Recently, I bought a new screen card to be able to run Win MCE 2005. I went for an XFX GeForce 6600 GT AGP. Mainly because the GeForce 6600 GT supports NVidia PureVideo and because the XFX Card had two DVI connectors.
I knew that I had to remove the original fan and mount something more silent, so at the same time I ordered a Zalman VF700 Cu.
I followed the instructions and the VF700 is quite simple to install. However, I encountered one problem on my particular card. The instructions tell you to mount the RAM heatsinks, then mount the GPU heatsink. Well, guess what – the RAM chips are too close to the GPU on this card, so the GPU heatsink will not fit if you mount the RAM heatsinks. It is close to impossible to remove the RAM heatsinks when they are properly in place.
A couple of minutes with some cutting pliers, and the problem was solved. You can see the result in the pictures.
After the modification everything went smooth. From a very noisy card to a dead silent one and a 10 degrees lower GPU temp!
Just thought it could be interesting for people to read this if they plan to buy the same combination.
eirikso 
So, why didn’t I just buy this card:
http://www.giga-byte.com/VGA/Products/Products_GV-N66T128VP.htm#
…already silenced…
So much for the research I did before I purchased the XFX card.
I ALSO TRIED TO COOL DOWN MY XFX 6600GT, FOUND THE SAME CLEARANCE PROBLEM WITH THE RAM BUT MY SUPPORT BAR PINS ON THE BOTTOM OF THE BOARD, EVEN WITH THE RUBBER SPACERS, ARCHED TO ONE OF THE SQUARE SOLDER CONNECTIONS AND FRIED MY VIDEO CARD. Let me know when zalman gives a contact number.
[…] It’s time for a short collection of links: 1. First, build a cabinet 2. Then install a silent fan in the cabinet 3. Silence the parts of the computer that is noisy 4. Choose your frontend 5. Set up your advanced remote 6. Make your content available everywhere 7. Follow the important blogs… […]
U cutted 2-2-3-3 pliers on the first heatsink, 2-2-2-3 on the 2nd. What about the 3rd(u can see it on the picture a littl bit) and 4th?
To answer your question I posted an extra picture at the end of the original article.
As you can see, I did not need to cut as many pins off the heatsinks at that side.
I’ll be doing the same thing soon. Was searching around for anyone else that has done it and came across this entry. Great!
How is it holding up? I’ve checked out Zalman’s site and it says that using the VF700 on 6600Gt AGP cards might be “structurally unstable.”
For me it is working very well. The cooler is heavy, so I would be very careful when moving the computer.
I’m searching way to cool my GPU also, I noticed that it is quite difficult to find noiseless way to cool 6600GT. Zalman has many GPU cooler products, but not many suitable for 6600.
It also seems to be quite problem that I also do have XFX GF 6600GT product. That’s why I’m very glad that someone who ‘modded’ his computer is willing to tell all others how to do it. Thank you for that.
Because of this article, I’m really thinking of ordering that FV700. 😉
The XFX card is nice because it has a separate HSI heatsink. Like described here:
http://www.zalman.co.kr/product/cooler/VF700_6600GT_eng.html
Gainward Geforce 6600 GT 256MB-GDDR3 Ultra 1980 is an example of a card that is really hard to silence because when you remove the original heatsink you don’t have any cooling on the HSI.
http://www.gainward.net/products/product.php?products_id=16
i had this vid card for over a year now, and it started getting really hot. so after doing some research, i found that the vf700-cu was one of the best coolers out there. but many people said that it didn’t work with apg 6600gts very well. once i found this site, i decieded that i could do this. thanks so much for being willing to post what you have done to help the rest of us out. here’s hoping that all goes well for me.
Cool. It’s very nice if this post actually help people. Good luck on your modification of the card.
Hi,
like the others I wanna do the same like you (when i have enough money :P). To cut some pieces off of the RAM heatsinks. But it wont cool the same like before?
The other question is about the weight. I also have the cpu cooler from Zalman (cnps 7000b – http://costameno.kataweb.it/images/lib/148_21065905.jpg) and now i know that the coolers, esspecially the complete copper versions, are very heavy. Does the Card endures this?
Excuse me for my writing mistakes, I’m from Germany 🙂
sorry for the doublepost but i wanted to write: To cut some pieces off of the RAM heatsinks … wont be a problem.
thx 😉
On my card the RAM heatsinks did not have much cooling originally and I am not doing any overclocking, so the card is running completely fine with the modified RAM heatsinks.
The Zalman fan blows air on to the card, so my guess is that the RAM gets quite good cooling anyway.
The cooler is the 100% copper one. It is heavy and my machine is a tower, so the mainboard is mounted vertically. I will have to be very careful when moving the computer, but it has been running steady for more than a year. The day I want to move it for a long distance in my car or something I think I’ll remove the screen card during the transit.
I mounted this cooler on my Winfast 6600 GT TDH 128 MB and had the same RAM probleme. I however did not put anyting on the RAM.
Since there was nothing there to begin with I don’t think it really matters. and as mentioned above, the fan blows on the whole card anyway.
Its working fine, and the card is always 10- 25 C cooler then the stock.
Overclocking hasn’t heated the card much at all either.
me again.
My question is how thick the cooler is. Does it take much place? because i’ve got only 3 pci slots and there isn’t much place. thx, me
I think this cooler will steal one PCI slot on most computers. I don’t have the exact measures here, but for both my mainboards it is too big to allow anything in the closest PCI slot.
just got one myself although lucky I noticed that the rubber rings supplied DO NOT raise it enough the stop an arc between a trannie and the card brace, Solved this by using two rubber rings, simple but effective and a bit of thermal paste to stop any arcing. gotta say very dissapointed with complete lack of help from Zalman.
I mailed Erikso about the cooling of the PCI Express to AGP bridge, since that also needs cooling but isn’t mention in his article
He was kind enough to mail me the photo where it is shown: http://www.eirikso.com/wp-photos/DSC02384.jpg
Aluminium cooling fins!
On my card the bridge had it’s own cooler in the first place. It was
possible for me to remove the main cooler without removing the cooler
on the bridge.
Here’s a card that is difficult to cool because you will expose the bridge when you remove the main cooler:
http://www.gainward.net/products/product.php?products_id=16
….maybe it would be enough to mount one of the RAM heatsinks on the bridge? I have no idea. Probably not…
I have a prolink 6600GT AGP and it is has the same problem. I over modded the right side one but i dont really care as i didnt thk originally, it has much contact with the heatsink but i had to wait for the HSI heatsink. I wished the shop would do their research properly though. wasted 2 weeks of ma time.
I was game enuff to try using the Ram heatsink as a temp fix until the real HSI heatsink can be purchased (hopefully). ANd its working fine, but would be more fine with the HSI heatsink
Interesting. So you used the RAM heatsinks to cool the HSI?
yeah.. its been on for 3 days now, at full fan speed.. but i am wondering about the temperature of the GPU.. mine fluctuates to 51 after i stopped playing a game. What temps are u getting? Yaaa, what i did is use one of those ram heatsinks directly on it. But it seem ok.. But i finally able to order a real HSI heatsink so ill remove that setup once i have the replacement.. but its a temp or permanent option depending on your situation.. if i cant get the heatsink then its a permanent one.. hahaah
I have XFX 6600GT card for about 3 years. The stock heatsink wasn’t even the same as shown on the picture here http://www.pricegrabber.com/rating_getprodrev.php/masterid=4927855/id_type=masterid
and I agree with the first review in the list. However, the card worked fine until few months ago when it started heating up to 85°C when playing games and the whole system crushes. (Idle temperature was around 50°C)
So now I’m looking for the new cooler and I’m quite sure about buying Zalman VF700-AlCu, but not pure copper one. Al-Cu cooler weights about 180g and just Cu cooler – 270g, so this will increase the structural stability. Has anyone tried VF700-AlCu before? I wonder if the cooling performance is as good as with VF700-Cu.
As far as I know the Alu-CU cooler has slightly lower cooling performance. But I don’t think it would matter much. I run the fan on the Cu-cooler at lowest speed and it cools my CPU more than enough.
I have a BFG 6600GT AGP, and want to try this cooler as well. I don’t plan on using the ramsinks, since it doesn’t have anything on them right now anyway. However, I was planning on getting a passive northbridge cooler to quiet down the fan on my abit nf7-s. Do you think I can use the ramsinks from the zalman to cool my northbridge?
If Vampy still follows this discussion he might have some answers?
I installed the VF700-AlCu on my XFX 6600GT card and it works great! I run the fan on “low” and it keeps the GPU temperature at about 55° when playing games (comparing to 85° with the stock cooler). The weight of the fan is 180g (compared to 90g stock cooler and 270g VF700-Cu) which does cause a little of instability but it’s ok. It is true that the metal fins stick out from the videocard for about 3cm but it does not interfere with any other hardware in my computer. VF700-AlCu is definitely a real good investment.
I suggest you buy the real alternative for your northbridge if you can get it. I only used the ram heatsinks for the HSI cooling primary because i cant get the real alternative in NEW ZEALAND… so sad. So as a comprimised i turned the fan on max speed. But when the HSI heatsink arrives.. i might put it on silent and give that a go.. cheers. But modding and trying new alternatives always comes down to this. Are u game enuff to try it?. : P.
Hey guys, I have a question for all of you. I to have the XFX 6600GT. I also have an extra pentium 4 heatsink and fan that would fit perfectly on this board. I can find a way to mount it, no problem. How do I wire this fan up to the 6600GT. it is a basic intel cpu fan, with 3 wires. the 6600GT only has 2 wires. If I can wire this up, I might be able to test out a cheap cooling method.
Thanks Guys.
You don’t have any 3 pin connectore left on the motherboard?
This was the only link I could find with illustrations on how to over come the RAM heatsink problem on my XFX 6600GT. Wanted to know if cutting the RAM heatsink degrades or affects the temperature or performance of the card. Any noticable differences?
I guess the modification that I have done affect the performance, but this cooler is so much better than the original that I don’t think it matters. My card have been running 24/7 since I installed it in April 2005. No problems.
At the Zalman site, the picture shows no ram heat sinks attached. I don’t think they are actually required for this card. Especially since the stock cooling has no solution to ram heat.
I think in the case of the chopped heat sinks, this is still better than what is required.
I think you are right. Even with the modified RAM heatsinks this gives better cooling than the original from the factory.
Hello to all,
Would the Zalman VF 700 fit on a 6600GT from Club3D? As on:
http://www.club3d.nl/productshow_vga.php?ordercode=CGN-G668TVD&l=en
The standard fan that is on it has been making an awful lot of noice when I turn my computer on. It started to do so several weeks ago. The noise stops after, say, 30 seconds or so.
So, instead of throwing a perfectly working card with the trash, I wonder if the cooling block-and-fan on it could be replaced instead, maybe by the VF700.
Does anyone know the Club3D 6600GT, and if this is possible?
Thanks for the page, Eirikso. Good work.
Hey Kris Dee,
I checked out the picture supplied of the club3D GF6600GT and it looks similar with the pixelview 6600GT design. In terms of the fan and large heat sink design without HSI heatsink. The VF700 will work for it but you will need a HSI heatsink that which is bought seperately!!! which i found out personally after i purchase the VF700-cu. But i used a ram heatsink to temp replace and it works fine but i feel it is not working 100%. and i cant run Madonion 2000 test as it gave me a lot of bits missing and it is a little cripple but its better than leaving it without anything.
But the HSI heatsink is only needed for the AGP chipset.
great guide mate, just recently started having problems with my xfx 6600gt 128mb agp card too. it was running idle at around 53 degrees. then i would crash while gaming usually when the gpu temp would exceed 69 degrees or so. i installed the zalman vf700 al/cu fan today and my comp is now running idle at around 40 degrees. i also installed the antec cyclone super blower (exhaust fan) and placed that under my graphics card, should help i guess. i followed this guide, works perfectly and altering the ram h/s’s are very easy. just thought i’d post and say good job…saved me alot of trouble he he, thanks!!
