Arctic Cooling ATI Silencer 5 Rev. 2

[W1zzard]

[Page=Introduction & Packaging]
Introduction

From the manufacturer Arctic Cooling (http://www.arctic-cooling.com):

Today we test Revision 2 of the Arctic Cooling ATI Silencer 5 which is designed for the PCI-Express Radeon X800 and X850. The cooler can be used on ATI X800 (R430) (XL), ATI X850 (R480) PRO, XT, XT PE.

The cooler does not fit some Sapphire X800 cards where two capacitors block the cooler installation.

<table border="1" class="resulttable" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="3">
<tr>
<th scope="row">Fan</th>
<td scope="row">72 mm</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th scope="row">Overall Dimensions (active GPU Cooler):</th>
<td scope="row">218.5 x 100 x 31 mm</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th scope="row">Overall Dimensions (passive Memory Cooler):</th>
<td scope="row">137 x 103 x 35 mm</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th scope="row">Rated Fan Speed:</th>
<td scope="row">2000 RPM</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th valign="top" scope="row">Bearing:</th>
<td valign="top" scope="row">ARCTIC Ceramic Bearing</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th valign="top" scope="row">Noise Level:</th>
<td valign="top" scope="row">0.5 Sone</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th valign="top" scope="row">Weight (active GPU Cooler):</th>
<td valign="top" scope="row">100 g</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th valign="top" scope="row">Weight (passive Memory Cooler):</th>
<td valign="top" scope="row">56 g</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th valign="top" scope="row">Warranty:</th>
<td valign="top" scope="row">6 Years</td>
</tr>
</table>

Packaging

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ArcticCooling/ATISilencer5_Rev2/images/package1_small.jpg (http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ArcticCooling/ATISilencer5_Rev2/images/package1.jpg) http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ArcticCooling/ATISilencer5_Rev2/images/package2_small.jpg (http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ArcticCooling/ATISilencer5_Rev2/images/package2.jpg)

Box contents:

VGA cooler with fan and screws
Backside cooling plate
PCI slot cover
Instruction manual
Arctic Cooling Sticker


http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ArcticCooling/ATISilencer5_Rev2/images/package3_small.jpg (http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ArcticCooling/ATISilencer5_Rev2/images/package3.jpg)

The first revision used a heatsink base which was higher than the surrounding copper, resulting in less than optimal flatness. Revision two does not use this, so the surface is much flatter.

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ArcticCooling/ATISilencer5_Rev2/images/flatness1_small.jpg (http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ArcticCooling/ATISilencer5_Rev2/images/flatness1.jpg)

In the past, Arctic has been including thermal paste with their VGA coolers. I don't know why they are using a thermal pad now, maybe too many users messed up the application.
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ArcticCooling/ATISilencer5_Rev2/images/protection1_small.jpg (http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ArcticCooling/ATISilencer5_Rev2/images/protection1.jpg) http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ArcticCooling/ATISilencer5_Rev2/images/protection2_small.jpg (http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ArcticCooling/ATISilencer5_Rev2/images/protection2.jpg) http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ArcticCooling/ATISilencer5_Rev2/images/protection3_small.jpg (http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ArcticCooling/ATISilencer5_Rev2/images/protection3.jpg)
The thermal pad is protected by a small plastic cover. Unfortunately our sample got treated bad on its way and the pad got damaged, maybe there is an issue with Arctic's packing. However, damage this small should not have any effect on the cooling performance, if you consider that the mounting pressure will compress that pad a lot anyway.

[pagE=Installation]
Installation

As always when installing a VGA Silencer, installation is very easy and takes only a few minutes.

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ArcticCooling/ATISilencer5_Rev2/images/installation1_small.jpg (http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ArcticCooling/ATISilencer5_Rev2/images/installation1.jpg) http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ArcticCooling/ATISilencer5_Rev2/images/installation2_small.jpg (http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ArcticCooling/ATISilencer5_Rev2/images/installation2.jpg) http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ArcticCooling/ATISilencer5_Rev2/images/installation3_small.jpg (http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ArcticCooling/ATISilencer5_Rev2/images/installation3.jpg) http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ArcticCooling/ATISilencer5_Rev2/images/installation4_small.jpg (http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ArcticCooling/ATISilencer5_Rev2/images/installation4.jpg) http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ArcticCooling/ATISilencer5_Rev2/images/installation5_small.jpg (http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ArcticCooling/ATISilencer5_Rev2/images/installation5.jpg) http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ArcticCooling/ATISilencer5_Rev2/images/installation6_small.jpg (http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ArcticCooling/ATISilencer5_Rev2/images/installation6.jpg) http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ArcticCooling/ATISilencer5_Rev2/images/installation7_small.jpg (http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ArcticCooling/ATISilencer5_Rev2/images/installation7.jpg) http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ArcticCooling/ATISilencer5_Rev2/images/installation8_small.jpg (http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ArcticCooling/ATISilencer5_Rev2/images/installation8.jpg)

