPU Block and Pelt Coldplate, Wrench & Bolts... as the standard Maze4GPU-1 did... but ALSO includes...

- 80w Peltier, potted, but with no molex connector.
- Precut Adhesive Neoprene Gaskets (we currently beleive the adhesive to be on the wrong side of the gasket but this does not affect how you assemble the kit etc, and the kit can be used 100% succesfully in it's current state.
- Dielectric Grease



You will also need your own Thermal Compound (we recommend AS3 for the pelt hotside, AC for the pelt coldside and GPU Core), and we'd advise to have a cloth or towel to hand, and possibly either some sealing-string (Homelux Bathroom Seal from B&Q - £5.99) or some extra neoprene just in case. If you want to hook it to a molex then an old offcut will do, and just solder the wires together or use a terminal block. Oh aye, and a pair o' scissors!

The card we're fitting it to for reference's sake is my Sapphire 9700 Pro card, with GPU vmod predone and measuring points fitted... (see: http://forums.over-clock.co.uk/cgi-bin....=31;t=7)



We recommend reading thru the original guide as it covers some of the pelt basics such sa checking which side is hot and cold etc... saves us duplicating the same info... which is HERE

So first off, get your graphics card and remove the heatsink...



and then take the thinnest neoprene gasket sheet. Flip it over so the sticky side (with it's backing paper still attached) is pointing upwards and lay it over the GPU, making sure that the mounting holes for your type of card line up correctly. If you are using an nVidia GF-4 then I think you can actually use it sticky side down, but for the GF-FX and ATI 9xxx series you have to go sticky side up.



Take a look at where it meets the card, and you'll see some of the larger components prevent it from laying flat... and there isn't enough Dielectric grease to fill all the gaps it would cause, so proper insulation practice is to cut away the offending areas!



Check it fits properly... then take your dielectric grease sachet and apply it to the area in which the gasket will make contact on the surface of the card...





Once you've got a nice smooth coat you can plonk the gasket on top... and press it down to ensure it makes a good contact. Once the entire job is complete the downforce of the block will hold it all together...



And then get yer compound on yer core!



Next we need to get the block ready... so take the GPU Block, remove the coldplate and lay the pelt on it in the correct orientation (see the previous guide linked to above for determining the hot & cold sides of your pelt) with the hotside to the waterblock and coldside to the coldplate.



Remember to use a thin layer of AS3 between the hotside and the block, and a medium layer of AC between the coldside and the coldplate. Then tighten down the coldplate evenly, going alternately & diagonally across corners...

Next, take the thicker gasket. Place a blob of dielectric on your fingertip and smooth around the inner edges of the hole for the coldplate to seal any gaps... and lay it over assembly, so that the sticky side will make contact with the surface of the neoprene you've fitted to your card. Again, for ATI the holes won't line up... we just nipped the neoprene in the appropriate place... and using a pair of scissors, nip a nothch out for each cable to sit in so that the neoprene sits level.



Sit the block onto your card WITHOUT removing the sticky backing...



Then remove it again and check the core contact area...



Remove the sticky backing from the card's layer...



Remove it from the blocks layer, and mount the waterblock! Press down on all the neoprene to ensure it all mates smoothly and seals any air gaps. Turn the card over, and place the remaining piece of neoprene (from the center of the thicker piece) onto the back of the card, lining it up to the coldplate on the opposite side... remove the sticky backing sheet and stick it down...

[Marci]

Next comes the mounting methodology... we go T-Washer, Spring, T-Washer, Bracket, Washer, Thumbscrew... as follows...









Pop on the thumbscrews, and evenly tighten it down. Note you don't need to tighten it too much as the neoprene packs it out to even the pressure.



Check round all the edges of the neoprene where it meets the block on the GPU Side of the card and if there are any visible signs of the pelt then just to be safe fill those gaps with dielectric grease. If you can see the coldplate then you may need to add some more neoprene or check that the card is mounted properly onto the core... under no circumstances run the card / pelt / block whilst the coldplate is exposed to ambient air as this is where condensation will form.

Pipe it up into your system, hook up the pelt and you're done!

[tingle]

:unclesam:

Top marks as usual, step by step guide of how to do it, can't beat pictures!

Nice price on the kit to, if I hadn't just got billed for my uni course and bought a printer plus DVD+-RW I would be buying one now

[tc_overclocker]

Brilliant kits.......really straight forward to install....never done anything like it in me life.....terrified of killing me new Hercules 9800Pro, but everything went fine......the cards now loverly and cool and has risen my GPU core limit by about 50MHz before I've even volt modded it yet  :D

Buy one now and start smashing those 3DMark scores  :p

[Guest_pizzaboy_*]

just a couple of questions before i order some pelt gear

1.is the gpu pelt setup ok to use on normal everyday computer use

2. when you mention volt mod on gpu,how excatly does that work,is it adjustable voltage or fixed ,and how do you benifit from it,

these might sound stupid questions just need to know

thanks guys

[Marci]

1 - works fine for windows use as long as you have a highend card which generates enough heat to prevent excessive condensation

2 - more voltage - higher clocks, same as with any other overclocking. Use an adjustable resistor and it's adjustable. Used a fixed resistor and it's fixed.

[Guest_pizzaboy_*]

marci thanks for quick response

when you say adjustable resister,does that mean the voltage is then adjustable in bios,or is it located somewhere else

if i order gear today any idea when it might arrive,i.e monday or tuesday

thanks m8

[tingle]

Adjustable resistor = variable resistor that you alter with a screwdriver

Turn your computer off, make half a turn with your screw driver and turn it on.  It is not a software/bios thing

[Marci]

Read posts in the vmodding section and all will be made apparent. Do NOT jump into pelts and vmodding without researching first.

Oh aye, and to do the vmods you need to have a very hot soldering iron and a steady hand, as you're soldering directly onto the legs of controller chips on the PCB of the graphics card.

[Guest_MikeHunt79_*]

1st post, so Hi all... It's nice to see a UK forum for this kinda thing.

Exellent guide, btw, I've done Vmodding before, but the whole peltier issue seems quite daunting... Just one question. 80w seems like quite a lot of power thru the molex. I'm using a Tagan 480w PSU, and I'm not really sure if it is up to the job. Is it possible to use a seperate PSU at all? Do you know if the pelt runs off the 12v line... I can get a bench psu that will do around 10amps at 12v (120w) quite cheaply.

[Marci]

Runs off 12v rail, 10A @ 16v, so yer bench PSU should be fine... altho yes, the Tagan will run it no sweat anyways...

[Guest_MikeHunt79_*]

Ok, thanks. I guess it must be cooling quite a bit better now it's overvolted (16v)? Also, what sorta overclock did you get out of your 9700? I want to get one for my 9800, and I've heard of people getting 485MHz with this setup.

[Guest_LenniZ_*]

Hi, I'm just wondering, do i need an additional psu to power the 80w peltier ? extra radiator ? now i have a OCZ 520w powerstream and Black Ice Extreme2, do i need something better ?

[Rockin]

Hi, I'm just wondering, do i need an additional psu to power the 80w peltier ? extra radiator ? now i have a OCZ 520w powerstream and Black Ice Extreme2, do i need something better ?

[snapback]93196[/snapback]

Avoid resurrecting ancient (last post a month or more old) threads unless you have something really INCREDIBLE to add to the matter.

No, it'll run off the PSU no probs. The rad should be fine too