XFX 9800gt and Heat/Noise Issues

I'll get straight to the point. The GPU I have atm, the XFX 9800GT, is a great card. Performance wise I can't find a fault. (Here's a link so you know exactly what I mean http://www.overclockersclub.com/reviews/xfx_9800gt/)

It's factory overclocked which I think is part of the problem. It's hot. Idle it's around 60c at load at 80c. I'm not overly worried about the temperatures as research suggest it's within acceptable limits for the chip. The problem is that once it gets to 80c the cooling fan spins faster to compensate and it's loud. Loud to distraction. And it doesn't seem to do a brilliant job either. For example I was playing Civ 4 a few days ago which isn't the most punishing game graphics wise, but the fan was at full pelt much of the time. Civ 4 isn't the noisest of games, no explosions or anything, so the game sound didn't do a good job of masking the fan noise.

I've been looking into solutions and aside from replacing the cooling unit I've not really found any. It's a lot more noticable as well since I moved the PC upstairs before Christmas, heat rising and all that. So it spins up more frequently and moving it back downstairs is not an option.

I've had a look at alternate coolers, such as the ones here http://www.overclockers.co.uk/productli ... &subid=787, but there's two things that bother me. Firstly I've never replaced a GPU's cooling and, while I'm keen to learn, the risks in doing it on my own card are not appealing. Also it's still got around 18 months warranty left on it and considering the temperatures it's been running at I'm loathe to void it. I'm also not convinced that adding a side fan to my PC's case will help significantly enough to stop the GPU hitting that magic 80c mark. A new GPU is not an option either, especially when I've got one that works fine, noise aside.

So the question is...do you guys have any thoughts on possible solutions?

yea I have the same card and it does run hot. Here is what I suggest, it works for me.

like most video cards, the xfx 9800 GT is set for automatic fan control which (in my case) idles around 30% fan speed leaving my card to idle around 60-65c and 70's at load. What I did to correct this problem is downloaded nvidias "Nvidia system monitor" you can find the download by just googling it. With system monitor you can view real time temps and also with the packaged control panel you can change to direct fan control which lets you determine what percentage of fan usage you want. I leave mine around 40-50% its still very quiet and keeps the GPU MUCH cooler at all times. try that out and let me know if it works out for you.

yea thats true as well, I also use a dual pci card slot fan. The only problem ive had with that, is for the one I use, in order for there to be a temp difference more than just a few degrees I have to crank it up causing the sound to be very noisy for me.