Vid card fan is noisy (Moved to Hardware Forum)

[breadcatcher101]

I have a Sapphire Vid card that as of late the cooling fan has became noisy. I cleaned out the dust--it needed it--but it still has a high-pitched whining sound. The Model is 100203LP.

Have any of you had this trouble with your impellers? I thought about oiling the bearings, maybe using light -grade grease.. I am sure that is the problem because when I stop the fan the noise will quit. I thought about unhooking it but I don't want to risk over-heating my equipment.

I am going to get in touch with them and see if they can send me a replacement.

This drives me nuts, especially when I am running silent trying to pick up destroyers.

[Platapus]

This question might be answered better if it were in the PC hardware/software forum. There you will find people who really get in to the hardware stuff.

Good luck

[Armistead]

Oil just collects dust....cheap to replace.

[jokerl90]

You could try this.
http://www.techspot.com/vb/all/windo...stem-fans.html

1 is it in warranty or not?

2 what exact brand name and model number video card is it?

3 can you find a link to a picture of your video card at newegg where it shows the exact same fan/heatsink as yours?

4 what is your ability/skill level, can you do minor craft work?

5 do you know your way around the inside of a computer enough to determine overheating issues?


PM the answers to these questions to me and i'll see what it looks like and give you your best options for repair.


ps. video card fans are tiny and trying to oil or lubricate them is pointless and rarely successfull for reliable cooling. burning up your video card for trying to rig a bad fan into working isnt worth it IMO.

[breadcatcher101]

This shows what type I have.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ImageG...20Video%20Card

I got it a bit less than two years back, cost was right at $30. Don't really know how this stacks up to other vid cards as to game performance. I still get wavy lines on the ships rigging and their masts vary in their height, up and down like a periscope. I've made no adjustments on it, had Best Buy install it as my computer was stiil under warrenty back then.

It will run quiet until it heats up and then it hits you with the noise.

There was loads of dust in it, I took the frame apart and cleaned it out with an artists brush then gave it a blast of clean air.

I might try the oil/graphite trick. I have oil I use for my scale trains, non-petro-based and the graphite as well. With them I just transfer a bit onto the sleeve bearings with the end of a toothpick. Too much is worse than none at all, at least with them.

As to me being an "expert" I am better than average, good at presicion micro assembly applications, with a basic understanding of electronics--years back before the dawn of IC's.

Sorry I posted this in the wrong section, didn't notice.

ok so its a HD 2400PRO card thats definately out of warranty


you have the understanding you need, what happenend was the dust got under the fan blades hub and into the bearings and it worked like a wick to suck the lube out of the bearings.

you cant remove the blade without breaking it and you cant get anywhere near the blade shaft or bearings to get any lube in there so you must flood it with grafite spray or light weight oil (sewing machine or 3 in 1 oil) wd-40 in a pinch.

your gonna work your azz off and its still going to fail on you sooner rather then later and your video card will be running hotter then it should until it happens. small tiny fans like that with poorly lubricated fans can lose as much as 10% of the cfms they put out.



my solutions are relace the fan with a generic replacement after you measure to find the size you need (it goes by the total circumfrence)

if its a 40mm fan (1.5 inches) then you probably wont be able to replace it

1.77 inches = 45mm - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835119081

1.99 inches = 50mm - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835119083

the trouble is your card is so old its not shown as compatable for the majority of vga coolers that look like yours.

BUT: you could also just replace the whole card with a ATI 5000 series card and 512mb of onboard ram for around $50 which is twice the card you have now.

if it were me i would make one of those replacement fans fit or buy a new card but i wouldnt spend $30+ on a good VGA cooler just to find one that fits your card

go to the hardware forum and ask if anyone has an old hd2400 you can get the fanless heatsink from so you dont need a fan anymore or you can try those computer help forums that buy, sell, or trade computer stuff.


hope that helps

[breadcatcher101]

I really thank you for your time and advice.

I think I will just go with a new card, the type you suggested. I'll get in touch with Newegg and see what they offer. The housing for the fan will get so heated it is not possible to hold your finger on it. I guess this is from friction from the dry bearing. All that heat can't be doing my card any good.

Just the other day I was on SH 4 and my whole computer just shut down. It's never done that before. Loaded it again, same thing. Tried SH 3, same thing.

Looks like I need a new card anyway.

Originally Posted by breadcatcher101

I really thank you for your time and advice.

I think I will just go with a new card, the type you suggested. I'll get in touch with Newegg and see what they offer. The housing for the fan will get so heated it is not possible to hold your finger on it. I guess this is from friction from the dry bearing. All that heat can't be doing my card any good.

Just the other day I was on SH 4 and my whole computer just shut down. It's never done that before. Loaded it again, same thing. Tried SH 3, same thing.

Looks like I need a new card anyway.

well if you can swing it a really good card would be the best way to go rather then looking for an affordable one, especially if your going to be buying any new games in the future.

this would be my suggestion: SAPPHIRE Vapor-X 100283VXL Radeon HD 5770 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102868

video cards get really really hot so its the GPU core putting out all that heat and the fan just isnt moving enough air to keep it cool. its possible the GPU gets hotter then your CPU (i think it does) but im no expert.

[SteamWake]

Hah.. this thread remiinded me of the time I blew up a power supply by replacing a video card.

Everything ran fine (for a while) but the fan on the card was screaming... "Wow thats noisy but it looks good so hey !!!"

After about 1/2 hour of play (Oblivion I think) there was a loud snap, a blank screen, and a silent computer.

After I cleaned my shorts I set out to find that he fuse in the inadaguate power had blown due to overcurrent

Put in a new (larger) power supply and that video card got a lot quieter !!!

[Reece]

Yes, new card!!

[Arclight]

Originally Posted by Reece

Yes, new card!!

And a PSU that can handle it.

That HD2400, still an AGP card or do you really have the PCI-E edition? Might be time to go for a new board as well, though that probably means a whole new system.

[Reece]

Originally Posted by Arclight

And a PSU that can handle it.

That HD2400, still an AGP card or do you really have the PCI-E edition? Might be time to go for a new board as well, though that probably means a whole new system.

Completely forgot about that, the video card will have a new 6 pin PCI-E connector, Do not get a generic one, if your looking for a good priced PSU I can recommend the Vantec ION 2+, my son and I have these and deliver good clean power, check out the reviews, others better but price much higher!

[FIREWALL]

AGP card ? check this out

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814161284

[Reece]

Originally Posted by FIREWALL

AGP card ? check this out

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814161284

My last 2 cards have been HIS, the one I have now is the HD4850, goes well but gets very hot, even with the IceQ fan system, I hope to upgrade this later in the year!! Yes FIREWALL, still thinking of a good water cooled system for CPU and GPU! Money stretched only so far, first I want to upgrade my old CRT TV to a wide screen, nothing flash, an LCD or LED HD2 52cm, Samsung!