The second revision is using thermal pads to improve contact with the memory chips. Contact is excellent now, Revision 1 had a few problems with it. It is easy to get the thermal pads off when removing the cooler.

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ArcticCooling/ATISilencer5_Rev2/images/cable_small.jpg (http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ArcticCooling/ATISilencer5_Rev2/images/cable.jpg)

The fan connector cable is a bit long, but it is possible to hide the excess cable under the cooling fan.

Some motherboards, like the DFI LanParty NF4, place the chipset fan right under the video card. Arctic's big fan casing is reducing the air flow on some of these boards. On the LanParty it helps if you move the video card to the second PCI-E x16 slot.

[PAGE=Performance]
Performance

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ArcticCooling/ATISilencer5_Rev2/images/contact1_small.jpg (http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ArcticCooling/ATISilencer5_Rev2/images/contact1.jpg) http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ArcticCooling/ATISilencer5_Rev2/images/contact2_small.jpg (http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ArcticCooling/ATISilencer5_Rev2/images/contact2.jpg)

After the initial installation the heatsink was immediately removed and the contact area was inspected. The new heatsink base clearly improves contact with the GPU core. It is interesting that there is always a bit less contact near one of the corners. We have seen this in all our previous reviews of other Arctic Cooling coolers. While some other coolers show better contact, the cooling performance of the ATI Silencer 5 is proof, that the contact is sufficient.

[hr]

For the overclocking tests I used my ATITool overclocking utility version 0.25 Beta 1. ATITool has the unique ability to detect artifacts, or flaws, in a rendered image. As defined by ATITool, the maximum stable overclock on a card is the speed at which it is able to consistently (15 minutes in this test) produce no errors, or artifacts. ATITool detects ANY artifacts, even ones which will not be visible in game. Using the human eye to detect artifacts introduces subjectivity into the test, so despite the fact that an ATITool tested overclock will be characteristically lower than a human one, I will use this.

Temperature was measured with one case side open by reading the on-die thermal diode of our X800 Pro PCI-Express. Idle temperature was measured after letting Windows sit one hour at the desktop. Load temperature was measured after running 3DMark2001 looped for one hour. Both at the card's default clock of 507 / 520 Mhz.

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ArcticCooling/ATISilencer5_Rev2/images/stock1_small.jpg (http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ArcticCooling/ATISilencer5_Rev2/images/stock1.jpg) http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ArcticCooling/ATISilencer5_Rev2/images/stock2_small.jpg (http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ArcticCooling/ATISilencer5_Rev2/images/stock2.jpg)
We will be comparing the ATI Silencer 5 against this stock cooler of the X850 Pro. As you can see, the stock cooler has a copper base, is big and has memory cooling as well, so it will be hard for Arctic's coolers to compete against it.

Arctic Silver Lumière was used as thermal interface material for the GPU core in all installations. Lumière is a specially engineered testing compound - it needs no settle in time to reach its maximum performance, but it's not designed for permanent use. Arctic's Thermal Pad was removed using Arctic Silver ArctiClean (review here (http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ArcticSilver/ArctiClean/)).

The fan was connected to the video card's fan output which features dynamic fan speeds - the fan speed is variated based on temperature. For all temperatures below 65°C it is 54%. The VGA Silencer does such a good job at keeping the card cool that it's always running at those 54%. I find this does not show the full potential of the VGA Silencer, so I also tested with fan speeds forced to 100%.

