Safe to Use a GPU (GTX1070) with Missing Fan Blades?

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KingOfComputing

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I recently purchased a GTX1070, I got at a significant discount because of damage to one of the two fans. I don’t have it yet but from the pictures it seems like 4 blades (all in the same spot) have broken from the second fan (the other fan on the dual fan cooler is perfect). The affected fan has 8 blades left, is that enough to cool adequately? How likely are added noise and vibration on the damaged fan to be a problem?

If it is likely to cause problems I’d rather just replace it. Is it possible to just unscrew a GPU fan and pop it out?, or do you have to take the whole GPU apart (I’d rather not have to redo the thermal paste if it can be avoided)? Is there any chance the manufacturer (ASUS) would be willing to send me one to fit myself for free, or a nominal amount?

As the 1070 is still quite a good card, I’d like to keep this one for a couple of years at least and hence want to make sure it isn’t being overheated in any way, so wondering if it might be worth replacing the whole cooler instead and investing in an aftermarket cooler? What is a decent (but affordable) aftermarket cooler option for a GTX1070?

Would an aftermarket cooler improve boosting or overclocking headroom much or are 1070s quite close to the max as they come?
 
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Math Geek

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normally you can take the fan shroud and assembly off the gpu without removing the heatsink and otherwise needing to reapply the thermal paste and so on. should only be a couple screws to remove it.

the fan should be replaced. you can try it without it and keep and eye on the temps but it will likely cause thermal issues and perhaps throttle the gpu lowering performance. it is easy to replace and should not be too hard to get a new fan for it through the manufacturer or other means. but replacing it would be the way to go for sure.

as for overclocking and such, the boost feature tends to push it to the max anyway. you won't see much gain at all to go with the cost of aftermarket cooling. however considering the broken fan it might be a way to go anyway and would keep it likely cooler than the stock assembly more than likely.
 
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KingOfComputing

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Thanks. I think the replacement fan will be the way to go for sure. Though I think I will avoid fitting a new aftermarket cooler on reflection, as I am hoping it may still be under warranty with the manufacturer, which an aftermarket cooler might void. I will try it as it is though at first as I need to run it long enough to at least verify it is working ok, apart from the fan damage.

If the temperatures are unsatisfactory, and just for peace of mind I will probably replace it though.

The thing is I'd really like to get the replacement as cheap as possible (or free) as even though I got a stellar deal on the GPU (assuming it works of course!) I wasn't in the market for a new GPU and as such kind of overspent a bit buying it to begin with, but I'm just a sucker for cheap deals.

The supplier (an eBay business) does state that the card is 100% brand new and that the damage was actually done during shipping to them (presumably from the manufacturer or a store). Providing this information turns out to be accurate, would I be entitled to claim a free replacement fan under the manufacturers warranty? since the damage was caused as a side effect of a mishap in shipping rather than the end users mistake?

Will manufacturers allow the end user to replace the fan or are they likely to require a full RMA return? Really hoping not as I had an XFX RMA that took over two months and the replacement still had issues...
 
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Math Geek

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i'm not sure what the manufacturer will/won't allow. you'll need to contact them and see what they say. you might get a free fan or an RMA or maybe nothing but a quote on how much to pay for a fan. i also love a good deal and if the card was an awesome price, then another $20 or so would not bother me to spend on a fan. sounds like you got a "can't pass up" type of deal so the few extra bucks for a fan is not too much to ask to get it running 100%.

but i have no idea how they will respond to you asking for a fan especially considering you were not the original buyer.all you can do is ask :)
 
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KingOfComputing

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No, I bought it from the eBay business, they said the card was damaged on it's way to them from wherever they bought it originally. It wasn't damaged on it's way to me as I haven't received it yet.

They have sent it to me via tracked courier (Hermes) and I made a point of asking them to package extremely carefully to avoid any further damage as I know from experience some people on eBay just have no clue how to package PC components, had things like HDD or RAM come in unpadded envelopes before(!) so I always make a point of adding a note to package carefully if I buy anything remotely fragile...
 
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KingOfComputing

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The card came and unfortunately it doesn't seem to be working at all. The motherboard speaker beeps and there is no display on screen. The GPU looks as if it is working, the fans spin, the led over the PCIE power port lights up but the PC isn't booting into Windows (or even passing POST).

The odd thing is the supplier assures me they had it working directly before sending and to be fair the packaging was extremely good so I don't know how the courier managed to break it, but it looks like they did! ):

Where should I go with this? Is there anyway ASUS will replace it with a working one via RMA or will they automatically refuse due to the fan damage (even though that was nothing to do with me?).

I can return for refund but I'd never get another 1070 for even close to this price. ):
 
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Math Geek

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i'd go to Asus and see what they have to say. might not RMA for free but may offer a deal on a refurb or something like that. don't think there is anywhere else to go after that unless you ask for a refund and move on. but if it don't work, then it don't work and you should not have to lose the money when the seller says it was working.
 
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KingOfComputing

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Not going well. Asus don't want to know, they just said the retailer is responsible and that they cannot repair or replace the GPU, which I know is a load of BS as I had XFX do an RMA a couple of years back. They prefer to do it through the retailer as they don't have to bother doing anything but they should still offer RMA when the retailer cannot/will not help. Really poor service from such a big brand, shame on you Asus!

Retailer isn't any better. I explained several times that I have tried all reasonable troubleshooting, even tried the card in two PCs but won't work. But they just say they have had their 'PC guy' check it before sending and he said there was no possible way the card could not be working for me and then decided to ignore me completely.

Can see me having to open a eBay/Paypal case to force them to accept a return.

There goes any hopes of a cheap 1070 ):
 
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