Video Card Fan Makin Noise!

[LadyGrey]

Hi All,
I know it's the card as I've already checked the PS, replaced the heatsink and fan on the processor courtesy of AMD btw, used the old screwdriver trick on the HDDs in case that was it and finally got to the video card, Nvidia FX 5200 and just tapped the fan and the noise quit and then started again, happened twice. So that's it for sure and it's makin a devil of a noise. Now, is it possible to replace a video card fan?? Is this something you all think I would be capable of doing given most of you long time gurus know my level of computer experience? :D
All appropriate suggestions welcome.
Thanks,
LG ;)

[Fruss Tray Ted]

Now you're asking for appropriate behavior, just where did we go wrong? :eek:

[i an not a nerd]

Well, it is possible to replace the fan. You will lose any warrenty though.

Just look in any computer componant retail shop, you will find something.

[PrntRhd]

Hi LG!
Is this a Nvidia build?
Look for a ICEBERQ4 VGA fan, per a search I ran.
Huge, quiet, and effective:
http://www.fury-tech.com/modules.php?mod_name=Contents&jump=Vantec-Iceberq4
:)

[LadyGrey]

FTT appropriate behavior or suggestions from you??? Uhhh NOT! :p :D :p

PrntRhd, come to think of it it's a PNY but it sure takes all the Nvidia updates just fine so I doubt there would be too huge a difference, would there? and when I bought it it said Gforce FX 5200 on the box, just came from PNY.
Not at all worried about any warranty, that's long over. It's just a really good card for me and I hate to see it burn up because of a little dinky fan.
I'll go get one of those Vantec Iceberq 4s, that looks like it could do the job of savin my card! Thanks PrntRhd!! :)
Thanks All for the help! Now I just have to figure out how to do it :D Research is in order here I think.
LG ;)

[saphalline]

Vid cards usually have 3-year warranties, but if you're certain the warranty is over...

The GPU fan is held in place by two pins, usually made of plastic. Push each of them down slightly (on the flat end) and push the wings on the other end together. The pins should then just slide out (not that it will likely be easy!). Next, you have to remove the HSF unit from the GPU, which may be pasted on (the thermal material used on vid cards is notorious for being cement-like). Once you have that done, clean the GPU area of excess thermal junk using a lint-free cloth/material and some isopropyl alcohol (91% or higher bottles can be found in any basic pharmacy store for a pittance).

When replacing the HSF unit, the new one will likely come with some more thermal stuff. While adequate (especially for a low-heat chip like the FX 5200) a higher quality material like Arctic Silver never hurts. The new unit will also come with new pins, so if you have to cut the old ones off, no worries. I've had to do that myself quite a few times to get the little buggers off!

A few more notes: be extremely careful when removing and replacing the HSF units on any chip. If the job goes south in a freakish way, there's a chance you could crush the poor delicate core in less than 15 ms! These cases are rare and darn near impossible to commit if you are at all careful, but newbies should be warned. Basically, make sure the heatsink is as level as possible with the chip at all times. Rocking the heatsink back and forth is a sure way to crush your chip. And most GPU's/VPU's don't have a heatspreader like modern CPU's, so the danger is very real.

That Vantec unit looks a bit like overkill for an FX 5200, but hey! Since when does overkill bother us? :D

[LadyGrey]

Alright Saph you have basically scared the bee!@@#$ out of me!
I got my Vantec today, I'm not about to attempt anything till I know more about it. You know darn good and well I'm not a "newbie" you little dickens :p :D I may need a whole lot of help here people! I'll start work on Monday morning, will require a total shut down of my computer, I'm not good with that for any length of time. My computer and I, just like my Monte Carlo and I, have a real close thing going on here! :D :p If either is down for more than a few hours I'm not a happy person :D ;) FTT can tell you that me and "The Car" as well as me and "The Bird" and me and "The Computer" all have a symbiotic deal going on here! :p ;) Their health is directly related to mine, physical as well as mental! Can we get a CRAZY icon here??
Saph, I know the FX 5200 is low end darling, but it's the best I can do and I sure don't want it to burn up. I just can't get another one right now. After 22 years we are finally getting an new home and that card at this point is worth it's weight in gold to me! :) Love you,
LG ;)
PS. Already have the silver thermal, the good stuff, don't worry about that!