<table class="resulttable" border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="3">
<tr>
<th valign="top" scope="row">Radeon X800 Pro PCIE</th>
<td>Maximum Core Clock</td>
<td>Sound level</td>
<td>Temperature Load</td>
<td>Temperature Idle</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th valign="top" scope="row">Stock cooler - dynamic fan</th>
<td>579 Mhz</td>
<td>48 dbA</td>
<td>61°C</td>
<td>38°C</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th valign="top" scope="row">Stock cooler - fan 100%</th>
<td>582 Mhz</td>
<td>62 dbA</td>
<td>57°C</td>
<td>38°C</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th valign="top" scope="row">ATI Silencer 5 dynamic</th>
<td>579 Mhz</td>
<td>39 dbA</td>
<td>56°C</td>
<td>35°C</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th valign="top" scope="row">ATI Silencer 5 100%</th>
<td>584 Mhz</td>
<td>52 dbA</td>
<td>53°C</td>
<td>35°C</td>
</tr>
</table>

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ArcticCooling/ATISilencer5_Rev2/images/graph1.gif http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ArcticCooling/ATISilencer5_Rev2/images/graph2.gif http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ArcticCooling/ATISilencer5_Rev2/images/graph3.gif

No matter what the actual fan speed is, the ATI Silencer 5 can keep your card cool. Even at the slow 54%, which the card supplies with the default settings, it's working really good. The 100% setting does not really increase overclocking potential much, I would say it is best to keep the fan running at whatever the video card sets it at.
The clicking noises which Revision 1 had are completely gone now, at any fan speed. Also the new fan seems to be even quieter than the fan of the first revision. Overall I must say that the fan is VERY quiet. Together with a high-end CPU cooler you can build a silent system which still is a power house.

When using an X800 with its smaller cooler, the differences will be much bigger. Here the ATI Silencer 5 can only give you a little better temperatures and a few extra MHz of overclocking, BUT it does that with a lot less noise as the sound level measurements show.

[page=Fan Noise, Value & Conclusion]
Fan Noise
In order to give a measurement of how loud the fan is, we used an IEC651 Type II sound level meter on the dbA slow setting.

The distance between fan and sound level meter was 10cm. Please note that this is very little, compared to the "standard" measurements, which are made at 1m distance. We had to do this, to get proper readings with our sound level meter, because we obviously can't spend thousands of dollars on audio measuring equipment.

All tested fans were connected to an external 12V lab PSU. 12V is the maximum rated fan speed. Some motherboards/video cards use slower fan speeds and slowly ramp them up with temperatures. This is also the reason, why the X800 series seems to have such a "loud" fan. During normal usage its fan is usually running at 33% to 66%. That is why we also tested the video card fans at 50% (6 V).

http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/ArcticCooling/ATISilencer5_Rev2/images/graph4.gif

If you consider, that the cooling performance of the ATI Silencer 5 is a bit better than the X850 Pro stock cooler, these numbers are really impressive. The difference between stock and ATI Silencer is about 10 dbA. With the logarithmic dbA scale this comes down to half the perceived sound level of the X850 Pro cooler.

A major problem is the limited availability of the cooler outside Europe. Many users in our forums would love to get an Arctic cooler, but can't find them for sale in their country. We hope Arctic Cooling can resolve these issues in the future.

Value and Conclusion

<table width="100%" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="0" id="result">
<tr><th>http://www.techpowerup.com/images/dollar.gif</th>
<td>
The ATI Silencer 5 is selling for about $30 which is a good price for this cooler.
</td>
</tr><tr>
<th>http://www.techpowerup.com/images/thumbup.gif</th>
<td>
Really silent
Great performance
Copper base
Easy to install
Cools memory as well
Fan connects to video card
All issues from previous revision were fixed
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<th>http://www.techpowerup.com/images/thumbdown.gif</th>
<td>
Limited availability
Only compatible with X800/X850 PCI-E
Fan cable is too long
Ramsinks use thermal pads
Blocks chipset air flow on the DFI Lanparty NF4
</td></tr>
<tr><th>9.5</th>
<td>With the ATI Silencer 5 Revision 2, Arctic Cooling has delivered a top-notch product again. Being constantly on top is hard, but it seems Arctic is getting good at it. While other manufacturers are happy with having a good product which sells, Arctic does care about their product quality and fixes problems that are reported by the users.<br />
All previous issues were fixed, the fan is running very quiet now, is more silent, but performance is still there. The bad contact of the memory cooling was fixed too, now you can get a few extra MHz out of your memory as well.<br />
If you need a new cooler for your ATI PCI-E videocard you must definitely consider the ATI Silencer 5, if you can find it in shops.</td></tr>
<tr><th></th><td>http://www.techpowerup.com/images/editorschoice.gif</td></tr>
</table>

