Replacing a video card’s HSF (heatsink/fan) is a pretty straight-forward process. However, the process does require a bit of patience and basic technical understanding as well as, of course, tools. You’ll also want to take precautions such as grounding yourself or using an anti-static device in order to avoid damaging the video card.

Below is the original, unmodified EVGA GeForce 6800 (Vanilla). Once the card has been pulled from the case and the power disconnected, start looking for the screws that are holding on the original HSF, and carefully remove them. There are a lot of them. Save them in case you need them again.

Part of the HSF has now been removed. You can see how wussy the stock fan and fins are:

Take caution to remove the rest of the HSF slowly and carefully. The heatsink is often glued to the memory modules, so you’ll probably need to carefully peel away the heatsink. Once this has been done, you’ll be able to see the bare components. The small black chips are the RAM, and the large chip in the center is the GPU. Before proceeding, it’s recommended that you clean out any dust and also make sure the chips are clean and ready for the new cooler. You can wipe away any leftover thermal compound from the GPU.

Here’s the front and back of the new cooler. Once you’re ready to install it, remove the plastic cover from the GPU thermal compound and peel away the tape from the RAM’s thermal compound. Avoid touching any of the thermal compound. After this, installation is really as simple as lining up the new cooler onto the video card and carefully tightening the screws that came with the new cooler.

This is the finished product. Clearly, the new HSF has a larger fan and a bigger heatsink. Next we’ll see how it actually performs.

(Methodology: For idle temperatures, the PC remained turned on but unused until temperatures stabled over a period of several minutes (assumed to be the normal idle temperatures). For gaming temperatures, each game was played with typical settings (the same settings before and after) for fifteen minutes and then temperatures were taken. All readings were provided by the tools included with nVidia’s drivers.)