Great! And very nice to see that an article that I posted in April 2005 still is alive and helping people. 🙂
I replaced the stock cooler on a PNY 7600 GS AGP with the Zalman VF700-AlCu. Running at 12v it reduced idle temps by 10c and is quiet enough for me to not bother undervolting. I did not install the RAM heatsinks as it appeared there was not room. The fan extends slightly over the top of the card and so contributes to case airflow as well. I do not overclock.
I did not replace the stock HSI heatsink and am left wondering if the Zalman ZM-VHS1 will perform better than stock. I am tempted to try it.
I originally tried the Vantec Iceberq6 on the PNY 7600 GS AGP but found no alignment of mounting holes.
I had on hand a PNY 5700VE card and it appears that PNY is using an almost identical card layout (in terms of HSF mounts) for both the 5700 and the 7600.
I bought ZM-VHS1 heatsink to try it on may XFX 6600 GT AGP, where Zalman VF 700-cu was installed ( without ramsinks). This VHS1 is agly! It is blue anodized on working surface too! Heatsink is machined very uneven and arched. I spent about 45 minutes lapping it with 180 sandpaper to delete arching and anodizing. To finish my work I need about 1 hour more for lapping from 240 to 1500-2000 grits sandpaper. Unfotinately, I don’t have spare time now. I would like to forewarn only: don’t trust blindy Zalman name.
Sorry for my English.
NICE!! I have a MSI NX6600GT VTD128 with a HSI bridge also.I think the PCB layout is the same as on your XFX card.
So I am planning to buy a VF700 also.
Hello Eirikso and other readers,
3 months ago I asked about my 6600GT from Club3D (see above). I didn’t trust myself to replace the broken stock cooler on the card myself…, so I took it back to the store (as it was still under warranty). After THREE (3) months, my card was STILL not repaired. Club3D was not much help either. I demanded my card back and took it back home. They will NOT see me in that store again.
Eirikso: I am installing a Zalman VF-700 (CuAl), while I write this, and I am here to check out your photographs 🙂 My card is unusable now anyway… so it just might work.
Things are looking good so far. The HSI cooler is attached (easy!). I am now working on the RAM sinks (even if they may not be necessary), which are indeed too close to the Zalman cooler to fit.
I will post about the results, when the work is finished. Eirikso, thanks again for your webpage about your 6600GT.
I have a Inno3D 6600 GT AGP card, and it runs really hot (63º C while idle, 70º-80º C while on full load). I am looking into getting this cooler, but I have some questions:
– How do you *safely* remove the original thermal paste left on the GPU itself before applying Arctic Silver 5?
– Has anyone tried the Vantec Iceberq 5 or the similar Jetart JACSH1? The sites I’ve come across attest that this is the best option for you if you have the AGP 6600 GT.
I have “repaired” my 6600GT (AGP) with success. The Zalman cooler works.
It says the temp is +/- 42° C, if it is correct. Maybe a little warm, but my card works again and that was the plan.
Viktor,
I could remove the original thermal paste without problems: the paste was not hardened and it was soft enough to remove (even with a finger). I used a very little bit of alcohol/solvent to remove the last remains, and the GPU was all clean. I made sure not to spill it on the circuit board.
I have never replaced a cooler, but I think I did a good job – the card works again. I used the thermal paste that came with the Zalman: maybe not the best, but – the card works again. And that is what matters 🙂
A small website I made, with pictures of my repaired Geforce:
geocities.com/ibizaner
[…] than the heatsink + fan itself, it came clear that the RAM sinks were too close to the GPU (and I found somebody else who had the same problem), preventing installation of the heatsink. Cutting some of the RAM sinks’ "pins" […]
I have 7600gt silent pipe on my pc and it dont even have any fan 😀 I also have passive cooled cpu and other components 🙂 Disk is now most noisy thing 😀
@tuntis.net,
The RAM heatsinks that come with a Zalman VF-700 may not be necessary. After “modding” them, I installed them anyway.