[Unregistered]

i know i am unregistered. but this is a true tale.

i have had two of these coolers. and the fan on both has died. it seems to be a somewhat common problem around the net (do a google search). i am waiting for the warranty replacement now and will sell them on ebay or something. since i obviously cannot trust the fan on the Silencer, i went ahead and replaced the Silencer with a zalman VF700-CU.

the zalman is alright, but not quite as good as the Silencer. there is about a 1-2C temp difference between the two at idle and a load (in the Silencer's favor). and i liked the fact that the Silencer could be hooked into the video card's fan header for control. i have to control the zalman manually.

on a good note, when both the Silencer's fans died, the idle temp of the GPU core never rose above 56C. although when i started up a 3D app (by accident) the temp soared and the screen went blank. i had one of the first Silencers on my ATI 9800, and i really like the fact that it exhausts the heat out the back of the case. so maybe i will try Silencers again on my next video card.

[SPHERE]

im wandering y this got a 9.5 and the zalman got a 8.9?!?!

the zalman is alot smaller, has better contact, cools better, is compatable with almost all curent, next and, last gen cards and, imo looks better

[Unregistered]

I bought one of these for my X800 XL and my fan also died, but I discovered that if you unplug the power cable to the fan(with the pc off of course) and plug it back in, the fan will come back on; but only for a few minutes. I'm not sure if there is a permanent solution to this but if anyone has heard anything I'd like to know.

[Unregistered]

i am the person with the two dead fans. in trying to figure out what happened exactly, i took an old power supply i use for testing, jimmy-rigged a connector so i could plug into the fans directly (tested on some other old fans to make sure the setup worked and it did), and the fans were still dead. just for clarification, i run my computer 24/7 (doing SETI) and while not playing 3D apps, i underclock my X800XL @ 300/390 just to be safe. the first Silencer died after about 4 weeks. the second one died after about a week. good thing i keep a close watch on the system temps b/c of my SETI crunching.

like i said before, i really love the silencers and how they work (it worked better than the new zalman i got), but there is just something wrong with the current fan design. maybe next time.

[Unregistered]

where do you buy Arctic Silver Lumière?? where are the specs on it also? i went to arctic silver's web page but the page for Arctic Silver Lumière is Under Construction.

thanks.

[W1zzard]

it's not publicly available for sale. if you are a reviewer/person who needs it for testing, just shoot them an email

[Unregistered]

just wondering if this cooler is compatible with sapphire x800 pro pcie cards? its kinda confusing, coz ive seen ppl saying that they have it their x800 pro pcie with a silencer 4 rev 2, and then seeing a computer store selling a silencer 5 rev 2 with this card

help? thanks!

[fishgoh0nk]

will this sucker work on an AIW x800 xt? the thing has two pins, it looks like it will.... i'm not very familiar with the characteristics of my card right now... so i can't estimate room for caps and tv tuner.... thanks.

[thedivinehairband]

Ive bin using the acrtic silencer aswell on my x800xl and have been doing sum ovaclocking. Noticed couple days ago that there wasn't the hot air exhaust that there was before. yesterday took a look inside and discovered that the fan had stopped. only checked this after gettin sum checkerboarding during star wars jedi academy after bout 3 hours gaming. the temp actually hit 86degC!! This was after i turned my case fans rite down tho so i think it was only the case ventilation that has saved me from a fried card. looks like the heatsink itself is quite capable even without the fan. as you can see i run sum quite high clocks. great cooler. shame about the fan trouble. :(
Looks like a retun to base coming up. only a month old. :(
Cmon lads sort it out!!

[yobo]

Quick question here
Bought the rev 2
Installed it according to the directions, which instructed to spread some thermal paste onto the GPU

I thought that the thermal paste had been misplaced or not included, so I used some leftover thermal paste from a water cooling install I did earlier.

Just now read this review which pointed out that there was a thermal pad already on the silencer. Is it dangerous that I doubled up on the thermal pad+paste?

[spectre440]

it can be. yes.
too much TIM (thermal interface metrial) could seriously hamper the heat transfer from the chip to the cooler.

i suggest you remove the cooler, remove all the thermal paste, and put in a fresh new thin layer of the good ol' arctic silver 5 on the chip and remount the cooler.

just be careful not to damage your card.

also: using previously used TIM isnt such a good thing either. you definantly should use a fresh layer of the stuff every time you mount/dismount/change/whatver any cooling component that requires it.

