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Where to buy replacement fans for non-reference cards? (Sapphire 7970 Dual-X)

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ensign_lee

Senior member
So this might be a silly question, but where would I buy a replacement fan for non-reference 7970s?

For instance, I want to replace the fan on my sapphire Dual-X and my gigabyte windforce. The Sapphire one's second fan seems to have broken and won't spin anymore and the gigabyte windforce one is making more noise than it did in the beginning.

Do I just contact the manufacturers? Or do I have to get them from somewhere else? Or am I SOL and I have to buy a brand new card because the fan busted?
 
If they are still on warrantee, you just contact through the same warrantee site and tell them your problem.
 
Yeah but unfortunately for me, at least for the sapphire, I bought it from used and so I don't think the warranty applies anymore.

Sapphire's official stance is that you are supposed to run back with the original retailor, but I can't do that since my name isn't the one that's on the invoice.
 
Don't know an answer to your original question, but I'd look into whether an aftermarket cooler would fit the card.

EDIT: you could search ebay for faulty versions of your cards, you could get one for cheap if you find one, then just replace the cooler
 
On my non-reference design HD4850 I replaced the fan with one salvaged from a power supply. Strapped on the existing radiator with plastic cable ties. Only downside is that now the card takes 3 slot spaces (instead of 2), but in my case those were not needed.
 
I'd go with an aftermarket cooler. My Sapphire HD6950 had its fan start making noise and then completely strip the bearing within 6 months and I RMA'd it only to have the replacement start making noise within 30 days.

It's a shame their 7000 series cards tend to have the best prices because I really don't want another one of theirs after this experience with their crappy fans.
 
ensign_lee said:
Yeah but unfortunately for me, at least for the sapphire, I bought it from used and so I don't think the warranty applies anymore.

Sapphire's official stance is that you are supposed to run back with the original retailor, but I can't do that since my name isn't the one that's on the invoice.
Click to expand...

Just because I think the "original owner" stuff is complete BS on the part of the manufacturer - Tell them you received it as a gift. That should cover you as the original owner even if your name isn't on the invoice. If you raise a fuss they should eventually capitulate.

This is pretty annoying when a mfgr pulls such a stunt off - they should stand behind their product regardless of what name is on an invoice. Anyway, tell them it was a gift to you and that you are the original owner. They should cover it. If this isn't an option, you can always look into the Artic extreme coolers. Beware that they are 3 slot coolers, which will not work in crossfire. (That is, temps will be insanely high if you attempt to xfire with 3 slotters)
 
ensign_lee said:
So this might be a silly question, but where would I buy a replacement fan for non-reference 7970s?

For instance, I want to replace the fan on my sapphire Dual-X and my gigabyte windforce. The Sapphire one's second fan seems to have broken and won't spin anymore and the gigabyte windforce one is making more noise than it did in the beginning.

Do I just contact the manufacturers? Or do I have to get them from somewhere else? Or am I SOL and I have to buy a brand new card because the fan busted?
Click to expand...

We're you able to do this? I have the same problem with the Sapphire card like yours.
 
I think an issue is that if you RMA the card for something like a fan, assuming you were using the card for mining, the loss of mining revenue during that downtime is more than the cost of a replacement fan because the RMA takes a while. I'd rather just buy a replacement fan when I see the original fan starting to go, then do a quick fan swap and get the card mining again. When I did this before, I just used 120mm fans and zipties. But there might be a chance you can disassemble the fan and clean it and relube it? Otherwise, I have seen some aftermarket fans for video cards.

Try searching on "frameless" fans:
http://www.coolerguys.com/840556094357.html?productid=840556094357&channelid=FROOG&gclid=CKWJ9Ii4v7wCFeYDOgodZEAAXg
evercool-80x80x10mm-med-speed-12-volt-frameless-fan-vc-ec8010m12c-b-18.gif
 
one thing you might wanna consider is removing the gpu fans but leaving the heatsink exposed so you can use a pci slot cooler.
 
Zip ties and a 80-120mm Fan. Use a few Zip-ties as "nuts" (cut them off super short) and use it to hold the fan onto the card. I pretty much do this to every non-reference fan that fails so I can easily replace it, and the only downside is when it's between two cards or a tight fit overall; then I just use a thinner width fan.
 
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