Gpu fan problems. Galaxy 9600gt

[thepatient613]

I had this video card for a few months and it worked exceptionally well. That is until I forgot to unplug the wires behind my computer. I pulled it out of its spot, and I heard something snap. Right after that, I realized that my Gpu fan stopped working. I opened it up, cleaned it, tried to tap on it a little. It started working on and off since. I can see it struggles when it tries to spin. Luckily it's the only problem I had since. Any help would be greatly appreciated, Thanks in advance.

 

[cps1974]

can you maybe remove the stock cooling sink & fan & replace with something like VF1000 LED, I use Scythe Musashi for a ATI HD 4870 I have in a machine I hardly use these days, cooling performance way better than stock XFX heat sink and fan, can drop temps by upto 20c both idle and under load

or replace the card with nvidia 430 / 440/ 450?

let us know how you get on

cheers
chaz

 

[thepatient613]

To be honest, I'm looking for a quick fix. I am also on a tight budget. So you say that buying a new fan is better than trying to fix my own? I'll probably buy another stock fan. I never did such a thing before. So as long as the fan has the same input and is the same size I shouldn't have a problem right? Is it fairly easy to change only the fan and keep the same heat sync?

It's only for my 2ND PC so nothing fancy really. For 40$ That little card already exceeded my expectations as it is.

Thanks again for your help.

 

[nforce4max]

A VF1000 is an expensive cooler for such a card but a cheaper and smaller VF900 is just right. I got both coolers and they are worth the money.

 

[cps1974]

yes you're right there nforce4max, im not sure what i was thinking - ive been spending half the day sorting out my 1st ever SLI, GTX 460 SOC - i was clearly sidetracked

no sense in putting a cooling solution that is half the price of the card (ish - i think)

i did reply earlier but must have closed browser before i hit submit, doh

i dont think it would be too hard to either replace the fan (or make an alternative fan cooling yourself) but might depend on what actually broke, do you know? maybe post a pic? what kind of case is this all in, sizewise?

in my experience when removing and replacing gpu heat sinks / fans its ok as long as you have patience and dont lose any screws or other clips along the way, just do some more research - what we need here is a 9600 owner who has replaced the fan, ive got an 8800gts that has something blown on it - if the fan or the card itself will be any good for salvage its yours (if you pay the shipping, it will go in a small padded envelope Id think)


it will also be a good opportunity to remove the thermal solution, clean and apply new thermal solution to the gpu - a few bucks. good practice to get into if you have cards that you want more perforance out of - or if you want to just dissasemble and re-assemble and give a good clean if the fans/sink get clogged up with dust, in some cases this alone has dropped temps 15/20c lol

keep us updated
cheers

 

[thepatient613]

Thanks. I think I'll be fine from here. That card is quite easy to disassemble. I usually take my fans apart and clean them about every month. If I need more help I'll be sure to let you know. For now I have a blower fan right underneath the video card. Since the fan on the card usually works for a long period of time, I get to find out whether it's working fine or not.

I'm going to change the subject if you don't mind for a quick second since I'm at it. I have a powercolor radeon 6870 which could use a really good cleaning. I paid too much for it just to open it without having a clue what's inside. Would you say it's about the same as the geforce? I'll get a friend to do it if it's too risky.

 

[cps1974]

could you just take the card out of the case and give it a good going over with a can of air duster 1st and check the performance and temp after cleaning?

if you need more cleaning you could check youtube for some reviews/tutorials and you may find one about that card

here's one showing the card once the gear has been taken off, there not usually difficult to remove maybe a little tricky sometimes and as it's larger it will be a bit more complex, just remember where everything goes and make notes if need be

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2QUTiY7YCg

yes i think its similar to the gtx 460
i went for the open designs on the vid cards in my large case, the case has great airflow, the open design of the cards means airduster works great to clean the fans and the huge sink and i can either do that in the case or pop them out

is the 6870 a rear exhaust model?

you can always look at the upgrading the cooling solution to something like this

http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/3075/arctic_cooling_accelero_twin_turbo_pro_gpu_cooler/index.html

Ive used a scythe musashi (similar to the accelero) and it dropped my HD 4870 temps by upto 20c at idle and load

keep us updated

 

[thepatient613]

Great info. I think my card is pretty much the same as in the Youtube link. If you wan't to take a look at it, here it is. http://www.powercolor.com/ca/products_features.asp?id=272
It's somewhat tricky, nothing I can't do really. With a bit of time and patience I think I can clean the whole card pretty well.

I might look at changing the cooling system, but for now it works very well and comes far from overheating. It's good for future reference when my card becomes older and that I wan't to tweak it. I have played with the settings before and the card stayed pretty cool.

I'm also using an old blower fan for my PC which does amazingly well for something I originally thought was an old piece of junk. Nothing fancy, but it's extremely easy to clean (no screws) and sometimes it disperses so much heat it warms up my hands.

 

[cps1974]

cool, sounds like you're good to go on both counts, good luck

 

[thepatient613]

cool, sounds like you're good to go on both counts, good luck

Thanks again for your help.