Quiet Cooling of Matrox P650 with Zalman ZM80D-HP heatsink and ZM-OP1 fan
Matrox P650 with noisy stock fan. Matrox tech support does not have any passive cooling solution. Zalman tech support (2/2006) did not indicate any solution for the P650. One website was found that claimed Zalman ZM80D-HP would work. It does not appear that this is true, unless you modify the Zalman a bit.
Space is limited on this Asus A8N-SLI motherboard and it was not clear the project would succeed until the very end. Unfortunately, with variations between motherboards you just have to give it a try and see if it works.
*** DISCLAIMER: I was able to get the ZM80D-HP to work with the Matrox P650 on an Asus A8N-SLI. A minor modification to the Zalman heat sink is required. You will void the warranty of the Matrox and could destroy it. You could destroy your motherboard. Do not try this unless you are willing to take this risk. This information is provided as a convenience and no liabiility of any type is assumed. ***
Problem: Because of the P650 hole pattern, the Zalman Frontside Heathsink cannot be put on straight with the plate springs. It has to be straight.
Solution: I put the heatsink in a vise and cut two slots with a hacksaw so that the plate springs could hyperextend. The bottom slot did not turn out to be needed. Note this is the "Type A" (short) heatsink included with the ZM-80D kit; you also get a Type B but that is too long for the Matrox. Notice that cleaning the metal filings off with alcohol also removed the "Front" label.
Not shown: the Backside Heatsink Base required a slight modification also. In this case one of the Plate Springs had to be bent so it was "left handed" you might say. This was done by smashing it flat in the vise, then making two bends so it reaches the other way. (Realization: This rebending would work with the Frontside Heatsink Base also, avoiding the need to cut slots.)
Result: Installed Matrox with Zalman cooler and fan. The fan is recommended by Zalman for larger cards; when plugged into 5 volts it is whisper-quiet. The clearance between this big assembly and the Zalman ZM-NB47J chipset cooler (right) was minimal. (The ZM-NB47J was installed previously because the stock fan was loud to begin with, then started failing.) The chipset cooler had to be slid slightly to the side. This brought it dangerously close to an inductor (wire coiled around a ferrite donut) which was wrapped with tape as a precaution.
Copyright 2006 All rights reserved.
Author: xx3p4kc02 [ a t ] sneakemail.com
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