"quiet" graphics cards stop being quiet after 12months :(

[browolf]

what is it with graphics cards fans?

the last 2 graphics cards I've had sapphire x800xt and this current HIS x1960pro ICE
after about 9 months the up to that point very quiet fan develops periods of noise like 20 times noisier than the rest of the computer (which is pretty quiet) and its quite hard to get it to shut up and its incredibly annoying. bad enough I can easily hear it in the adjacent room and my pc isnt next to the door. I bet they can hear outside in the street its that bad. (window open first floor). the other night it started doing it in the middle of the night and I was dreaming about giant wasps.
its started doing it this evening and its aaaaaaaarrrrrggggghhhhhh. its not even constant. now its pulse'ing. it'll stop if the fan goes under about 9% speed (ati tool) but obviously cant keep the temp down at that speed and the card resets at about 51 degrees.

 

[spuddyt]

tried cleaning out the dust?
I Don't know if that has any effect but its the only thing that really changes over time w/gfx card fans
then again, you dont know loud till u've heard the fan on a 2900 series

 

[browolf]

yeah i meant 50. typo
hoovering out the dust off the fan used to work but it doesnt now. usually leaving the pc off during the day whilst i'm at work (what i always do) makes it go away for a while. I think the fan is just screwed.
graphics cards used to last me years, it's seems to be a trend for me anyways that they dont anymore. Ive stuck in my old reliable geforce 5900 which is noisier than when the 1950 is being quiet but a lot more acceptable. I think Im gonna buy one of those fanless asus 3650s. then it wont ever be a problem.

 

[angry_ducky]

You could always just try running it without the fan, as long as the resulting temps are reasonable.

Or you could buy a new cooler; Zalman makes some nice GPU coolers.

 

[browolf]

without the fan might be ok if i didnt play games. I only play final fantasy online which is a 6yr old game and doesnt need supergraphics but even so with the fan on 9% which is quiet it overheats. zalman dont do 1950 coolers anymore not on the quietpc website. there's a coolermaster one I think but I dont know im not wildly keen on fiddly stuff. I tend to break things. really my enquiry is does other people's fans only last 12months or is it some unusual circumstance of my house.

 

[lameness]

As others have said, cleaning the fan would be the first step....Then maybe try rivatuner to manually control the fan speed. At least that way u can stop it from spinning up when the card isn't in use.

 

[stoner133]

Try running it without a fan. LOL are you insane? First time he fires up a decent game without a fan will be the last time the card works.

Hoovering out the dust. LOL are you insane? Moving air creates static electricity and by hoovering your risking the chance of frying something that will trash the whole system. Always use a can of air made for cleaning computers. They have added compounds to the compressed air to eliminate static buildup. Same holds true for using a home air compressor as well, not only does it risk static buildup but it also will have oil in the air that could also cause a short.

Your computer must be in a dirty envorment, my ATi X1900XTX is three years old and hasn't got any louder over time. But then its a real ATi card not an ATi based card. But I don't really thing that should make a difference.

 

[knotknut]

Artic Cooling makes a fanless cooler for Video Cards.

Heres one for example:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814134040

Here is just the Cooling Device:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835186016

And a Fan Type:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835118117

or replacement fan only:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835119081

There is alot of choices out there

 

[browolf]

o right. so probably I havent helped the cause even if it did seem to help to begin with. mmm the case is sitting on the floor and erm I dont hoover up that often. maybe if i stuck a couple of bricks under it, it would at least raise it up a bit.

 

[royalcrown]

Nah, fill your pc with oil, that'll shut that fan up and good too; Plus it's good for cooling if you use a radiator !

 

[jaguarskx]

The only "quiet" video card is something that is passively cooled.

 

[rwayne]

I put this zero therm cooler on my x1950GT Sapphire card and it made a big difference. If this thing ever collects dust you will see it. It is dead silent also.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835887007

 

[evilshuriken]

I've used an air compressor to clean out pc components for years and never had a problem. I also talk to animals and ghosts at times, so it might be some weird physical anomaly.
Don't listen to me, spend money on specially treated canned compressed air instead. Heed this warning or you'll be sorry. We can't all bend the laws.

 

[browolf]

i've bought an accelero x2 cooler. run into a slight problem. the screws holding the memory heatsink on are star shaped. got one out without any trouble, the other 2 wont move using any of the cross head screwdrivers I have. Are these things some standard type?....i need to buy something to get them out but what...?

 

[rickpatbrown]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102428

ATI does manufacture cards.

http://shop.ati.com/

Lots of ATI products. I didn't see any didley squat though