"Silent" Gigabyte VGA, assistance appreciated.

[henrystidston]

Hi,

A couple of months ago I researched and put together a quiet rig, including a quiet graphics card; a Gigabyte 7900 GT which comes with the Zalman vf700 fan:

http://www.giga-byte.co.uk/Products/VGA/Products_Overview.aspx?ProductID=2291

The box highlights the fan as a feature, "Powerful, but Silent" to be exact. But it's permanently been in a full-blast mode, making an obvious noise, even now, when I'm just typing this.

I'm running the latest nvidia drivers (93.71), and the latest BIOS for my VGA. I've tried Gigabyte's latest drivers (84.21) but they're no help. I've contacted the reseller (Scan.co.uk) and they say the card cannot be returned without a definite fault. Gigabyte, have not been helpful at all.

I want to use a zalman fan mate 2 with it, but the VGA fan has a smaller two-pin connector, and it looks like the fanmate 2 has a three-pin connector:

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/ProductInfo.asp?WebProductID=321731

RivaTuner doesn't look like a safe option, I'm concerned I'll damage the card with it.
I'm half-thinking of making up a fault so I can return the card under warranty if am so lucky, and then buy a passive 7900 GS from Dabs although I can't find reviews for it:

http://www.dabs.com/ProductView.aspx?Quicklinx=48R4&CategorySelectedId=11137&NavigationKey=11137,50050&InMerch=1

I would really appreciate all assistance.

Kind regards,
Henry Stidston

 

[utaka95]

You might be able to use the fan mate after all - the power wires on the card and on the fanmate are grouped together. You just plug it in making sure that the red and black wires are matched - you don't need the white wire, it's for reporting fan rpm. you might have to cut the fanmate's plug shroud to get it on the card, but it would probably still work.

 

[henrystidston]

Hi,

Thanks for that suggestion. I had a spare three-pin connector (with shroud, looks the same as the fan mate 2 connector) in my PSU box and it fitted with the VGA two-pin fan connector fine, which is encouraging.

I am a newb when it comes to electrical specifications (voltage/amps etc.), but I need to check compatibilty. Please assist:
The motherboard manual (P5B Deluxe WiFi-AP) says all the fan connectors provide: 350 mA ~ 2000 mA (24 W max) or a total of 1 A ~7 A (84 W max) at + 12V.

From Zalman's site, the fan mate 2 outputs 5V ~ 11V, and has an allowable wattage of 6W or lower.

The after-market vf700 I've seen have three-pins, and come with a fan mate 2 as well sometimes. As I mentioned my vf700 came fitted on the VGA, and has a two-pin connector, but I'm hoping/thinking it has the same specifications, and will work with the fan mate 2.

Hoping for the best I ordered the fan mate 2 from Scan, but all assistance regarding the electrical specifications would be really appreciated.

Kind regards,
Henry Stidston

PS: Why do Zalman still make the Fan Mate 1?

 

[henrystidston]

Hi,

I emailed Zalman support, and linked to this thread, asking their advice, this is their reply:

"In Theory, your thread is correct and yes, it should work as you have mentioned. But to be frank, we do not suggest our users to use our products in different purpose. As you may know our OEM coolers are designed for the card you have bought. If you wire them up with our fanmate 2, possible damage to the fan or other components are on your risk."

So I'm not going to use it, it's too risky. Plus, Gigabyte support are actually listening now, they're saying:

"If fan control still can not work after VGA bios update, can you send back the card to the shop or dealer for second opinion or RMA."

This is more encouraging. So apparently there is supposed to be fan-control, which means my card isn't working properly afterall.

Regards,
Henry Stidston

 

[TabrisDarkPeace]

There might be a Video BIOS for you on Bjorn3D that fixes this issue.

- TabrisarkPeace

 

[henrystidston]

Hi,

Flashing this GigaByte card with an XFX BIOS will void the warranty.

Thanks for the reply anyway.

I've ordered another graphics card, and will RMA this GigaByte one.

Regards,
Henry Stidston

 

[col-p-todd]

The zalman coolers when used without the fanmate 2 run at full speed and generate alot of noise. The will cool alot better. If you want to have a quite vga card you will have to get the fanmate 2 and put it in silent mode the temps. will be the same as with a nvidia refrence cooler but it will be really silent.

 

[henrystidston]

Well, I RMA'd the card and Scan confirmed it's faulty. They're not offering a refund though, since I've had it three months. They're offering a replacement.

Thanks for the replies.

Signing out,
Henry Stidston