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

X1960?, 50 right?

anyway, have you tried cleaning it, it could be that the fan is kicking in due to higher than usual temps caused by dust. Of course, it could be the fan is on the way out in which case you may want to get an after market one, they ain't difficult to change.

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.

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.

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.

Artic Cooling makes a fanless cooler for Video Cards.

Heres one for example:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814134040

Here is just the Cooling Device:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6835186016

And a Fan Type:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6835118117

or replacement fan only:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6835119081

There is alot of choices out there

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

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.

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...?

in name only though, ATI has a preferred manufacturer usually sapphire IIRC who makes them and then labels them as ATI.

ATI are a GPU designer, that is all.