Video Card Fan

[beach2nd]

I have a Gainward GeForce4 Ti4200 (64 MB) and the fan is making a hell of a lot of noise and when I checked it, it was pretty loose. So what is a good replacement? Thanks for any help.

 

[beach2nd]

Anyone???

 

[TROGDORdBURNINATOR]

So what is a good replacement?

A Radeon 9600 Seriously though...get yourself one of them giant thingies there with no fan...I forget the name of it. Someone here knows though.

 

[cowsclaw]

the Zalman ZM80A-HP is completely passive, so no noise at all (but $25)
or you an try the zalman fan bracket (BR123, $3-10) and attach a low-noise fan like a panaflo L1A and blow it on the card

 

[Mullzy]

My ASUS 9280 Ti4200 is only about 3 weeks old and every once and a while the fan really starts to freak out. It's happening 3 or 4 times a day now so I'm getting worried.

Is that what yours was doing? Or was it just generally loud?

Is this a common problem? Is there anything I can do to *fix* mine, or should I replace it before it stops spinning and fries my GF4?

 

[TROGDORdBURNINATOR]

Is this a common problem?

Yes. Not with any particular brand, just with cheap 40mm fans. I've had one start grinding on my old Visiointek card way back and it needed to be replaced (through warranty) and then one on a PNY and then one on an ATI. They all seem very cheap and useless. I like using fanless solutions whereever possible (AIW VE.)

The sound means that the bearing is going and you should replace the fan ASAP. Your manufacturer will usually send you a new one under warranty.

 

[Blastman]

Originally posted by: beach2nd1
I have a Gainward GeForce4 Ti4200 (64 MB) and the fan is making a hell of a lot of noise and when I checked it, it was pretty loose. So what is a good replacement? Thanks for any help.

I would like to know what people use to replace fans on a graphics card too.

I busted the fan on my ATI 7500 so I bought a cheap 12v 40mm fan with a 4pin connector and used 2 screws to connect it to my 7500 heatsink. The screws wedge nicely between the fins and hold it on pretty good.

Something like this ? 40mm fan I have it plugged into a standard 4pin Molex.

I was going to splice the wires to the old 7500 2pin fan connector with the 2pin from the old fan and plug the new fan in on the graphics card, but I found out the fan power connector on the graphics card is only 5v and the fan I bought is 12v. The 40mm fan I bought is already a fairly low speed fan ~ 2300rpm (???), so if I try and run it off of the 5v connector it won?t start spinning by itself and even if I push-start it runs too slow to do anything. It would be better to buy a 5200 ?6000rpm 40mm fan if you want to spice it to the 5v connector on your graphics card. At 5v it will be quiet, should start up by itself no problem and still provide adequate air flow.

 

[TROGDORdBURNINATOR]

I busted the fan on my ATI 7500

Just out of curiosity, how did you break it? Did something fall on it or were you trying to mod it? Was it a failure on its own?

 

[Redviffer]

ThermalTake makes a variety of fans for video cards. They make some that are direct replacements for all Geforce cards, you just have to choose the correct one, not very hard. They cost about $20 and will fix you right up. Yes, if you fan is making a lot of noise, its bearings are probably starting to go, and you should get a replacement asap.

ThermalTake

Looks like this will only show you products, you can't buy from there, you will have to look for a reseller. BTW, a Geforce 4 Ti 4200 is an NV-25 when your looking for your cooler.


edit: added link to website

 

[Blastman]

Originally posted by: TROGDORdBURNINATOR

Just out of curiosity, how did you break it? Did something fall on it or were you trying to mod it? Was it a failure on its own?

I was reaching around the graphics card trying to put my finger on the hub of the fan to stop it (checking noise difference without fan spinning) and I missed the hub by a wee bit ?.

Yeeeeeeeeeoooooooooucccccccccccch. ? ? man those little ATI fans can really bite.

Knocked a fin right off. That sucker drew blood too. So I broke off 2 more fins (out of 9 original) with some pliers to make 6 fins and balance the fan out again. The fan worked great with only 6 fins and was even quieter than with the original 9.

While testing later I did the same thing again, but this time I broke off 5 fins off in one shot -- leaving 1 pathetic little fin on my cooling fan and another sore finger. Needless to say I look before I stick my finger on those 40mm fan hubs now. LOL.

 

[TROGDORdBURNINATOR]

Yeah, I've done the same thing. I've also dropped a stock AMD fan from within the case while spinning and it hit the videocard. Very humorous. Anyway, a tip for you: don't use your finger. I've learned a long time ago to use the handle of a really fat, round screwdriver. It stops it nice and clean and is so large it can't hit the fins without also stopping it at the centre.