Post by moog on Aug 1, 2020 8:44:08 GMT -5
Hello!
I've come back to making my retro PC more fanless than it already is. Having 2 Tualatins cooled by heatsinks only just isn't enough for me 
So what's left is the PSU, but time for that will come around. Those are pretty expensive.
So what's left is the PSU, but time for that will come around. Those are pretty expensive.In the first attachment, voodoo5500.jpg, we can see what the card looks like in its pristine condition. It sports 2 AAVID fans, roughly 38mm in each dimension, 6mm high, powered by wires. Not sure what voltage, sorry. Where we are going with this, there are no fans and certainly no need for knowing fan voltages. The underlying heatsink is 4mm high. Not sure what material.
First, we need the following supplies:
- normal thermal paste for normal people and not some crazy aliens (you'll find out later why the rather colorful description)
- freezer
- strong alcohol adequate for dissolving adhesives, 95% volume will be a great match
- flat plastic surface, your debit card or strip club VIP card will do fine
- flat screwdriver or anything that can apply enough leverage, like a mini crowbar of sorts
- flat plastic surface, your debit card or strip club VIP card will do fine
- flat screwdriver or anything that can apply enough leverage, like a mini crowbar of sorts
- power drill
- 2mm drill
- metal file
- cotton tips
- cotton tips
- X screwdriver
- 2x chipset heatsink (will be discussed in detail later on, this is super important) (reference link www.aliexpress.com/item/32396587574.html )
So, the heatsinks in question have to be very specific. Here I will outline the ideal, perfect qualities of a heatsink that is a match made in heaven for the 5500:
So, the heatsinks in question have to be very specific. Here I will outline the ideal, perfect qualities of a heatsink that is a match made in heaven for the 5500:
- made of copper because why should we settle for less
- 38x38mm, 10mm high
- has spring mounts at only 2 corners, opposite of each other
Unfortunately, this heatsink does not exist, or my search skill are rather crap, which is why we need a power drill, 2mm drill and a metal file. The heatsink I have, however:
- is aluminium
- 40x40mm, 10mm high
- has spring mounts, oh yeah
You can see the exact heatsink in attachment heatsink.jpg in case AliExpress removes this item or AliExpress itself is removed from the Internet.
First of all, we need to remove the stupid heatsinks. They are stupid because despite the PCB having holes to securely mount things, 3dfx has chosen to instead ignore this wonderful feature and do the braindamaged move of using a thermal adhesive which bonds strengthen the more heat it receives.
1. Unscrew the fans and unplug them.
2. Leave the Voodoo 5500 in the freezer for a longer period of time. Hour? 2 hours? Maybe. I left it there for half an hour and managed to succeed. Leave it for longer for even better mileage
3. There is a 1mm gap between the heatsink and the GPU chip. This is where you need to slide in your debit card. Next, squeeze in the head of the flat screwdriver between the debit card and the heatsink. Apply upward force until the heatsink snaps off. The trick here is that this adhesive thermal paste will become more and more brittle the colder it is, so that is why we needed to do step 2 - to make this step easier.
4. Get your moonshine or what have you, whatever has enough alcohol it won't be sold at the liquor store (70% minimum, 95% or more for best mileage), pour a small quantity of it in a small container. I used the bottle's lid. Sink a cotton tip in the alcohol and rub away the remaining thermal paste designed for crazy aliens. This should easily take you an hour, so prepare to rub vigorously, re-apply alcohol to the cotton tip and replace the lid's content. Keep in mind that alcohol DISSOLVES this adhesive, because here comes step 5.
5. Clean up this mess. There is dissolved adhesive - now completely harmless, but it just looks quite gross and unprofessional. Clean up the GPU chips. Clean up the PCB. If you really need to, prepare to splash and rinse that card with alcohol so that this mess drips away on its own.
- is aluminium
- 40x40mm, 10mm high
- has spring mounts, oh yeah
You can see the exact heatsink in attachment heatsink.jpg in case AliExpress removes this item or AliExpress itself is removed from the Internet.
First of all, we need to remove the stupid heatsinks. They are stupid because despite the PCB having holes to securely mount things, 3dfx has chosen to instead ignore this wonderful feature and do the braindamaged move of using a thermal adhesive which bonds strengthen the more heat it receives.
1. Unscrew the fans and unplug them.
2. Leave the Voodoo 5500 in the freezer for a longer period of time. Hour? 2 hours? Maybe. I left it there for half an hour and managed to succeed. Leave it for longer for even better mileage
3. There is a 1mm gap between the heatsink and the GPU chip. This is where you need to slide in your debit card. Next, squeeze in the head of the flat screwdriver between the debit card and the heatsink. Apply upward force until the heatsink snaps off. The trick here is that this adhesive thermal paste will become more and more brittle the colder it is, so that is why we needed to do step 2 - to make this step easier.
4. Get your moonshine or what have you, whatever has enough alcohol it won't be sold at the liquor store (70% minimum, 95% or more for best mileage), pour a small quantity of it in a small container. I used the bottle's lid. Sink a cotton tip in the alcohol and rub away the remaining thermal paste designed for crazy aliens. This should easily take you an hour, so prepare to rub vigorously, re-apply alcohol to the cotton tip and replace the lid's content. Keep in mind that alcohol DISSOLVES this adhesive, because here comes step 5.
5. Clean up this mess. There is dissolved adhesive - now completely harmless, but it just looks quite gross and unprofessional. Clean up the GPU chips. Clean up the PCB. If you really need to, prepare to splash and rinse that card with alcohol so that this mess drips away on its own.
6. Congrats, you now have a Voodoo 5500 that will kill itself upon launch
So, this is the easier part of the battle. Now we need to deal with the heatsink. If you did not get the perfect heatsink like me, this section is for you.
1. You need to make the holes wider by 2mm in the direction of the center of the heatsink. DO NOT USE HAMMER MODE IN YOUR POWER DRILL. This must allow the spring mounts to slide towards the center of the heatsink to better accomodate the requirements set forth by the PCB.
2. Grab your metal file and make space for the spring mounts. They will need to come as close to the center as allowed by the new wider holes. The outermost fins of the heatsink will prevent that, so you need to adjust them with the metal file.
3. Apply normal thermal paste for normal people on to the GPU chips and mount your heatsinks.
4. Enjoy. Your Voodoo 5500 is now silent and will still be able to function. For me, it was so silent I did not believe it was turned on
Check out the rest of the attachments to see how it should look like.
You are probably wondering how hot it gets. Pretty hot, but it works. If there is any software I can use to test this, I would be very happy to do so
So, this is the easier part of the battle. Now we need to deal with the heatsink. If you did not get the perfect heatsink like me, this section is for you.
1. You need to make the holes wider by 2mm in the direction of the center of the heatsink. DO NOT USE HAMMER MODE IN YOUR POWER DRILL. This must allow the spring mounts to slide towards the center of the heatsink to better accomodate the requirements set forth by the PCB.
2. Grab your metal file and make space for the spring mounts. They will need to come as close to the center as allowed by the new wider holes. The outermost fins of the heatsink will prevent that, so you need to adjust them with the metal file.
3. Apply normal thermal paste for normal people on to the GPU chips and mount your heatsinks.
4. Enjoy. Your Voodoo 5500 is now silent and will still be able to function. For me, it was so silent I did not believe it was turned on
Check out the rest of the attachments to see how it should look like.
You are probably wondering how hot it gets. Pretty hot, but it works. If there is any software I can use to test this, I would be very happy to do so
Attachments:
