RTX A2000 "KalmX Edition" - probably the fastest SFF friendly passive cooled GPU to date

[REVOCCASES]

It's been a while since PALIT released their passive cooled GTX 1650 KalmX and I haven't seen anything comparable with "next gen" performance. Of course you could put an RTX 3080 in a MONSTERLABO, HDPLEX or TUREMETAL case but if you prefer to have a standalone, passive cooled GPU for your custom build there aren't many options...

long story short, here is my DIY solution to turn the RTX A2000 into a passive cooled "KalmX Edition"

Specs:

• GPU: RTX A2000 6GB
• Cooler: ACCELERO S1 R2 & CNC machined copper plate
• Dimensions: ca. 2 Slots, 135mm height, 220mm long

performing the mod:



besides the A2K and the ACCELERO S1 cooler, we need a 3mm copper plate for mounting and covering the VRAM...



the copper plate will be soldered with 138C solder paste to the heat sink...



I am using a small, cheap "Pizza Oven" for this job and controlling the temperature via a temp probe... the process is a little bit tricky because if you heat it up too much, the heatpipes will come loose from the cooler itself...



as soon as the solder paste melts you're good and can stop the oven...



last but not least I painted the modded heatsink with some temperature resistant spray paint...



mounted to the A2K with two M2.5x8mm screws and done...



next up, some benchmarks...

 

[REVOCCASES]

now let's see how it performs...

stock settings, horizontal fin orientation:



stock settings, vertical fin orientation:



custom V/C curve, horizontal fin orientation:



custom V/C curve, vertical fin orientation:



Benchmark results, custom V/C curve, vertical fin orientation:



summarizing: it works great! even at stock settings it does not throttle and performs just as good as with the noisy stock cooler. For best (passive-) cooling and performance however, it would be ideal to place the GPU in a traditional layout case to support natural airflow trough the fins and adjust the V/C curve in afterburner to something like 1500 Mhz @ 750mV

 

[msystems]

Amazing work fabricating your own base plate and figuring how to solder it! Looks very clean and no harm to the original heatpipes.

 

[Arboreal]

That is amazing @REVOCCASES!
The A2000 is getting a serious passive makeover.
This is a new level mod

 

[explorerofallworlds]

Would it be possible to get the files to CNC the plate ?

 

[REVOCCASES]

Would it be possible to get the files to CNC the plate ?

It's just a slightly modified (smaller) version of this one:

Other - RTX A2000 - DIY Single Slot Copper Cooler Mod

DXF files to make your own 1-slot cooler and backplate for the A2000 coldplate can be laser cut or CNC machined from >= 3.0 copper (3.2mm recommended), mounting holes designed for M2.5 1-slot bracket / backplate can be laser cut and bend from...

smallformfactor.net

 

[explorerofallworlds]

Thanks

 

[REVOCCASES]

NVIDIA RTX A2000 SFF Graphics Card Modded With Passive Heatsink, Runs Just As Good Minus The Noisy Stock Cooler (wccftech.com)

Enthusiast Builds Fanless RTX A2000 Graphics Card | Tom's Hardware (tomshardware.com)

 

[Neathdrawls]

NVIDIA RTX A2000 SFF Graphics Card Modded With Passive Heatsink, Runs Just As Good Minus The Noisy Stock Cooler (wccftech.com)

Enthusiast Builds Fanless RTX A2000 Graphics Card | Tom's Hardware (tomshardware.com)

Congratulations on getting on the tech news!

This is indeed a very interesting mod.

 

[mikejmcfarlane]

Really enjoying seeing how much you can mod the RTX A2000. Are you working on a build that this will go in?

 

[REVOCCASES]

Are you working on a build that this will go in?

Currently not. This was more just-for-fun / proof-of-concept to see what Nvidia and their partners could have done with such efficient 75W GPUs like the A2000 and upcoming 4000 SFF ADA ...

 

[Roskow]

That's super cool! I was making a few cad drawings of ways to attach the Noctua NH-P1 to the A2000, but this is way better!

 

[r_san]

What a great idea, I just bought a accelero S2 to glue on my quadro p620, hopefully it will be easy to adapt

 

[r_san]

What a great idea, I just bought a accelero S2 to glue on my quadro p620, hopefully it will be easy to adapt

 

[REVOCCASES]

upon request I've attached the coldplate DXF file for CNC machining/laser cutting... SendCutSend website quoted USD 35,- including tapping 2x M2.5 and deburring...

 

[BikingViking11]

My streaming PC is entirely fanless...minus the GPU. I'm currently using a GTX 1650 with plans to add a passive cooler to it. Well, that was until I became aware of the A2000. 20W less TDP and reportedly up to 80% more muscle...thanks for this thread.

 

[Kroel]

This is what i want!
Already found an Accelero S1 and looking to have a copper plate machined for me.
I was just thinking. Why not drill a few extra holes in de copper plate and attach the Accelero using screws and some regular thermal paste?

 

[REVOCCASES]

Why not drill a few extra holes in de copper plate and attach the Accelero using screws and some regular thermal paste?

You can try if you don't like to use solder paste, but cooling performance will be worse because solder has way better thermal conductivity...

 

[Kroel]

You can try if you don't like to use solder paste, but cooling performance will be worse because solder has way better thermal conductivity...

Ok. I didn't realise it was actually better to paste it. Thanks

 

[P.P.A]

Thank you @REVOCCASES for creating this mod & releasing the DXF file for it. I'm looking to replicate it with an Accelero S2 (although, comparing it to the S1 in the photo, now I'm not sure that the two less heatpipes are going to cut it). Since SendCutSend don't appear to ship to Germany, can you recommend similar services that do?
(Alternatively, if you're willing to sell this prototype, I'd be very much interested.)