Can I fix or replace fans on a MSI TF3 7950?

[sincreator]

Basically I bought the card in November and it is now making a very loud scratching sound when above 65% fan speed. Well it still happens at lower speeds too but not near as loud. A few years back I had a stock fan give out on me on a HD5870, and this is the same sound I heard in the last few weeks before the fan stopped alltogether.

I've checked for dust/dirt and there is absolutly nothing, since I clean my computer out quite often. Temps are still great 29 idle and 50s under load.(Fan speed at 65%) No crashing/artifacting at all. Card is great other than the fan noise.

Oh and it's NOT the same sound that reveiwers bought up. It's not a whirring sound, it sounds scratchy. It think its a bearing or poor lubrication in a bearing honestly.


I really don't want to RMA the card because I have no backup, so the only options I'm considering is to repair the fan or get an aftermarket cooler. If anyone has any suggestions for a good aftermarket cooler to replace the Twin Frozr III cooler, please let me know. My particular card is built on the 7970 PCB because it is full length and has a 6 pin and 8 pin power connector. I had a brief look around, but I couldn't find a definite answer on if a certain cooler would fit my particular card.


Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

 

[JamesSneed]

Contact MSI support and see if you can have them cross ship you a replacement.

If you are in the modding mood remove(will kill your warrantee) the decorative shroud and replace both fans.

 

[sincreator]

Contact MSI support and see if you can have them cross ship you a replacement.

If you are in the modding mood remove(will kill your warrantee) the decorative shroud and replace both fans.

I would like to just purchase fans that would fit the current Twin Frozr III design, or grab a decent aftermarket cooler if possible. I would try to lubricate/stabilize the bearing if I had an idea on how I might do that with a gpu fan. I've done it with 120mm case fans before by removing the sticker and getting at the rubber seal. Once there I lifted the seal away with a needle and sprayed a very miniscule amount of WD-40 into the bearing. Worked out really well, and I still use those fans today. That was over 2 years ago now. Those were 120mm case fans though, not a 80mm low profile GPU fan. lol. Maybe there is a similar method to do this with gpu fans?

PS: I don't really care about the warranty. It wont void if there's no evidence of damage.

 

[JamesSneed]

Im not sure I would even mess with trying to lubricate these little fans, I would not expect you would have much luck long term due to the tiny bearings / small area to hold the lubricant.

Contact MSI maybe you can get them to send new fans?


They make GPU fans that are 80mm like the ones on your GPU for direct replaement:

http://www.amazon.com/Evercool-80mm-Drop-Replacement-screw/dp/B009D3GEEQ

What I have done, not on this GPU, but others that have a nice 3rd party heat sink like yours is to mod the whole thing. I like high performance gaming PC's that are near silent which means moding things typically. This will be about $25 with fans / splitter than can be reused later.
1) Remove the heat sink.
2) Remove the decretive shroud.
3) Get 2 92mm fans(yours are 80mm now) around 1500-2500 rpm and use tie wraps to secure them. http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=36_407_695&products_id=29259
4) Probably wan a "Y" adapter since your GPU only has one 4 pin fan header: http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=31755
5) Replace TIM and mount heat sink.

 

[lor037]

Im not sure I would even mess with trying to lubricate these little fans, I would not expect you would have much luck long term due to the tiny bearings / small area to hold the lubricant.

Contact MSI maybe you can get them to send new fans?


They make GPU fans that are 80mm like the ones on your GPU for direct replaement:

http://www.amazon.com/Evercool-80mm-Drop-Replacement-screw/dp/B009D3GEEQ

What I have done, not on this GPU, but others that have a nice 3rd party heat sink like yours is to mod the whole thing. I like high performance gaming PC's that are near silent which means moding things typically. This will be about $25 with fans / splitter than can be reused later.
1) Remove the heat sink.
2) Remove the decretive shroud.
3) Get 2 92mm fans(yours are 80mm now) around 1500-2500 rpm and use tie wraps to secure them. http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=36_407_695&products_id=29259
4) Probably wan a "Y" adapter since your GPU only has one 4 pin fan header: http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=31755
5) Replace TIM and mount heat sink.

Did you encounter any issues with the bigger fan?

 

[JamesSneed]

Sorry never saw this until today. No issues with slightly bigger fans other than they may overhang a little.