Running silent... AGAIN!

[function9]

A few weeks ago I upgraded my Matrox g550 to an ATI 9600XT. Since then that bloody whine coming off the video card fan has driven me nuts. To the point to where I had the card all packed up today ready to return it. I get to MicroCenter and figure I'll shop around first. To my surprise and joy they had the Zalman ZM80C-HP and cheaper than anywhere online I might add. It's working great so far. The only mod I had to do was with the NB heatsink (Orb looking thing on the IS7). I had to chop the fins down a bit. I was going to go with Zalman's nb cooler as well, but no one had thermal adhesive. Oh well. I'm back to my nice quiet 92mm cpu fan and a 120mm quiet exhaust fan. It's nice to be able to think over the computer noise again.

 

[georgebeee]

I got a 9600xt, and it makes some noise when it turns on, which is rarely, but not being able to think over it. hmmmm
maybe you should just practice more

 

[Woodman]

I solved my whine with a lot of WD40 (yes, I know it's the wrong kind of lube). Didn't work for the first 3 times, but after overdoing it on the last try, it worked. Silent for a while now.

Stupid dinky fans.

-----
Hope for the future.
Reflect on the past.
But focus on the present you mofo.

 

[endyen]

Nice dig, did he do something to earn it, or was it that it was too easy?

 

[spitoon]

I put a Zalman 80C-HP on my Ti4200, plus there is a fan in the sidewall of my case that blows right on it...even after hours of gaming the heatsink and mem chips are cool to the touch, pretty good considering I'm o/c'd by a fair margin.

 

[HardWareBoss]

Gee the BBA 9800XT was nice and guiet I had.

 

[JP5]

I have the Zalman on my 4200 and it doesn't even get very hot. I did notice some graphics glitches on Rise of Nations, though, but nothing else. Hope it's getting sufficient cooling.

 

[function9]

Well I believe the heastsink on the 9800 is 10x better (at least) than what they put on the 9600. The noisiest thing in my computer is the PSU (Antec TP550). So the noise coming from the video card was very definite. Now my next project is to find a PSU that's more quiet than this. And maybe a 120mm fan, this Antec one is ok, but I think it could be a tad less noisy.

 

[nickd]

Does anyone know what options I have on my Leadtek 5900 Ultra? It's that dual fan enclosed design, and after only 4 months it's rought as hell. I have a nice Antec P160 case, Antec TB480 PSU, Zalman 7000-Cu CPU fan which are all silent/no rattles....then this bloody Leadtek that whines away even in 2d desktop mode.

Their support email address return eamil 'no such user'.

Has anyone had a similar problem and solved it?

 

[nickd]

Yes - that might be an option - the other I just found is the Zalman ZM80C-HP and optional low noise fan.

I haven't found anyone specifically saying they have mounted this on a Leadtek 5900 Ultra (with that 'fancy' (read, loud) cooling system so I called Zalman in the US and they guy was very nice and looked up the Leadtek A350 5900 Ultra. "Yes, it is compatable".

I can get both for AU$52 which is cheap I guess to have near silence. Last night I removed the power to the 2 fans on my card, and it is just bliss having a silent PC. The drivers scale the clock speed back, but in 2D mode it makes no difference. I didn't try and play any games just in case it burnt itself out!

If I take the plunge, I think I'll do a photo montage of the process, as I imagine anyone else with the same card would be interested in the same.

 

[nickd]

And the Zalman ZM80C-HP works 100%.

It took me about 2 hours to fit and I fitted the optional 80mm fan but my PC is now silent - really, pretty nothing much to hear even with the case open and up close.

Anyone who has the Leadtek 'Twin Turbo II', which the Leadtek web site makes a deal out of, saying how silent it is, they will appreciate that it is NOT silent!!!! (59dB according to THW review).

In addition, my idle temp is now 4C lower.

So, as far as I can tell, this solves a major gripe I had - enough that last night I typed up an eBay listing planning to get rid of the thing for a loss and get a quieter card.

 

[coylter]

The fan on the 9800pro suck . it stop turning after 1 month so you hve to change it.

My own beast: Athlon 2700xp+ (oc: 3200xp+ with 200fsb) , Radeon 9800pro (oc: 410/370) , 512mb ddr400. SO MUCH faster than my last computer (pIII 550......)

 

[function9]

Nick-
Were you able to get the "back" heatsink, when assembled, to be level? The "front", where the gpu is, is sitting perfectly and I would imagine secure (I tightened them as far as they would go). But I've installed it 2 times now and cannot get the "back" level.

What I'm talking about is, with the card installed, the heatsink on top is on an incline toward the back of the case. Everything seems to be fine though as I've gamed numerous times since installed and never had a problem. Thanks.

matt

 

[nickd]

is HSF 'High Speed Fan'? If so, it's the standard option kit for that cooler, black fan with a silvery ZALMAN plate on it. The one pictured on their web site with the cooler.

I still can't get over the silence

 

[TheGreatGrapeApe]

HSF = Heat-Sink Fan (usually refers to the whole assembly because we're lazy :. Heat-Sink + Fan).

- You need a licence to buy a gun, but they'll sell anyone a stamp <i>(or internet account)</i> ! - <font color=green>RED </font color=green> <font color=red> GREEN</font color=red> GA to SK

 

[nickd]

Hmm - yeah, I was happy that mine all went together properly - front and back blocks 'square' and flat etc. Maybe one of your 'nipples' didn't go on properly so it making the rear block stick out?

 

[nickd]

Ah

Well, Despite my wrong guess, I suppose I answered correctly!

Did I tell anyone how much I love this thing?

 

[nickd]

Ah! Just looked, the fans are black.

So some were OK? Too late, I'm on the Zalman now, but if I knew how good the Zalman was even if the noise hadn't been too bad, I'd install it anyway. Silence and runs much much cooler.