This guide is a complete review of how I successfully applied one GTX280 Xtreme cooler to a Zotac GTX285 AMP Edition graphics card. The required installation components are one Phillips screwdriver, MX2 compound, Arctic Silver adhesive,  Northbridge cooler, one Accelero GTX280 Xtreme cooler, Q-Tips, Alcohol, sixteen Memory coolers and one Nvidia GTX285 Zotac AMP Edition graphics card. These components will provide the card with high performance cooling allowing the user to enhance the graphics cards performance. By giving the card a new theater of decreased operating temperatures we can achieve higher overall Memory, Core and Shader Clock settings via “Over-Clocking.” Enhancing these settings with a “stock” cooler would otherwise cause the card to over- heat. The following installation guide will outline the process of the GTX280 cooler modification.
     This guide is an overview of how I applied the Accelero GTX280 Xtreme cooler to a Zotac GTX285 AMP Edition graphics card The necessary installation components are one Phillips screwdriver, MX2 thermal compound, sixteen video memory heat sinks, Arctic Silver thermal adhesive, one Northbridge heat sink, one Accelero GTX280 Xtreme cooler, two Q-Tips, Alcohol and one Nvidia GTX285 Zotac AMP Edition graphics card. These components will provide the card with high performance cooling. This will allow the user to further “Over-Clock” or enhance the graphics cards performance. By lowering the operating temperatures we can increase the Core Clock Speeds, Shader Clock and Memory Clock speeds without reaching a core temperature level that would automatically shut down the card.
     After the application I noticed a dramatic decrease in temperatures. With the stock cooler in place I would experience core levels of forty degrees Celsius in an idle setting and sixty degrees under operation. After the Accelero modification I now experience core levels of thirty four degrees Celsius idle and forty three degrees Celsius while gaming.
     The process begins with removing the factory cooling or “cover” of the video card to expose the main board.  This can be done by removing the twelve screws located on the back of the card indicated by the pink circles in the illustration.

By removing the cover “stock cooler” we will reveal the cards memory and core. Once the main board is accessed it is necessary to discard the metal ring around the core and use the Q-Tips and alcohol to clean the memory modules indicated by the pink stars.

Just dip the Q-Tips into the Alcohol and squeeze them to remove any excess then wipe the Memory with the swabs allowing them to air-dry. You don’t have to squeeze the Q-Tips too hard like a baby grabs a cat in the face. Just squeeze out the excess. The Northbridge heat sink can now be applied using the two pre-attached fasteners. This is indicated by the before and after illustration.
 
Remove any adhesive or backing that may be pre-applied to the memory heat sinks. Mix the adhesive as directed by the manufacturer’s directions of a “one to one” ratio.  
 
Apply a thin layer of the adhesive to the back of each heat sink and apply them to each of the memory components. Allow the adhesive to set for approximately three hours. While the adhesive is curing the core can now be prepped. Apply a thin coat of MX2 thermal compound to the core of the graphics card. Use something like a playing card or perhaps a credit card to apply the thermal compound evenly across the core in a thin layer. Attach the new cooler to the main board by applying the four screws that will hold it in place.

The screws will align with the green circles in the photograph pictured above. Use caution when applying the screws and do not scratch the main board with the screwdriver. If you have followed all of the directions accordingly you should have a finished product that at is ready to install. The adhesive should be cured well enough to hold the memory coolers in place. I recommend not operating the card in a “gaming” state until the cure time has reached the three hour limit. You can also verify the adhesive has dried by touching the left over mixed adhesive.
 
     This concludes the Accelero GTX280 Xtreme Modification Guide. I hope you have enjoyed this presentation. It may serve as a guide for installing such a device, as well as making an informed decision on purchasing one.

"The Ultimate" Graphics Card! If you notice I have also cut-out a section of the bottom case panel and installed one 80mm fan for addtional "Airflow." This makes sure that all three fans get massive air and keep it extra cold. I've noticed many GTX285 owners are claiming temperatures of 60 Celcius with stock settings. This card stays just under 44 Celcius with a massive overclock. While idle with the stock cooler I was noticing temps of 41-43 Celcius it now idles at 34-35.
Here are a few of the performance statistics as well.
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