Graphics Card Aftermarket Cooler

[Hexa Fox]

Hey guys I was hoping someone could help me out here. I have little experience when it comes to graphics cards. I have a graphics card that I have removed from one of my builds and I am now putting together a build for basic use. I will be using it for stuff like light gaming, light video editing, watching videos, document use, and the like. This is the link to my old graphics card.

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202035

The main reason I removed it is because one of the fans on it stopped working properly. Therefore, I am interested in installing an aftermarket cooler to implement it into the new build. I have seen several options like the Morpheus, but seems costly. Especially for a card that is probably not worth much more than that modernly speaking.

Anyway, I see that when people install aftermarket coolers they usually come along with small heat sinks to cover the memory modules on the board. Is this a must? For instance, would something like this replace the stock cooler nicely or should I look elsewhere?

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835119183&cm_re=vga_cooler-_-35-119-183-_-Product

Here is a link to the Morpheus, which I would not mind considering. Perhaps it would be worth it to help cool the card better and give me a little experience messing around with something I am new to. Let met know what you guys think!

 

[werries238]

Hi,

Well I haven't really looked into aftermarket GPU cooling, but the only requirement I see with the cooler is the bore of the CPU holes, like in this link http://www.evercool.com.tw/products/vc_rhe.htm (It is those two pictures in the middle right). I would say it will do the job but I don't think it will cover the whole card like the stock cooler does because it is shorter than the card. I am struggling to find the bore of yout card so maybe you could measure it just to make sure it will fit onto the card.

Hope this helps
Regards

 

[TwilightRavens]

I installed a Kraken G10 https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA0ZX57D7332&cm_re=kraken_g10-_-35-146-038-_-Product for my 290X and liquid cooled by https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA24G28N1512&cm_re=corsair_h75-_-35-181-058-_-Product and to me it was worth it BUT, I have it heavily overclocked so I don't know if the price would be worth it for you. To be honest though this was the probably the best upgrade I have done for my rig.

 

[Bo Lee]

Maybe just replace the fans on the GPU itself?

https://www.amazon.com/FanEngineer-Generic-Cooling-Replacement-D7525B12HP-0-C01/dp/B00PVVXU78/ref=sr_1_cc_1?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1505865700&sr=1-1-catcorr&keywords=HD+6970+replacement+fan

 

[Hexa Fox]

Maybe just replace the fans on the GPU itself?

https://www.amazon.com/FanEngineer-Generic-Cooling-Replacement-D7525B12HP-0-C01/dp/B00PVVXU78/ref=sr_1_cc_1?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1505865700&sr=1-1-catcorr&keywords=HD+6970+replacement+fan

Yeah I bought them, and they were difficult to find a decent replacement. I started to dissemble the card and I cannot remember what stopped me. I am fairly certain that to replace the fan you had to remove the cooler from the heat sink or actual graphics card.

I cannot remember exactly why, but I know it was because it was going to be a pain in the @$$. That was not a big deal to me. So I found a graphics card that I liked that was on sale at Newegg (think it was a actual good price) and I bought it and just replaced it.

So now I am building a newer computer and want to get the old graphics card working again. I might look around and see if I can find those fans.

 

[TwilightRavens]

Maybe just replace the fans on the GPU itself?

https://www.amazon.com/FanEngineer-Generic-Cooling-Replacement-D7525B12HP-0-C01/dp/B00PVVXU78/ref=sr_1_cc_1?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1505865700&sr=1-1-catcorr&keywords=HD+6970+replacement+fan

Yeah I bought them, and they were difficult to find a decent replacement. I started to dissemble the card and I cannot remember what stopped me. I am fairly certain that to replace the fan you had to remove the cooler from the heat sink or actual graphics card.

I cannot remember exactly why, but I know it was because it was going to be a pain in the @$$. That was not a big deal to me. So I found a graphics card that I liked that was on sale at Newegg (think it was a actual good price) and I bought it and just replaced it.

So now I am building a newer computer and want to get the old graphics card working again. I might look around and see if I can find those fans.

Yeah if you can find the fans all you should have to do is take the fans off, I wouldn't think you would need to remove the heatsink. Either way there is probably a video of someone doing just that that you might be able to use as a reference, thats what i do all the time when I take apart my laptops or something like that.

 

[Bo Lee]

Maybe just replace the fans on the GPU itself?

https://www.amazon.com/FanEngineer-Generic-Cooling-Replacement-D7525B12HP-0-C01/dp/B00PVVXU78/ref=sr_1_cc_1?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1505865700&sr=1-1-catcorr&keywords=HD+6970+replacement+fan

Yeah I bought them, and they were difficult to find a decent replacement. I started to dissemble the card and I cannot remember what stopped me. I am fairly certain that to replace the fan you had to remove the cooler from the heat sink or actual graphics card.

I cannot remember exactly why, but I know it was because it was going to be a pain in the @$$. That was not a big deal to me. So I found a graphics card that I liked that was on sale at Newegg (think it was a actual good price) and I bought it and just replaced it.

So now I am building a newer computer and want to get the old graphics card working again. I might look around and see if I can find those fans.

Probably what stopped you was that the power wire weaves through the heat sink. From what I read, it can be a bit of a challenge. But ultimately, I doubt anything would work quite as well as a fan mounted directly on a heatsink on the card. But that is just my personal opinion.

 

[Bo Lee]

Maybe just replace the fans on the GPU itself?

https://www.amazon.com/FanEngineer-Generic-Cooling-Replacement-D7525B12HP-0-C01/dp/B00PVVXU78/ref=sr_1_cc_1?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1505865700&sr=1-1-catcorr&keywords=HD+6970+replacement+fan

Yeah I bought them, and they were difficult to find a decent replacement. I started to dissemble the card and I cannot remember what stopped me. I am fairly certain that to replace the fan you had to remove the cooler from the heat sink or actual graphics card.

