TheOverclocker Issue 21 | Page 27

1 2 3 4 5 6 STEP 4 I will remind you to install the temperature probe before this step as well, or else it will be very tough to do so after the pot is fully insulated. Also be sure to run your probe length out of the BOTTOM of the container and not the top so it won’t get torch damage on frequent use (8). STEP 5 Cut out the foam around the bracket area of the GPU pot as pictured (10), then seal off the bottom of the container with some foam (11). You can use multiple layers here to aid the pot in standing up straight when mounted on the board as to not put stress on the board slot/GPU PCI express fingers. This can lead to detection issues down the road after long periods of overclocking. STEP 6 You are finally ready to mount the card on the pot. Put the socket gaskets on the front side of the card, apply the TIM and mount the card to the pot (12). Contact is everything when it comes to overclocking any kind of hardware, GPUs in particular. The best way to get really good contact is to push the card on the backside with your thumb in the center behind the core. Hold it there tightly while you put all four thumbnuts on and screw them down until they touch the card, but not too tight. Then turn them an EQUAL amount of turns at a time going diagonally until you cannot turn the nuts any tighter using just your fingers. Never use a wrench or pliers to tighten them more than is possible with just your hands as you can damage the solder balls behind the GPU where it attaches to the PCB. When you see artifacts at post even when using the stock cooler, this is most likely what happened. Issue 21 | 2012 The OverClocker 27