@Kristjan,
The 7600GT is PCI-e? The 6600GT is AGP.
My 6600GT-with-VF700 is still working 😎
I dumped (well, sold) my 6600 GT AGP and bought an 8600 GT PCI-E. The stock fan on that thing went bonkers after 3 months (roaring, hissing, etc), so I had it replaced with a Jetart JACSH1 cooler.
I’m looking to replace the stock cooling on my XFX Geforce 7600 GT AGP card
for something more quiet. I’ve been digging around the internet and its hard to find a replacement for this card. (I have used the Arctic Cooling NV silencers in the past
on my Geforce 6800 128MB and my Geforce3 ti200 64MB cards). Unfortunately, Arctic Cooling does not make an NV silencer that fits the 7600 GT AGP. The Zalman vf700 looks like it might fit if I don’t use the RAMsinks. …but I haven’t found any info online to confirm this for sure. I know it fits the 7600 GT for PCI-E, but has anyone had success with the 7600 GT AGP ???
Phil W,
The temperatures on the GDDR3 memory don’t run that hot for it to be such a huge concern. The RAM sinks are really not necessary.
Phil W,
The Zalman site shows “all VGA cards” from the Geforce 7600 series to be compatible with the VF-700.
Don’t forget that, if you install a VF-700, you will lose a PCI-slot because the VF-700 is so big.
The VF-700 sure is very quiet. I would buy it again. I can recommend it.
Hey, thanks for this. 3 years later and it’s still useful! My 6600 developed a terrible whine in the fan and I didn’t want to shell out for a new card because it worked fine otherwise. But my hardware skills being what they are, I doubt I would have attempted to install a new fan if I hadn’t found your post. Thanks again!
Amazing stuff. I didn’t think that “this will be useful in years to come” when I published my experience here. Very nice that people still find this interesting. Good luck with your new fan.
Thanks to your post, I just successfully installed a Zalman VF700-CuLED on my XFX GeForce 6600GT AGP card. The only trouble I encoutered was uninstalling the stock fan/heatsink. It is attached with some plastic pegs that insert through the mounting holes. They are spring loaded and if you push down on the peg, you can use a wire cutter tool to snip off the other end of the peg. After you do this, the stock heatsink/fan unit will just fall off. Regarding the included RAM heatsinks with the Zalman fan, another option is just to put them on a bit off center to make sure the Zalman sits flush on the VGA chip. All told, it took me about 15 mins to install it. So far, it has been running flawlessly for about an hour or so.
Thanks for this forum.
May i join the club? :p
My XFX6600GT AGP started to draw weird green checkmate rectangles over the textures, while i was playing Crysis.
One look at the RivaTuner’s icon in the tray rised my hair up to the roof – 101 degree celsius for the GPU ;P (fell to 44 at idle, room temperature=25 degrees C)
The stock cooling fan died, now i’m about to get this VF700 AlCu monster-cooler too 🙂
Cheers guys
Good luck! 🙂
Lowest temp measured – 24C (22C room temp)idle;high temp record – 47C (25C room temp)under load (Crysis). I like this cooler 🙂 My only prob is i can’t unplug fan’s socket, to plug it into 5V connector (plugged it into the 12V one at first). It’s kind of hard to switch to silent mode, but it doesnt make noise in normal mode anyway. I cant hear it at all, maybe because of other noisier fans.
Thanks, Eirik 🙂
My Geforce+VF700 experiment is over here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/vortex39/2377516886/in/set-72157603325869861/
This is a non-GT version, but it might be of use to someone going down the same path!
Thanks! Could absolutely be helpful.
here we are at the start of a new decade …. thats 2010! and I have just discovered this same article, as did all the others!, and it is as useful to me today (looking to replace a dead HSF on my XFX 6600GT with the Zalman VF700) as it was when you wrote it!
the GPU is in my sons PC and when he complained about his system slowing down and odd flashes of light I checked everything and using GPU-Z I discovered the temperature of his GPU was 100+ C!!! Dying fan was the culprit so its the VF700 for me!
thanks Eirik