• Save 15% on ALL SFF Network merch, until Dec 31st! Use code SFF2024 at checkout. Click here!

Modding Quadro P4000 to fit in S4M

Nanook

King of Cable Management
Original poster
May 23, 2016
805
793
I’m hoping to convert the P4000, a single slot, blower fan cooler, 241mm card, into a dual slot, dual fan open-air cooled, that is 215mm card.
My idea is to remove the blower fan that extends the length of the graphics card. Add a super thin heatsink to the gpu die, and two A9x14 fans.
The goal is to fit this shortened P4000 in the S4M. The Accelero heatsinks won’t work since they’re all too wide for the S4M.

Has anyone tried a gpu mod like this before?
 
  • Like
Reactions: petricor

Nanook

King of Cable Management
Original poster
May 23, 2016
805
793
I got my hands on a for-parts-only Quadro K2000 card for a good price. The K2000 is a 51w TDP card, while the P4000 is a 105w TDP card.
I'm going to try putting the K2000 cooler on the P4000 to see if it would run OK in terms of temps. Hopefully it won't be a throttling mess.

The P4000 would stay single slot, but will be shorter. I plan to put 2x A9x14 directly on top of in hopes to supplement cooling.
 

el01

King of Cable Management
Jun 4, 2018
770
588
Nice! I would look into potentially modding old server heatsinks for this task, given that the 1U varieties seem to be completely copper most of the time. Add on some low-profile fans and you've got a very capable card. Your current plan seems quite feasible, though :)
 
  • Like
Reactions: Soul_Est

Nanook

King of Cable Management
Original poster
May 23, 2016
805
793
Haha thanks for not telling me I’m nuts. I really hope I won’t break the P4000 as it’s quite an expensive card.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Soul_Est

el01

King of Cable Management
Jun 4, 2018
770
588
Haha thanks for not telling me I’m nuts. I really hope I won’t break the P4000 as it’s quite an expensive card.
I wouldn't be worried about breaking the P4000 (given that most modern cards are relatively durable. I assume that it's using a similar board design to the 1070 FE, so I would look into water cooling/other forums for the design.

Here's a good way to cool the card:
https://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod...xkJEpysnN1C28XdQ00RoCqV8QAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
If you can machine out parts of the bottom and make a custom bracket, then you would be golden.
 

Nanook

King of Cable Management
Original poster
May 23, 2016
805
793
Got the Quadro P4000 to fit in the S4M. I couldn’t get the K2000 cooler to fit in the P4000, so I tried the Noctua NH-L9i cooler instead. 4 zip ties, and 2 A9x14 (2.5w versions), and I have a P4000 in my S4M.
CAD runs well, and games ran OK too (performance between a 1060 and 1070). Next up - going brickless - getting a 160w ac adapter to fit in the S4M!
 

el01

King of Cable Management
Jun 4, 2018
770
588
Got the Quadro P4000 to fit in the S4M. I couldn’t get the K2000 cooler to fit in the P4000, so I tried the Noctua NH-L9i cooler instead. 4 zip ties, and 2 A9x14 (2.5w versions), and I have a P4000 in my S4M.
CAD runs well, and games ran OK too (performance between a 1060 and 1070). Next up - going brickless - getting a 160w ac adapter to fit in the S4M!
Nice! Love the implementation!
 

Nanook

King of Cable Management
Original poster
May 23, 2016
805
793
Nice! Love the implementation!
Thanks! I didn’t have any 1U server coolers, but did have a L9i sitting around, so I tried that, and it worked. I’m thinking it might be throttling though. Going to run GPUz later to see how I may have to tinker some more.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Soul_Est

Soul_Est

SFF Guru
SFFn Staff
Feb 12, 2016
1,536
1,928
Nicely done there. Definitely gives me ideas for a mod I was thinking of doing myself.
 

Nanook

King of Cable Management
Original poster
May 23, 2016
805
793
Nicely done there. Definitely gives me ideas for a mod I was thinking of doing myself.
Thanks!
After checking temps, I observed that the temps of the L9i is similar to the stock blower. Thermal limit at 83c. Technically not throttling - just limited boost.
I’ve since converted the P4000 back to the stock cooler. I needed for the P4000 to fit inside my A4-SFX, and it was easier to transport without a brick.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Soul_Est and el01

Sacrament9615

What's an ITX?
New User
Apr 1, 2023
1
0
Do you happen to have more detailed pictures regarding the fitment of the noctua cooler?

I got a p4000 for my server but with the internal hdd expansion, the card won't fit.

I'm thinking of taking off the plate, removing most of the fan android extension area and welding it back into place to keep a secure mounting for the power connector...and running fanless.

The server is 2u and had fans shooting air straight back...so it might work