nickolp1974 Posted July 3, 2015 Share Posted July 3, 2015 I have tried a couple of times freezing VGA's without much success and after 20 mins it just seem to go to s*** and i just end up wasting LN 1. So for the basics, just vas or LET the entire board? 2. Using vas in or around the slot? Do i melt it in or just seal around once the vga is in place?? This can be difficult with little space(impact) as i cant get my fat fingers in to do this! 3. Is there any rules as to which mems dont like cold?? 4. Insulating from cold? (Foam etc) again is this card dependant and generally which areas?? 5. Does pot size matter?? I have a tek 9 fat and slim Any help on this matter and i'd be truly grateful, i would love a session to last longer than 20mins! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
der8auer Posted July 3, 2015 Share Posted July 3, 2015 1. insulate everything which could possible get in contact with water/ice 2. I personally don't use anything inside the slot. However I put a lot of paper around the slot to catch dripping water 3. Changes from card to card. Which one exactly? 4. I only insulate the pot with armaflex and armaflex between the backplate and the VGA. For the rest just paper everywhere to catch water 5. Yes. A fat pot is usually more stable and can handle a higher load. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickolp1974 Posted July 3, 2015 Author Share Posted July 3, 2015 Thanks for the reply Roman, mainly using older cards to test first before using newer more expensive tech, next to test will be a 480 lightning, i have read that other than the core they like to keep warm so that will be an interesting test as i'd imagine there could be more moisture. Card before was a 280amp which was going ok and i was building clocks/volts/temps but i think again moisture in the slot killed that session again, so that defo looks to be my problem area With vas in the slot, will contact still be made? Ever thought of making a rubber gasket/skirt or something like that to sell Roman?? That would be great at diverting moisture away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
der8auer Posted July 3, 2015 Share Posted July 3, 2015 480 is a PITA when it comes to thermal paste cracking because of the high load. What thermal paste did you use? If you go too low and the heat is too high you might lose contact between pot and die. What temp did you bench at? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K404 Posted July 3, 2015 Share Posted July 3, 2015 My approach: LET around the PCB, including around the GDDR and at least two inches around the core. I usually stop at the line of caps from the PWM If i'm expecting to go below -60 and/or it's a humid environment, I use a little vaseline for the PCI-E slot. I apply it to the card, not the board. If you're going below -100, I would suggest a heating element mounted around the monitor ports. I use a neoprene gasket that's PCB specific to surround the pot's contact area. The card has toilet paper on both sides, between the LET and the neoprene. I find this massively helpful. I also use a neoprene pad on the back of the PCB, usually held in place with a rubber band. SO..... pot- neop gasket-toilet paper-LET-GPU-LET-toilet paper-neop. Also..... take the temperature down SLOWLY! I "run up" in steps.... H20 MHz + 10% at -20c, +20% at -40c etc etc. The first run is always wildly unstable in terms of temperature, because the pot is still to build up it's thermal inertia. A 480 Lightning? I'd recommend building up more experience before benching a rare PCB with a mentally hot core. The GTX480 is a workout. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HiVizMan Posted July 3, 2015 Share Posted July 3, 2015 I concur with Kenny and Roman about that card mate. You want at least 100 hours of LN2 VGA experience before you get stuck into that one. I recall the pain big time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickolp1974 Posted July 3, 2015 Author Share Posted July 3, 2015 Cheers guys for the help, and thats what i have been reading Viz about the 480L being a pain, may leave that one for now then and possibly stick with the 280amp as i have a bit of experience with it and with some of advice off viz beforehand mirrors what you say kenny about building temps up, it was getting there until i believe moisture got in the slot. @Roman, i was just using MX2 but have since gotten some PK3 after reading your reviews on TIM mainly due to the fact most of the time my hardware is on phase, once i know whats what and which cards can go colder i'll be trying some of the thermal grizzly. Iirc temps got to around -90c, going up from -50c in 10c increments and then testing. Can you provide a link to some suitable neoprene and a heating element. Thanks chaps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HiVizMan Posted July 3, 2015 Share Posted July 3, 2015 Go to your local Tesco and buy a camping mat for £4. The blue and yellow ones. That is neoprene mate. Heating element, well a hairdryer will do the job too. But you should be AOK with the 280 cards Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K404 Posted July 3, 2015 Share Posted July 3, 2015 Once you get really anal about benching, different pastes work better with different architectures I use cheap hair straighteners with the PCB in-between the plates Worth it for the looks from onlookers alone Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickolp1974 Posted July 3, 2015 Author Share Posted July 3, 2015 So hair dryer and straightners, my mrs will think i'm setting up a salon! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ObscureParadox_3XS Posted July 4, 2015 Share Posted July 4, 2015 Once you get really anal about benching, different pastes work better with different architectures I use cheap hair straighteners with the PCB in-between the plates Worth it for the looks from onlookers alone With the greatest of respect, people must look at you daft when you go to purchase a set of straighteners anyway Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K404 Posted July 4, 2015 Share Posted July 4, 2015 That sentence could have finished ten words earlier I was going to mention the anonymity of internet shopping.... but those straighteners (and other RANDOM things) are still paired with an address label that says Kenny. Meh. I'm a good boyfriend. Or something. I'm sure all people who straighten their hair would be as happy with a £4 set of straighteners as they would be with this seasons must-have GHD's.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ObscureParadox_3XS Posted July 4, 2015 Share Posted July 4, 2015 There is nothing quite like it saying 230c on the box and it being able to go above 150c.... (I used to have really long hair at one point, I think I did at long eaton actually) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickolp1974 Posted July 4, 2015 Author Share Posted July 4, 2015 What do you guys think? http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2PK-COMPUTER-USB-POWERED-ELECTRIC-MOUSE-PAD-HAND-FINGER-WARMER-HEATING-PAD-MAT-/271736150993?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3f44bc9bd1 Size looks good and usb connection, not sure on the heat, but warm enough do ya think? Worth a punt? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K404 Posted July 4, 2015 Share Posted July 4, 2015 32C. Sorry, nope, pointless. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickolp1974 Posted July 4, 2015 Author Share Posted July 4, 2015 So what card would give me least trouble to practice on?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K404 Posted July 4, 2015 Share Posted July 4, 2015 G92. Scales nice with cold and volts, not too hot, -60 is the sweetspot for most of them. Low-end Fermi is fun if you can get 1.3v into them (the 1.15 or 1.21v limits of nVInspector are no good) ATI.... 58, 78 and 79 series are ok, but not all cores scale that well Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickolp1974 Posted July 4, 2015 Author Share Posted July 4, 2015 Fermi, so is that 460 hawk? If so i need to get more volts for that and got quite a few G92's but all need v.modding Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K404 Posted July 4, 2015 Share Posted July 4, 2015 450 is a nice, tame card to play with too 460 Hawk, sure It has the PWM to keep up. The SOC has it's own set of challenges. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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