Installing the "Mass-Air-GPU" heatsink system
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(MA-9000 installed on a ATI Radeon 9500 Pro)
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The "Mass-Air" heatsink system
consists of:
- Formed aluminum high flow
air duct, anodized for a durable long lasting finish. Duct is mated to a
custom laser cut and formed stainless steel I/O bracket
- High performance, low pressure drop, low thermal resistance heatsink with
imbedded copper heat
spreader
- Two stainless steel mounting screws, locknuts, and precision stainless
steel preload springs
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I will be installing the Mass-Air-GPU
heatsink system on a ATI Radeon 9500 Pro video
card. There are different versions of the heatsink and duct available to
fit on other Radeon based cards. Most generic "powered by ATI" follow the
same basic board layout, some cards use different memory chips and
heatsinks. The small stock heatsink uses a high-speed fan for
cooling. Although the heatsink works ok, the fan is far too noisy for HTPC
use. |
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| Holding the stock heatsink are a pair of
spring loaded pins. The pins consist of two pieces, a outer bullet-nose
step peg and a inner locking pin. |
To detach the pins, pull the inner pin out as
shown above. After both locking pins are pulled up you can use a small
screwdriver to carefully push the stepped peg out from the bottom side of
card. Now you can lift the heatsink off the card. |
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| With the heatsink off, carefully clean the processor
chip on video card with denatured alcohol. Use your fingernail to scrape
off any thermal pad may
still be stuck to the chip. Do not rub the board surrounding the
chip, this board has small surface mount resistors that may become
dislodged. |
The high performance heatsink uses a copper
heat spreader to distribute the heat evenly into the aluminum fins. Clean
the surface thoroughly with denatured alcohol to prepare for the
application of thermal compound. Note the machined notch on bottom of
heatsink, this notch is to clear a large resistor on some cards. |
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| I will be using
Artic
Silver 5 thermal compound. spread a thin layer of compound on the
area of heatsink that contacts the chip. Wipe off the excess compound
leaving only the residue which penetrated into the pores of the copper
surface. A dull glaze will form on heatsink when done properly. |
Apply a dab of heatsink compound to chip, refer to the manufacturers
instructions. The plate around the chip on some boards is to help support
the heatsink and does not transfer much heat. Most of the heat is transferred
from the top of chip to the bottom of heatsink. A adequate layer of heatsink compound
or a thermal pad must be used on top of chip. Do not apply thermal
compound to the support plate as this will increase the distance between
chip and heatsink making heat transfer less effective. |
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| Now use a razor blade to spread the heatsink
thermal compound evenly across the chip. |
Insert the two screws into the backside of
the video card circuit board. Make sure the nylon washer is under the head
of the screw. Some boards like the 9600XT will require that you trim a
small flat on the side of the nylon washer to clear nearby components, you
want to make sure the washer is seated against the card and not resting on
a surface mount resistor. |
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Lay the card on a flat surface to hold the screws from falling out. Now
carefully lower the heatsink into place over the chip (make sure you have
applied heatsink compound). The heatsink should be positioned so the part
number on side of heatsink is facing up. |
Now insert a spring and nut over each screw.
Push down slightly while turning the nut. There should be just enough
thread to get the nut started. Once the nut is started, use a Phillips
screw driver and a 1/4" nut driver to tighten the nut into position. The precision coil springs apply equal pressure to the chip
and allow for expansion and contraction of the heatsink. To set
preload, simply tighten the locknuts until the top of nut is equal to or
slightly below the top edge of the heatsink. It is important for each
spring to have equal preload. Check to be sure the bottom of heatsink is
laying flat against the chip and not resting on any other board
components. |
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| Heatsink is now installed on the video card. |
Now the air duct can be checked prior to
installation. The air duct consists of a formed aluminum duct riveted to a
stainless steel I/O bracket. |
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| Place the duct along side the video card to
see that it clears any large components mounted on video card. The duct
was designed using a ATI based card, some other 3rd party cards may
differ.
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Heatsink installed on card and ready to mount
into computer. The heatsink and air duct clear all components on the
video card. |
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| First install the video card into the AGP
slot and tighten the hold down screw on I/O rail. Connect the power cord
if your card requires one. Now slide the duct in place into the slot next
to the video card. The position of the duct may be adjusted slightly while
tightening the I/O rail screw. |
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| Important Notes about using
your Mass-Air-GPU Heatsink System. Although this is a passive (no
fan) heatsink, it does require airflow for proper cooling. The idea is to
use the airflow through your case more efficiently. The rear mounted case
fans extract the hot air from inside the case, the air inlets allow cool
air to enter into the case. By strategically locating the inlet ducts and
sizing them properly, a uniform stream of air can flow through the case.
Efficiently utilizing every cubic inch of air passing through your case
will allow you to run your fans slower while still cooling all the vital
components.
The Mass-Air-GPU Heatsink System was designed for use in the "Heatsink
Case" but can also be used in other cases by following these guidelines.
Most cases have mounting points for extra fans. The extra fans should be
mounted so that they extract air from inside the case. Inlet fans can
still be used as long as they have about a 50% lower CFM rating than the
exhaust fans. Most power supplies have the fans pointed to extract air
from inside the case, this fan can be considered an exhaust fan. You also
need to look at how much air inlet area your case has. If you case has
lots of ventilation slots, the air will follow the path of least
resistance. This may lead to little or no air being drawn through the
Mass-Air-GPU air inlet duct. You can correct this by covering some of the
ventilation slots. Do not run your case with the cover open, as no air
will be drawn through video card heatsink
The heatsink used in the Mass-Air-GPU Heatsink System is very capable
of cooling high heat loads as long an adequate supply of cool air is
provided.
Guidelines for improved cooling:
- Mount your case fans so that they are exhausting air from inside the
case
- Do not use inlet fans or use fans that are smaller/slower than the
exhaust fans
- Do not run your case with the cover open, as no air will be drawn
through video card heatsink
- Do not remove extra I/O slot covers
- Reduce air inlet area or ventilation slots so that more air can flow
through duct
- Adjust fan speed to optimize the air flowing throughout
the case
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