Graphics card fan problem
in [Hardware]
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From: Wyman on 7 Nov 2009 21:08 Someone deleted my post and I don't know why! When I tried to see if anyone responded it said my message was no longer on the server. This is NOT spam and I'd appreciate if you don't delete this one. Anyway, the fan on my ATI 9600xt AIW graphics card has started to run rather loudly a few days ago. I can unhook the power connector from the card and the sound goes away. Is it okay to use the vid card without the fan running without causing any damage to anything else? The card works fine despite the noise. Here's a pic of it. http://www.global-b2b-network.com/direct/dbimage/50305921/ATI_VGA_Card_9600XT_AGP_TSOP.jpg If I can't run it fanless, is there another fix short of buying a new one? Thanks in advance, Wyman
From: SC Tom on 7 Nov 2009 22:33 "Wyman" <wyman(a)nospam.com> wrote in message news:ulojchBYKHA.1868(a)TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl... > Someone deleted my post and I don't know why! When I tried to see if > anyone responded it said my message was no longer on the server. This is > NOT spam and I'd appreciate if you don't delete this one. > > Anyway, the fan on my ATI 9600xt AIW graphics card has started to run > rather loudly a few days ago. I can unhook the power connector from the > card and the sound goes away. Is it okay to use the vid card without the > fan running without causing any damage to anything else? The card works > fine despite the noise. Here's a pic of it. > > http://www.global-b2b-network.com/direct/dbimage/50305921/ATI_VGA_Card_9600XT_AGP_TSOP.jpg > > If I can't run it fanless, is there another fix short of buying a new one? > > Thanks in advance, > Wyman > > If the ambient temp is low, you don't run any games or programs with heavy graphics usage, and you have extremely good airflow through your PC, you MAY get away with running it with the fan unplugged. Don't make book on it, though. Your best bet is to clean the fan blades and heat sink fins, and lubricate the shaft with a couple of drops of 3-in-1 oil. That should take care of the noise for a while. Save up a few bucks each payday while it's running quietly, and by the time it gets noisy to the point you can't stand it any more, you'll have enough to buy a newer, better card :-) SC Tom
From: Paul on 7 Nov 2009 22:49 Wyman wrote: > Someone deleted my post and I don't know why! When I tried to see if anyone > responded it said my message was no longer on the server. This is NOT spam > and I'd appreciate if you don't delete this one. > > Anyway, the fan on my ATI 9600xt AIW graphics card has started to run rather > loudly a few days ago. I can unhook the power connector from the card and > the sound goes away. Is it okay to use the vid card without the fan running > without causing any damage to anything else? The card works fine despite > the noise. Here's a pic of it. > > http://www.global-b2b-network.com/direct/dbimage/50305921/ATI_VGA_Card_9600XT_AGP_TSOP.jpg > > If I can't run it fanless, is there another fix short of buying a new one? > > Thanks in advance, > Wyman > > It is a relatively low power card. It depends on what clock speeds you use to run the card, but in round numbers, 10W at idle, and 25W when gaming. Some of that will be memory power, leaving the rest as GPU power dissipation. My guess would be, the card could become unhappy, if you unplug the fan and then start playing a 3D game. At the 25 watt level, with no fan, it might get too hot. http://www.xbitlabs.com/images/video/ati-powercons/t5.gif ( http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/video/display/ati-powercons_9.html#sect0 ) You can get after-market coolers, but with those, it pays to buy one when the card is initially popular. Later, it'll get harder to find compatibility info. For example, the ARCTIC COOLING ATI silencer 2 fits a 9600XT. According to the customer reviews, this product doesn't seem to fit regular ATI 9600 AGP cards, but looks to be designed mainly for the XT. I can't find it for sale, so you might have to look on Ebay. http://www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx?Item=N82E16835186114 If the card design was more like this, you could try removing the black plastic bits and just keep the aluminum cooler. Then, place an 80mm case cooling fan next to the heatsink, and get close to original performance. I don't know how easy it would be to mod the cooler you've got. Yours may be held on by push-pins, just like this one is. http://img.tomshardware.com/us/2003/10/15/facelift/intro.jpg The standard answer, is to "oil the hub" of the fan, to make it quiet for a while. If it isn't too far gone, you can try that. Again, there are many variations on fan designs, and it may not be possible to get close enough to the bearing to oil it. Some are easier to oil than others. I removed the sticky label on one of my video cards here, and the plastic hub underneath was solid and there was no oil hole present. The fan was spring loaded, and you couldn't pull it apart (at least, without an excess of violence). That video card is still running today - all it needed was to have the dust thoroughly cleaned from it. The whole cooler will come off. Compressing the "tails" of the two push pins, can allow the push pin to be eased out from the front. You have to be very careful, as the tool you use to compress the tail of the push pin can easily slide off and damage something. But once you remove the heatsink, you still have to find a replacement. And the replacement still has to touch at all the same places as the original one did. Sorry there isn't an easy answer to this. The odds of finding someone selling aftermarket AGP heatsinks now, is pretty slim. Paul
