graphics card vibrating fan fix

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outlawvegeta

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Mar 27, 2012
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a few days ago one of the fans on my card started making noise while it was on, i have turned my pc off and inspected it, one of the fans wobbles abit when i press it, i checked the other fan and that doesn't move at all so it is definatly a vibrating fan.
is there a way i can fix it?

the card is a XFX Radeon 7950 less than a year old.
 
Solution
geofelt
Consider this as an opportunity to upgrade your graphics.
Buy a new card now, and do not open the returned box and sell the old card.

As an alternative, $50 will buy you a spare graphics card.
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insightdriver

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Nov 28, 2006
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Basically, replacing the fan is the only good fix. The wobble likely indicates that the bearing has worn out. There may have been an imbalance in the blades that caused the bearing to fail. Without having a way to check the balance and correct it, nor a way to fix a worn bearing, look for a replacement fan.
 
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geofelt

geofelt

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Oct 9, 2006
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You have to look at your card, but I do not think it is difficult.
The bigger problem will be finding a fan that matches.
 
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Gumption

Gumption

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Apr 24, 2011
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What everyone is essentially saying is that you shouldn't swap or try to repair gpu fans. Like, ever. :D

I recently RMA'd a gpu that was sent with a broken fan. My first instinct was glue! but instead I sent it back. They did not repair this, because there is little to no facility for a repair. Instead they sent me a new one.

The only solutions I've heard of for broken fans with no recourse for repair or RMA is to use case fans to act as a cooler, but in no way do I recommend this!

 
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coozie7

coozie7

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Jun 2, 2007
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Be patient, an RMA can take some time to process.
In the meantime, don't mess with the card, you could invalidate the warranty.
Depending on where you live a replacement cooler should be fairly easy to source, I swapped my own XFX DD cooler (also a HD7950) for the cheap but excellent Gelid Icy Vision, just be aware there is 3 variations of the 7950: The GPU die sits below the surround, the GPU die sits level with the surround and the GPU die sits above the surround, so before ordering, you'll need to remove the current cooler to check which card you actually have. This assumes XFX won't honour the warranty, though.
 
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outlawvegeta

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Mar 27, 2012
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i actually have the XFX DD 7950 so i could look for the cooler you have, slight change though fan has started making a different noise, so i opened my case while still powered on and the fan is actually stopping now and my card is getting hot, 90 oc according to gpu z
 
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coozie7

coozie7

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Jun 2, 2007
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Now would be a very good time to stop using it.
The case fan fix actually works BTW, so if you have a spare fan and a few cable ties you can plonk it over the faulty fan and power it off a spare motherboard header, the speed can be, to a degree, controlled through BIOS-just make a note of which header you're using.
 
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geofelt

geofelt

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Oct 9, 2006
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I see three options:
1. fix it yourself, either by finding a proper replacement or jury rigging a case fan to help with cooling.
2. RMA the card and be prepared to run integrated graphics(if you have that capability) waiting for the rma.
3. Use this as an opportunity to upgrade your graphics. When the rma arrives, do not open the box and sell it on ebay.
 
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outlawvegeta

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Mar 27, 2012
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10,510
ok after a few messages back and forth i can ether RMA it but obviously i will be without a pc for upto 2 months as i have no on board graphics. or i can find a new fan or a new cooler entirely.
 
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