[Silver-Arrow]

Do you guys just use the thermal paste/pads that come with the arctic cooler or do you remove it and use Arctic Silver 5 paste instead?

[spectre440]

personally, i use AS5 on everything.

[MadMigMR2]

Hi!
Can this cooler be applied on a Asus x800 Pro AGP ?

[noneed4me2]

everything i read says you should use revision 4 ATI silencer for your version, there is a review in this section of the forum http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?t=1858 . The 5.2 is strictly for PCI/E x800 cards. I use the 5.2 and it works great but others like the zalman 700c and that one should fit your card too. I chose the ATI silencer because i have a smaller OEM case and it shunts heated air out the back while the zalman just circulates air around the vid card. If you got a case with good ventilation the zalman will fit your card to. A review of the zalman can also be found here http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?t=2655.There are three versions, one with a light and one thats all copper and one with copper/aluminum mix, all cool about the same. both the ATI silencer and zalman are priced about the same.

[Fatfairy2005]

I think you have provided me with the answer to a problem I have with the HIS X800 GTO. At any speed less than 100% it makes a noise like a ciccada and I suspect it must have the earlier version of the Arctic Cooler. Anyone else come across this problem?

As for any help from HIS - forget it, they have failed on three separate occasions to respond to requests for help on this matter. Great card, rubbish customer care.

[SunShine]

Yesterday i buy this Arctic Cooling ATI Silencer 5 Rev. 2 for 28$.
I have a Sapphire X800GTO Ultimate edition.Before whit standart heatpipe on 550/1120 temp on full load hit 80C.Whit Silencer temp going down whit 20C.

[zekrahminator]

I'm hearing all sorts of things about the ATIsilencer 5, some say its the best thing ever, some say its unreliable, some say theres a review saying that the ATI fan control itself will fry the silencer. I was just wondering, how good is the stock cooler? I'm just trying to find these things out BEFORE I get my new X850XT.

[Thermopylae_480]

A stock cooler can be adequate for normal operation and some sporatic overclocking. If you intend to run the card for extended periods of time overclocked, or wish to obtain really high overclocks a stock cooler just won't cut it. If your afraid of the Arctic Cooling heatsinks, Zalman makes good ones also.

[OOTay]

Will the Arctic Cooling ATI Silencer 5 Rev. 2 heatsink work on an agp version of a x850pro 256mb?

[infrared]

It should work ok :)

When you fit it, use the thermal pad it comes with also, AS5 will increase temps by around 3c.

Good luck! ;)

[OOTay]

Thanks thats good news. But why does that thermal pad work better then the as5? Just thought that was weird that a therm pad works better then a appilication of AS5.

[infrared]

Yeah, It's strange. It's the same with all of arctic cooling's cpu coolers as well. I'm not sure what the thermal compound is, but it's pretty nice stuff! I've even polished the botton my my ATI Silencer, and used my credit card to get a very thin layer of AS5, yet temperatures are still higher than they originally were.

It's like a very thick (as in viscocity) square of grease, it goes fairly soft while hot, but doesn't appear to run. I don't believe it needs any time to get to it's optimal state either, unlike the 200hours needed for AS5 to harden.

I'm gonna send Arctic cooling an email and see if i can get hold of any of the stuff :D

[OOTay]

Wow thats cool! Thats a definate company secret lol.

[infrared]

Yeah, most likely :(

[zekrahminator]

A stock cooler can be adequate for normal operation and some sporatic overclocking. If you intend to run the card for extended periods of time overclocked, or wish to obtain really high overclocks a stock cooler just won't cut it. If your afraid of the Arctic Cooling heatsinks, Zalman makes good ones also.
lol no, I'm not afraid of AC, If I were to replace my stock cooler (which I've done before) the ATIsilencer 5 is what I'd use.

[zekrahminator]

yeah, you have to remember also that Arctic Cooling designs their coolers to go with their thermal compound...so maybe thats why AS5 doesnt work as well as the stock gooze.

[zekrahminator]

I got my X850XT yesterday!!! :D :D :D 5200 3Dmark05!!! :rockout: .
ahem...
anyways. I noticed the "voltage spikes" that Arctic Cooling warned about when the fan control is applied (especially with ATItool lol). In my opinion, as long as you dont hack your cards fan speeds (as tempting as it is), the ATIsilencer 5 is a very fine cooler...I REALLY want it, I dont have the money and my things a freaking jet engine at full power.