[alex666]

I have that exact fan on a gf2 ti 4400. It works well, if a bit loud. I had never replaced a video card fan before, but the one on my (oddly enough) pny 4400 was doing the exact same thing you described. So I bought the Iceberg but then got as much info as possible off the internet on installing these fans.

Getting the old fan off proved to be a singular challenge. In my case, the old fan was glued on solid, and I mean solid, I could not get it off. With a little homework, I found out that I needed to (and you won't believe this) FREEZE the videocard for a while, and that would let me get the old fan off. There was a step-by-step guide located at like 3dguru or some other site like that explaining exactly how to go about doing this, placing it in a plastic bag and so forth. Anyway, it worked like a charm. The guide also explained how to prepare the card for the new fan, including sanding, what type of sandpaper to get, and so forth (I'll look for that link).

So there were quite a few steps, not particularly hard (though heart stopping at times) but time-consuming. Be prepared for that. Yet extremely satisfying upon completion. I cannot emphasize that enough. But I would encourage you to do plenty of homework before trying it. If down time on your system is that much of an issue for you, then you might consider getting a new card at newegg. Good luck.

BTW, what part of the Commonwealth? We moved back here to Utah from the Staunton area about 15 months ago after living there for 6+ years.

marty

[Fruss Tray Ted]

Can we get a CRAZY icon here??
I can just imagine what the others in your household think you are doing to them with your obsession err, passionate affection, sorry.. :o

You got spare parts for that Monte'? You need spare parts for that 'puta. ;) If you think you'll have down time working on that vid card, I could send you a pulled pci card to keep the 'puta running for now 'til you Git-R-Done. :D I might even be nice enough to save you the time and send the driver with it. His name is Carlo.. How you like me now? :p I'm not sure Alex knows you got some wet-r-dry sandpaper kickin' around AND that you know how to use it! :cool:

BTW, congrats on the new house!

[alex666]

An experienced wet and dry user? Wow, you're halfway there.

[LadyGrey]

I swear you all make me smile no matter what! :D I have accomplished the fan install on the card. Really was quite simple once the pins were figured out, thanks Saph! After that the fan/hs just fell right off and I do mean fell off! I got it all cleaned using the 91% alcohol and made sure I could line up the holes correctly and not have the fan interfere with the fingers on the card so it would go back into the AGP slot ok. Thermal paste applied no problem. Now as for those heatsink copper? things. I just may not understand but I can't for the life of me see any purpose for them, nor would they fit as they are. I can see maybe lapping them and then cutting them in half and that might fit on some of the chips but not all and the length is wrong, not long enough. So seeing as the card did not have any to begin with, and I'm not an overclocker, I left them off. At least for the time being. The card is back in and up and running and for the last 12 hours has been just fine. Man is it nice not to have that noise! Scared the life out of me, I thought the whole computer was goin!

Alex, I'm kinda out Fredericksburg way, in that general area. Been here for almost 18 years now. We transplanted ourselves from Maryland.

FTT, as always you are a dear for wanting to help me, but you hang onto that card, I bet ya the minute you sent it to me you'd end up needing it! You can keep "Carlo" too :D :D

I asked hubby about the sandpaper and he looked at me like I was nuts! :D :D "You're not going to use THAT on your computer are you?" I just grinned at him. I love shocking him! :D

Thanks all for the help! Let me know what you think about those heatsinks.
LG ;)

[PrntRhd]

Glad it worked LG, those heatsinks for RAM are more necessary on a higher performance/OC card's RAM. (My son actually blistered the RAM on one of his machines)
The old fan likely had cheap plain bushings that had the lubrication go dry causing that awful screeching. The new one has ball bearings so the noise should be gone for good.
:)