Question about my radeon x1800 xl

[fedshark]

Over the course of the last couple months my video card fan has been getting louder and louder and now is making horrible grinding noises on top of it. I tried blowing out some dust with my air compressor, and there was a bit of dust in there, but it still didn't sound much better and has only gotten worse since then. I figured there might be dust stuck in the bearings but I'm not sure. Regardless, is this anything I should really be worried about? If so, is there a way I can repair it or buy a replacement cooling solution? My card isn't under warranty since it's refurbished so if there is something that needs to be fixed or replaced that falls on me. I'd appreciate any info y'all can give.

 

[cleeve]

Yes, get a replacement cooler, if it dies your X1800 might be killed...

Not only will a reoplacement heatpipe cooler keep it cooler than stock, it will probably be much quieter, too. Evercool's Turbo 2 is a good cheap cooler, so it the KuFormula VF1 plus, Accelero X2, Zalman VF900, and Thermaltake V1 Ultra...