[infrared]

Great! :)

You've got a nasty bottleneck somewhere though, my x800xl used to exceed 6k, with a little fine tuning.

... *sniffle* I miss my x800xl :cry:

I wouldn't worry too much about voltage spikes or running the card at 100%, I don't think the voltage can exceed 12v anyway, i could be wrong, if capacitors and transistors are involved on the fan power supply circuits. Anyway, I just run mine at 100% 24/7. I find my particular one is quieter at 100% than at %50 or below.

[Thermopylae_480]

The problem with comparing 3DMark scores is they are not standard. He may have ran it at 1152 x 864 with some AA and AF and that would give you a totally different score than if you ran it 1024 x 768 with no AA or AF. If he did run it at 1024 x 768 no AA no AF then, there might be something wrong.

[zekrahminator]

my bottleneck is probably my RAM lol...do NOT try to put two brands in a dual channel configuration, especially ones with different timings...my current stable RAM timings is 2.5-4-4-8 2T....I can push it to 1T, but it reboots every time I try to print something :roll: . I think I'll get some RAM heatspreaders and see if I can push it to 2.5-3-3-6 1T

[OOTay]

man, my 3dmark scores are low right now becuase i got some generic brand ram in here and worthless intel chipset... oh well ill get new amd chipset later this year hopefully!

[zekrahminator]

lol pushed RAM to 2.5-3-3-8, and brought my 3Dmark05 score to over 6K...yeah, its definitely a RAM bottleneck :p

[zekrahminator]

one more thing...3Dmark05 scored at 1024x768, no AA full AF, in other words, free version 3Dmark05 :P

[infrared]

yep, that's what most people have, so they're the settings we normally use to compare, though sometimes turning the AA and AF up can help differentiate between two high end cards. I have the full version, and i love the fact that you can skip all the pointless tests to get your score :D

[zekrahminator]

I'm gonna send Arctic cooling an email and see if i can get hold of any of the stuff :D
Or you could just go here (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16835100401) :p. This is the stuff that originally came with ATISilencer5, until they started pre-applying :(. I really wish they wouldn't do that, it's always nice to get a free tube of thermal paste :D.

[infrared]

hmm, that must have been an old post :p

I got mine from an ebay store, selling a whole bunch of spare parts for all their coolers. I'll see if i can find a link later.

meh, got a great collection of thermal grease now...

AS5,
MX-1,
Ceramique,
OCZ +5
Arctic Silver Epoxy
Arcticlean (TIM)

hehe, and some sheets of 600 - 1200 grit sandpaper :D

[zekrahminator]

Just thought I'd let you know, my ATISilencer5 reaches 604.13/604.13 STABLE (unless of course you happen to be running ATItool artifact test, but...whatever :p). I won't be running it at those clocks, of course, I just wanted to see how high I could push it. ATISilencer5 FTW!. I can get it to 557.75/557.75 while still passing the ATItool artifact test (Edit: I run it for a few minutes, I don't really pay attention), and I leave it at 520/540 to preserve the life of my awesome card. I'll probably overclock if I really see the need though (AKA Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion).

[Azn Tr14dZ]

How long do you scan it for?

[ghost101]

Two questions, ive installed it with thermal paste on top of the thermal pad for the GPU (Dam the stupid instructions).

Anyway, after about 3 days i tried to get the cooler off, its stuck to the card and is impossible to get off. Any advice.

Also if i do remove it, the memory thermal pads will be fine right? I say this because im pretty sure without the pads there will be no contact with using just AS5.

[zekrahminator]

Well lets see, I'm not sure why you'd want to take off ATISilencer5, you've barely let it burn in yet. But if you were, you'd either be wanting to A) pull it off right after a round of Oblivion or some other GPU-intensive game B) stick it in the freezer C) Put some more elbow grease into it. After removing it, you will have to reapply thermal paste to EVERYTHING, and AS5 will actually make things worse. All heatsinks from Arctic Cooling are specially designed with the thermal compound that comes with them (MX1.). If you use anything else, even AS5, you will lose performance (a good 3-5*C of performance.). Also, remembering how I killed my 6200 (tried securing heatsinks with thermal paste instead of the thermal pads that came with them.), I suggest you stick with the stock stuff.

[ghost101]

So the fact that for the GPU I have the stock thermal pad as well as a film of AS5 isnt worth the effort of removing and reapplying everything?

