Baught a BFG 7600GT. Too much noise

GeorgeSwan

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Oct 24, 2006
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This card is making too much noise. The fan is working while I idle and it takes a while to stop. I'm starting a game and I can hear the fan going crazy. I am too dissapointed. Do I have to update anything in the BIOS or change something? :(
I'm already looking into buying another card. Reading the reviews it seems most of the geforce cards have the same problem. How does this card look? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814125025
It's kinda big but I havent read a negative review. Only thing that worries me is its brand (Gigabyte is not as good as XFX, BFG, eVga etc)....
Also I would go for a 7900GS but they are too expencive here in the UK so I'll just try to stick to 7600GT
 

apt403

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Oct 14, 2006
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just because it's loud dosent mean it needs to be replaced you could always go with an after market fan or if noise is really bothering you just get a really good VGA heatsink. sorry i cant recomend any nvidia card, im and ATI fanboy.
 

tool_462

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Jun 19, 2006
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Just read a few reviews on "VGA Cooler Roundups" on a google search.

Dumb to spend a ton of money when you can solve the problem for 1/10th the cost...
 

bliq

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Just read a few reviews on "VGA Cooler Roundups" on a google search.

Dumb to spend a ton of money when you can solve the problem for 1/10th the cost...

Also dumb to HAVE to spend more money on aftermarket cooling, when that might have been the difference between the 7600GT and something better, like a 1950GT that can be quiet from the factory.
 

Il_palazzo

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May 26, 2006
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The Gigabyte is a good card but installing a 3ed party cooler would possibly cost less money then shipping your current card back and the restocking fee.

The Zalman coolers are very low noise and the 7600gt is not a hot card so the aluminum zalman would be better then the stock Nvidia cooler. Basically as long as you can use a screwdriver and read directions you can install any 3ed party cooler.

http://www.tomshardware.com/2006/08/30/vga_heat_pipe_cooler_roundup_2006/
 

fainis

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Feb 10, 2006
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Thank you all guys. I didnt know that you can remove the fan from your card.
How does this look?
http://www.thermaltake.com/product/Cooler/VGAnCHIPnMEM/CL-G0009/cl-g0009.asp

looks interesting ..but i think you have a maximum chance to break the gpu die pad...if you samehow hit that heat pipe from the exterior
 

redwing

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Like an armored car.

I just wanted to add that I also have a 7600GT (albeit from EVGA) that I found excessively loud with the stock cooler. I bought a vf700 ALCU and it's been silent & cool ever since (gaming temps <50 celcius).

I think you can get the AlCU Zalman for around 30$ nowadays or less, which is not a bad deal considering that you're getting silent operation in return. Also, it comes with RAM heatsinks, so you'll have more overclocking headroom than you do with the stock HSF.

Cheers
 

sparbanie

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I bought a BFG 7600gt and the fan was crazy loud and provided terrible cooling. So i bought Zalman VF700 Cu itz has a bigger heatsink than ALCU. I got for 27 bucks from amazon. It is whisper quiet now. Even on the high setting the dba is only 25 or so. The cooling was amazing. it dropped the idle temps about 8 degrees Celcius. But it really dropped under load temps by probably by about 20 degrees celcius. With cooler i was able to oc the card to 618/811 (core/mem). That was even using nvidia optimal frequency.
 

oz42

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May 31, 2006
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Somebody please call me on this if I'm wrong, but AFAIK, aftermarket cooling products void BFGs lifetime warranty (as does further overclocking beyond their factory oc, again, afaik).

This is the main reason I buy nvidia cards from Evga, and sometimes xfx (not a big fan of dealing with 'out of continent' tech support though, plus evga's stepup program is nice, but their stock hsfs are not...).

Not realy sure about GA since the only one I own is passively cooled, and I've never felt like spending the premium for Asus video cards.

But I will chime in like everybody else regarding zalman vf 700 or 900 to cool a mid range card, great products.

(for higher end, like x1800/x1900 i use arctic cooling acceleros, or mod the zalman exaust directly out the next vacant card slot (kinda like the antec blowers, but I think they need to be built a little better)
 

sparbanie

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Im pretty sure that all aftermarket fans void if most if not all manufacturers warranties. I have always went with BFG Products they have yet to fail me. I had FX 5500 OC for many years.
 

oz42

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Im pretty sure that all aftermarket fans void if most if not all manufacturers warranties. I have always went with BFG Products they have yet to fail me. I had FX 5500 OC for many years.

Well rather than being 'pretty sure' about things you post, how about making your posts based on information you are 'actually sure' of.

The following information can easily be found on the evga website, and is one of three major reasons why BFG is for noobs, and Evga is not:

Question / Issue

Does water-cooling or installing a third party cooling solution on my video card void the warranty?

Answer / Solution

Installing third party cooling solutions does not void warranty on our products. Just be sure to keep the original cooling solution as it will have to be on the card if it is ever sent in for RMA. Any physical damage such as burn marks or damaged PCB will void the warranty.



ie, BFG = crapy stock fan you are stuck with forever, crappy 'factory' oc you are also stuck with (unless you like voiding lifetime warranties), and why else should you buy evga if you like upgrading/tweaking, cause of their step-up program.

I've bought a bunch of bfg cards, and yes they all still work, but i would only buy another one if it was atleast 30% cheaper than the evga equivilent. Fans get dusty, and need replacing....

Granted this all sounds like the usual fanboi crap, but well, I prefer buying ATI products anyway, but for 'bang for buck' i've always liked the x6xx series nvidia cards (ie 6600gt over x600/x700, 7600gt over x1600/x1650).

But x800/x850 and x1800/x1900 are worth the extra bucks for performance, just not a fan of the watts they use up...
 

oz42

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May 31, 2006
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Well despite what a lot of people probably think of me, I'm only here to help.

Sure you should never put absolute faith in stuff you read in forums, but it its not even possible to learn computers from books n schools these days. Stuff changes way too fast. (Oddly enough it was in my 1997 computer science class that a teach first introduced me to tom's... citing the same reasoning back then...)

Plus you can now quickly gain the 'trial and error' experience of the whole planet via message forums. I was joking with my roommate the other day. He was given 1hr to decide what video camera to buy for his parents (long story). Anyway, look up a few forums, price match, volia, 1hr was more than enough given their desired specs/budget.

The reason i crap on a lot of products/people/companies is that I've been in this game a long time. There is no reason to tolerate crap. The more people preach about crap products, the less people will buy them, and the quicker said companies will smarten up and offer people real value for their dollar.

Then again I just advocated purchasing a product only to butcher it.... I'm pretty sure none of us should tolerate that kind of nonsense with brand new products. Come on people, big silent fans with exaust vents, even for midrange cards.