cheap 6870 with not working cooler

[nenadilievski72]

a friend of mine is selling a hd 6870 for not much money, but its cooler is not working. can i install a external cooler (or 2 of em) on to the heatsink and get usable temps? i did this on a passive cooled gpu and it was amazing. im on a tight budget so that would be easy way to play few games considering i have thermal compound and few coolers at home?

 

[tennis2]

Is it just the fan(s) not working? You can attach standard case fans to any GPU with some ingenuity/creativity (duct tape, zip ties, twist ties, etc). That's your cheapest route.

Alternatively you can remove the fan(s) and search the model number on ebay. Might be able to get the correct fans for about the same price as you'd pay for a case fan.

 

[nenadilievski72]

Is it just the fan(s) not working? You can attach standard case fans to any GPU with some ingenuity/creativity (duct tape, zip ties, twist ties, etc). That's your cheapest route.

Alternatively you can remove the fan(s) and search the model number on ebay. Might be able to get the correct fans for about the same price as you'd pay for a case fan.

will it get "normal" temps with the case fans? it takes 2-3 months for ebay to ship to my country so....

 

[kiss-method]

Figure out a was to get a small case fan on it, you can also go to an electronics store and possibly find a more suitable fan size.

It will keep it cool enough, but don't expect to run through furmark with it (and don't use furmark anyway).

 

[nenadilievski72]

Is it just the fan(s) not working? You can attach standard case fans to any GPU with some ingenuity/creativity (duct tape, zip ties, twist ties, etc). That's your cheapest route.

Alternatively you can remove the fan(s) and search the model number on ebay. Might be able to get the correct fans for about the same price as you'd pay for a case fan.

yes only the fan is not working its a reference style card.

 

[nenadilievski72]

Figure out a was to get a small case fan on it, you can also go to an electronics store and possibly find a more suitable fan size.

It will keep it cool enough, but don't expect to run through furmark with it (and don't use furmark anyway).

hahah i mean will it run cool enough in games, i dont even think about synthetic benchmarks.

 

[kiss-method]

Copper cooler? I took my hd2900 apart after it died, also reference. I killed it with furmark..... Yay.

You should be able to remove plastic shroud and get to see the cooler. You can remove cooler from the card as well (it's similar design to cpu cooler install, I'm sure you'll see it), work with cooler on a desk. Makes it easier and less chance to break the card. Change thermal paste and a way you go

I used a high heat resistant silicone to put my fan into my broken cpu heatsink (replaced fan I mean) while I waited for a new heatsink to arrive. Worked good, but that was only about 10 days that I used it

I'm sure YouTube shows other creative ideas for your Issue

 

[tennis2]

Since the reference card has a centrifugal fan, that's going to be harder to find. However, as kiss-method mentioned, removing the plastic heatsink shroud and strapping a couple run-of-the-mill 80mm case fans to the heatsink should give decent temps. I'd angle the fans slightly with a shim on the front and back of the heatsink so the fans look like a shallow "V" blowing air own the fins.

Airflow is airflow. You'll have more (and quieter) airflow from a pair of 80mm fans than the reference centrifugal fan.