If so, curse the instructions again. It clearly says apply some thermal paste.

[zekrahminator]

I don't remember the instructions saying anything about putting extra thermal compound on MY ATISilencer5, it just came with everything pre-applied. I hope you didn't put any extra thermal paste on, mixing things will cook your card :laugh:. If you did, then definitely try to take your silencer off after a GPU-intensive game and reapply with ONLY AS5 or ONLY MX1.

[mikelopez]

I don't remember the instructions saying anything about putting extra thermal compound on MY ATISilencer5, it just came with everything pre-applied. I hope you didn't put any extra thermal paste on, mixing things will cook your card :laugh:. If you did, then definitely try to take your silencer off after a GPU-intensive game and reapply with ONLY AS5 or ONLY MX1.

The problem is that the instructions have not been updated with the addition of the pre-applied pads. It refers to when they included the thermal paste for us to apply ourselves.

I just installed my Silencer and the idle temps have dropped about 3-4c but I have been searching the forum for a good recomendation on how to set the dynamic temps/speeds. I dont want to run into any "clicking" problems.

[jameskelsey]

I installed one on a ATI X850 Pro about a week ago. I cleaned off the thermal paste and applied AS5. My idle temps dropped 10c and my load temps dropped 17c. Never changed anything with the fan control. Works great!

[kcm8819]

Hey guys, I was wondering if y'all could help me out.
I bought my ATI Radeon X800XL almost 2 years ago and the fan began making a bad sound but after a restart it would go away. Well, yesterday even a restart wouldn't get the fan working properly again. I tried cleaning it out, thinking there may be junk in there but it's spotless and still making the noise. I think the fan is about to go out so I was trying to find an easy solution to this problem.
First off, i was wondering what y'all thought about the Silence 5 rev.2
Secondly, I am curious of how I would go about taknig the current fan off.
Is it just a simple swap or what
Also, I was also looking at a Zalman and wondered which you thought was best for my situation

[erocker]

I loved my Silencer that I used on my x800 and would totally recommend it. The instructions tell you how to replace the old with the new. I would aslo recommend that you use Arctic silver 5 thermal compound instead of the stuff that comes with the cooler.

[jameskelsey]

I had the Silencer on my X850 Pro and it droped my load temps around 18c plus it exhausts out of the case,great cooler.The only thing I didn't like was if you have to remove it you have to carefully cut the thermal pads on the memory to get it off.But I found new pads on ebay for it. Also recommend Artic silver 5.

[kcm8819]

so do you think 1 tube of artic silver 5 would be a sufficient amount to use while installing the Silencer 5? And thanks for the help, I think I'm going to try to find one and order it tonight

[infrared]

You'd have plenty to spare from one tube. You just need to put a very thin covering over the gpu core. Remember that using too much TIM will increase temps. ;)

[jameskelsey]

Here are instructions.

http://www.arcticsilver.com/arctic_silver_instructions.htm

[infrared]

Oh, also...

On the new AC silencer 5 rev 2's, they spray the base of the heatsink with lacquer, which can have a big impact on temps. I'd recommend removing it with some very fine sandpaper where it will make contact with the gpu. Start off with 600 grit, and finish with 1000 grit or finer.

[kcm8819]

well, unfortunately I can't find one anywhere for purchase. It's discontinued on all websites but one. The one website doesn't ship outside of greater Vancouver, and I'm in the US

[jameskelsey]

Have you checked ebay?I sold mine there a couple months ago.Their well made and carry a 6 year warranty I think so buying a used one is not a big risk.Let me check around for one I know their hard to find.

[jameskelsey]

Is this the one you mentioned?

http://www.kingstoncomputerplanet.com/products/?cid=15&scid=03&pid=150300019

[jameskelsey]

Here's a list of usa dealers from Arctic cooling site you can try.

http://www.arctic-cooling.com/where_to.php

[kcm8819]

Yes, I've checked ebay. The only Silencer 5 was an NVIDIA. I've began checking the list of dealers but I don't expect to find any since the product is discontinued. I'll continue checking once I get home and have more time. Thanks for the site though, I might try contacting some of the distributors...although since it's discontinued that may be useless. Thanks for all the help though.
And the Kingston website doesn't have a way to pay online and the store is located in Canada, so unless I'm very desperate, I'm afraid to do a phone order with that company. No telling what I'll get...or wont get.