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 Build components  Build kit  Graphics cooler removed  RAM heatsinks and pads Setting up the IXG-80HA2 heatsink is easy after removal of the previous cooling on the graphics card. Removing the screws that hold the fan in place and sliding the cooling system off the card. After removing the thermal paste from the GPU and memory chips it was time to begin installation of the iXtrema IXG-80HA2 heatsink.  Top view  Bottom angle  IO  Heatpipes The installation process is simplicity itself on the ASUS EN9800GT video card we used for this installation. This card does not need the MOSFET heatsink or Chipset heatsink to install the IXG-80HA2 as those are only required for the high end video cards like the GTX280 or GTX260. After installing the RAM heatsinks on the memory and the thermal spreaders on the top two RAM chips, I was ready to mount the cooler.  Fan assembly  Fan  3 fan  Power The mounting of the IXG-80HA2 is pretty easy. Line up the holes on the GPU cooler with the holes on the EN9800GT and place black 0 rings over the graphics cooler. Insert the GPU cooler into the holes, insert the bolts into the holes on the other side of the graphics card with the Red O-Rings and screw the bolts in tightly. At this point the heatsink is installed but the optional fans can be installed if you wish. Installing the optional fan is also easy as pie. There are five mounting slots on the heatsink so each fan can be installed in one fan, two fans or three fan modes. One Fan mode uses the middle slot in the center of the heatsink. Two fan modes use the two middle slots flanking the center slot. Three fan modes use the middle slot as well as the two flanking slots. The Fan Wiring Harness is used to power on the fans of the GPU cooler. As each fan has a 3-pin power connector, the need for a harness alleviates the need for three fan headers to be used by the fans. There's also a medium speed and low speed adapter for quiet operation of the cooling fans. The harness works effectively, but there are a lot of wires with them all connected. Test System
 No fans  3 fans  Idle temp ASUS Fan  Stress temp ASUS Fan Performance from the heatsink alone was not spectacular. The temperature with the heatsink alone reached over 74C. Note that the ASUS card normally comes with a heatsink/fan and while the idea of a heatsink alone is great the Installation Guide recommends the use of a single fan on a GeForce 9800 card. Installation of a single fan caused temperatures to go down to 39C. Installation of two fans dropped temperatures a Degree. Stress testing the graphics card by running 3DMark Vantage with all three fans installed caused a temperature of 49C. This is a 10 degree difference over the ASUS cooler.  
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