Aftermarket GPU fans?

[SomeGreekGuy]

So I have This card, and the fans have been getting a bit loud. I changed thermal paste a couple years ago, so I have to change it again, but I've watched Linus' video, and I'm not planning on changing cards in the immediate future. I was considering originally just zip tying some Noctua fans or some Be Quiet! fans onto the card, and call it a day. But I was thinking maybe it would be possible to find aftermarket GPU fans to keep the stock aesthetics. So my questions are:

Are GPU fan mounting holes standard?

Are there good aftermarket fans available to swap out the current fans (I believe it has 3x 95mm)

Is it worth it? Linus shows that it he got a better core speed at lower temps, but in this blog post, says he got a 5°C higher, but completely abolishing the sound levels.

Has anyone done this mod? What's your experience?

 

 

 

 

[Jurrunio]

It's easier to just take the shroud off and tie case fans directly to the graphics card heatsink. Or else, you have to buy fans for cards of the same brand, preferably the same model.

[SomeGreekGuy]

50 minutes ago, Jurrunio said:

It's easier to just take the shroud off and tie case fans directly to the graphics card heatsink. Or else, you have to buy fans for cards of the same brand, preferably the same model.

Purchasing the same model kind of defeats the purpose imo. I understand what you mean, but I was hoping for more performance at a quieter level.

[Enderman]

There are no standards.

Everything is different for each card.

You need to DIY it.

[SomeGreekGuy]

52 minutes ago, James Evens said:

Just compare the heatsinks. The blog one is a different kind of heatsinks. Getting those cooled with 120mm fans is more difficult. So it depends on the card if how much of a success you will have. The best result will be to just upgrade to a aftermarket cooler.

From what I've gathered from looking for a full-cover waterblock, sapphire made a custom PCB for this card, so it is quite difficult to find third party parts for the card. Could you recommend some aftermarket coolers and I'll look into them please?

[Jurrunio]

7 minutes ago, ky802008 said:

Purchasing the same model kind of defeats the purpose imo. I understand what you mean, but I was hoping for more performance at a quieter level.

if you even want performance gains, you're not getting away from the straping case fan method.

[SomeGreekGuy]

1 minute ago, Jurrunio said:

if you even want performance gains, you're not getting away from the straping case fan method.

I'm playing at 2560x1080p @ 60fps in all titles I have so far. Even if I don't gain performance, I'll gain silence correct?

[SomeGreekGuy]

1 minute ago, James Evens said:

if is not reference you need to check that the mounting holes for the gpu cooler are the same. 

Arctic Xtrem 3 (can be found on many old gpus for a low price and replacement parts are aviable) or morpheus 2

Have you tried any of these coolers or just referencing?

[Jurrunio]

Just now, ky802008 said:

I'm playing at 2560x1080p @ 60fps in all titles I have so far. Even if I don't gain performance, I'll gain silence correct?

I'm refering to 'cooling' performance, especially in acoustics  Just a better fan wont let you overclock that much better to be noticeable compared to when the card's working normally.

[SomeGreekGuy]

Just now, James Evens said:

Arctic Xtrem IV. The difference between 3 and 4 is how the power delivery is cooled. With the 4 it is done by a back plate which can be problematic for higher TDP gpus. The 3 does not have this problem as the heatsinks get glued onto the chips.

Οn both the Xtreme III & IV under compatible models it says "R9 390(X)". Does that mean R9 390 and R9 390X?

[WoodenMarker]

Manufacturers reuse the same types of mounts so some are interchangeable. That being said, you won't find drastic improvements.

The stock fans on your card are 85mm in diameter or the same as 90mm case fans. 

If you want to maintain the original look, you can replace the fans with NF-A9x14's like I did here for an EVGA ACX 980 Ti: 

 

Moved to Air Cooling. 

[SomeGreekGuy]

3 minutes ago, WoodenMarker said:

Manufacturers reuse the same types of mounts so some are interchangeable. That being said, you won't find drastic improvements.

The stock fans on your card are 85mm in diameter or the same as 90mm case fans. 

If you want to maintain the original look, you can replace the fans with NF-A9x14's like I did here for an EVGA ACX 980 Ti: 

 

Moved to Air Cooling. 

wow you went to town on those fans lmao. Would you recommend air-flow or static pressure oriented fans?

[WoodenMarker]

11 minutes ago, ky802008 said:

wow you went to town on those fans lmao. Would you recommend air-flow or static pressure oriented fans?

Static pressure is very important to push enough air through the dense heatsink. Asides from taking off the shroud and mounting larger fans, I wouldn't recommend anything other than the NF-A9x14's. They're hard to beat. 

[SomeGreekGuy]

1 minute ago, WoodenMarker said:

Static pressure is very important to push enough air through the dense heatsink. Asides from taking off the shroud and mounting larger fans, I wouldn't recommend anything other than the NF-A9x14's. They're hard to beat. 

I was looking at the Be Quiet! Shadow Wings SW1. Same CFM, same static pressure, at lower RPMs. I understand you have personal experience from the Noctua fans, but do you think the Be Quiet ones would be a good second option?

[WoodenMarker]

4 minutes ago, ky802008 said:

I was looking at the Be Quiet! Shadow Wings SW1. Same CFM, same static pressure, at lower RPMs. I understand you have personal experience from the Noctua fans, but do you think the Be Quiet ones would be a good second option?

They wouldn't be nearly as good. The steeper fan blades would leak air outside of the shroud and lack the effective static pressure to guide air through the heatsink. Unless you extend the shroud past the fan blades or somehow keep part of the the original fan frame, performance wouldn't even be close.

[SomeGreekGuy]

1 minute ago, WoodenMarker said:

They wouldn't be nearly as good. The steeper fan blades would leak air outside of the shroud and lack the effective static pressure to guide air through the heatsink. Unless you extend the shroud past the fan blades or somehow keep part of the the original fan frame, performance wouldn't even be close.

I have a friend with a 3D printer, so I could... But I'm also pretty lazy. I remember hearing of some fans- I believe from silverstone- that make vortexes and push the air more effectively through radiators. Are they any good?

[SomeGreekGuy]

3 minutes ago, WoodenMarker said:

They wouldn't be nearly as good. The steeper fan blades would leak air outside of the shroud and lack the effective static pressure to guide air through the heatsink. Unless you extend the shroud past the fan blades or somehow keep part of the the original fan frame, performance wouldn't even be close.

Do you mind if I message you privately?

[WoodenMarker]

1 minute ago, ky802008 said:

I have a friend with a 3D printer, so I could... But I'm also pretty lazy. I remember hearing of some fans- I believe from silverstone- that make vortexes and push the air more effectively through radiators. Are they any good?

You probably mean their Air Penetrator series: https://www.silverstonetek.com/product.php?pid=257&area=en

They're decent but don't come in 92mm. Closest would be their 80mm AP81 but the gap between the fan blades and shroud would mean less efficiency and static pressure. The grille design can be useful for directing airflow in open air scenarios but it doesn't really help static pressure when up against a heatsink or rad. 

1 minute ago, ky802008 said:

Do you mind if I message you privately?

That's fine but it's generally better to keep discussion in the thread for future readers to reference.