From: Wyman on 8 Nov 2009 00:04 Thanks SC Tom and Paul for your responses. I'm not a gamer or use this particular computer extensively. It's used mostly for TV recordings and occasional burning. I was a little worried about the overheating but I have 2 80mm case fans already attached so hopefully those can tie me over til I can buy another one. I'm not real comfortable with taking apart the card as I really wouldn't know what I'm doing. I leave it on during the day also and I hope that doesn't present an issue. Regards, Wyman "Paul" <nospam(a)needed.com> wrote in message news:hd5f2t$7no$1(a)aioe.org... Wyman wrote: > Someone deleted my post and I don't know why! When I tried to see if > anyone responded it said my message was no longer on the server. This is > NOT spam and I'd appreciate if you don't delete this one. > > Anyway, the fan on my ATI 9600xt AIW graphics card has started to run > rather loudly a few days ago. I can unhook the power connector from the > card and the sound goes away. Is it okay to use the vid card without the > fan running without causing any damage to anything else? The card works > fine despite the noise. Here's a pic of it. > > http://www.global-b2b-network.com/direct/dbimage/50305921/ATI_VGA_Card_9600XT_AGP_TSOP.jpg > > If I can't run it fanless, is there another fix short of buying a new one? > > Thanks in advance, > Wyman > > It is a relatively low power card. It depends on what clock speeds you use to run the card, but in round numbers, 10W at idle, and 25W when gaming. Some of that will be memory power, leaving the rest as GPU power dissipation. My guess would be, the card could become unhappy, if you unplug the fan and then start playing a 3D game. At the 25 watt level, with no fan, it might get too hot. http://www.xbitlabs.com/images/video/ati-powercons/t5.gif ( ttp://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/video/display/ati-powercons_9.html#sect0 ) You can get after-market coolers, but with those, it pays to buy one when the card is initially popular. Later, it'll get harder to find compatibility info. For example, the ARCTIC COOLING ATI silencer 2 fits a 9600XT. According to the customer reviews, this product doesn't seem to fit regular ATI 9600 AGP cards, but looks to be designed mainly for the XT. I can't find it for sale, so you might have to look on Ebay. http://www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx?Item=N82E16835186114 If the card design was more like this, you could try removing the black plastic bits and just keep the aluminum cooler. Then, place an 80mm case cooling fan next to the heatsink, and get close to original performance. I don't know how easy it would be to mod the cooler you've got. Yours may be held on by push-pins, just like this one is. http://img.tomshardware.com/us/2003/10/15/facelift/intro.jpg The standard answer, is to "oil the hub" of the fan, to make it quiet for a while. If it isn't too far gone, you can try that. Again, there are many variations on fan designs, and it may not be possible to get close enough to the bearing to oil it. Some are easier to oil than others. I removed the sticky label on one of my video cards here, and the plastic hub underneath was solid and there was no oil hole present. The fan was spring loaded, and you couldn't pull it apart (at least, without an excess of violence). That video card is still running today - all it needed was to have the dust thoroughly cleaned from it. The whole cooler will come off. Compressing the "tails" of the two push pins, can allow the push pin to be eased out from the front. You have to be very careful, as the tool you use to compress the tail of the push pin can easily slide off and damage something. But once you remove the heatsink, you still have to find a replacement. And the replacement still has to touch at all the same places as the original one did. Sorry there isn't an easy answer to this. The odds of finding someone selling aftermarket AGP heatsinks now, is pretty slim. Paul
From: VanguardLH on 8 Nov 2009 01:08
Wyman wrote: > Someone deleted my post and I don't know why! When I tried to see if > anyone responded it said my message was no longer on the server. > This is NOT spam and I'd appreciate if you don't delete this one. Who do you think we are? This is Usenet, not a free venue to support folks at Microsoft. We're just users here like yourself. No one here has any control over how Microsoft's NNTP servers function. Microsoft does have some spam & noise filtering but no one here can do anything regarding its config. What is Usenet: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usenet http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newsgroups http://www.masonicinfo.com/newsgroups.htm http://www.mcfedries.com/Ramblings/usenet-primer.asp > Anyway, the fan on my ATI 9600xt AIW graphics card has started to run > rather loudly a few days ago. On some models, they use a 60mm fan but it is far thinner than what you can buy and is designed to sit within the heatsink. You have to return the video card to ATI for warranty repair (if it's still warranteed). > I can unhook the power connector from the card and the sound goes > away. Is it okay to use the vid card without the fan running without > causing any damage to anything else? To anything ELSE? Well, sure. That your GPU on your video card gets fried doesn't mean your hard disks, memory modules on the mobo, or CPU are going to get fried. You just won't be able to boot your computer since the video's BIOS gets loaded before the system BIOS. > The card works fine despite the noise. You haven't stressed it. Or you are currently overheating it and eventually it will fry out. > Here's a pic of it. > http://www.global-b2b-network.com/direct/dbimage/50305921/ATI_VGA_Card_9600XT_AGP_TSOP.jpg Yeah, looks like one of those skinny 60mm fans custom shaped to sit inside ATI's heatsink. > If I can't run it fanless, is there another fix short of buying a new > one? Put a slot card fan next to it. Alas, all slot card fans are exhaust fans instead of intake fans. That means you would be moving the warmed interior air past the GPU's heatsink instead of sucking in the colder outside air to push against the GPU's heatsink. But then the stock fan on the GPU is already receiving pre-warmed air from inside your case. Just be aware that slot card fans are not reliable for longevity. Their fan goes bad faster than separate fans that you buy. You could punch a hole in the side cover and use an intake fan to push the colder outside air over the GPU's heatsink, too. You could also buy a 3rd party cooler to use on that video card, like http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835119064&Tpk=ati%209600xt%20cooler (never used it, example only). |