I cannot remember exactly why, but I know it was because it was going to be a pain in the @$$. That was not a big deal to me. So I found a graphics card that I liked that was on sale at Newegg (think it was a actual good price) and I bought it and just replaced it.

So now I am building a newer computer and want to get the old graphics card working again. I might look around and see if I can find those fans.

Yeah if you can find the fans all you should have to do is take the fans off, I wouldn't think you would need to remove the heatsink. Either way there is probably a video of someone doing just that that you might be able to use as a reference, thats what i do all the time when I take apart my laptops or something like that.

From what I read online, you do have to take the heatsink off as the power wire for the fans run through the heatsink. Kind of an odd design in my opinion, but there it is.

 

[TwilightRavens]

Maybe just replace the fans on the GPU itself?

https://www.amazon.com/FanEngineer-Generic-Cooling-Replacement-D7525B12HP-0-C01/dp/B00PVVXU78/ref=sr_1_cc_1?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1505865700&sr=1-1-catcorr&keywords=HD+6970+replacement+fan

Yeah I bought them, and they were difficult to find a decent replacement. I started to dissemble the card and I cannot remember what stopped me. I am fairly certain that to replace the fan you had to remove the cooler from the heat sink or actual graphics card.

I cannot remember exactly why, but I know it was because it was going to be a pain in the @$$. That was not a big deal to me. So I found a graphics card that I liked that was on sale at Newegg (think it was a actual good price) and I bought it and just replaced it.

So now I am building a newer computer and want to get the old graphics card working again. I might look around and see if I can find those fans.

Yeah if you can find the fans all you should have to do is take the fans off, I wouldn't think you would need to remove the heatsink. Either way there is probably a video of someone doing just that that you might be able to use as a reference, thats what i do all the time when I take apart my laptops or something like that.

From what I read online, you do have to take the heatsink off as the power wire for the fans run through the heatsink. Kind of an odd design in my opinion, but there it is.

That is a very strange design, or maybe i'm just used to MSI cards.

 

[Bo Lee]

Maybe just replace the fans on the GPU itself?

https://www.amazon.com/FanEngineer-Generic-Cooling-Replacement-D7525B12HP-0-C01/dp/B00PVVXU78/ref=sr_1_cc_1?s=aps&ie=UTF8&qid=1505865700&sr=1-1-catcorr&keywords=HD+6970+replacement+fan

Yeah I bought them, and they were difficult to find a decent replacement. I started to dissemble the card and I cannot remember what stopped me. I am fairly certain that to replace the fan you had to remove the cooler from the heat sink or actual graphics card.

I cannot remember exactly why, but I know it was because it was going to be a pain in the @$$. That was not a big deal to me. So I found a graphics card that I liked that was on sale at Newegg (think it was a actual good price) and I bought it and just replaced it.

So now I am building a newer computer and want to get the old graphics card working again. I might look around and see if I can find those fans.

Yeah if you can find the fans all you should have to do is take the fans off, I wouldn't think you would need to remove the heatsink. Either way there is probably a video of someone doing just that that you might be able to use as a reference, thats what i do all the time when I take apart my laptops or something like that.

From what I read online, you do have to take the heatsink off as the power wire for the fans run through the heatsink. Kind of an odd design in my opinion, but there it is.

That is a very strange design, or maybe i'm just used to MSI cards.

I thought it was strange also, but it does kinda fall in line with what the OP stated. I can't find the link where I had read that, but it does seem to match what he is saying. I have never had to replace a GPU fan before, so I personally couldn't tell you how hard or easy any of them are.

 

[Hexa Fox]

Yeah if you can find the fans all you should have to do is take the fans off, I wouldn't think you would need to remove the heatsink. Either way there is probably a video of someone doing just that that you might be able to use as a reference, thats what i do all the time when I take apart my laptops or something like that.

Yeah I already looked around. I remember watching several videos. I was able to get the broken fan loose and remember looking for the header and I think it required me to remove dissemble the card. If I remember correctly it was in a pretty tight spot. However, I will definitely take a look at it again. I just retrieved it from my closet of old.

 

[TwilightRavens]

Yeah if you can find the fans all you should have to do is take the fans off, I wouldn't think you would need to remove the heatsink. Either way there is probably a video of someone doing just that that you might be able to use as a reference, thats what i do all the time when I take apart my laptops or something like that.

Yeah I already looked around. I remember watching several videos. I was able to get the broken fan loose and remember looking for the header and I think it required me to remove dissemble the card. If I remember correctly it was in a pretty tight spot. However, I will definitely take a look at it again. I just retrieved it from my closet of old.

If that card uses the reference PCB you can in theory buy a whole aftermarket air cooling kit (Heatsink, sometimes vrm sinks, fan assembly and also sometimes thermal paste) that will generally fit that card, even in some cases they will fit a non reference card. For example, when i bought my MSI R9 290X Gaming (which uses a non reference pcb) used from a miner it worked fine for a few weeks but it started throttling soon after in which case I went out and bought the Artic Accelero III which states that it is indeed suited for reference pcb's of 290x. But i bought it anyway and it fit surprisingly, it still didn't cool as well as i had hoped but it kept it from throttling at stock and did wonders compared to the stock Twin Frozr IV cooler that was on it. You could try contacting Sapphire and see if they will send you a replacement fan (who knows they might) if not try looking up the model number or serial number for the card and amazon might have one there.

 

[Hexa Fox]

If that card uses the reference PCB you can in theory buy a whole aftermarket air cooling kit (Heatsink, sometimes vrm sinks, fan assembly and also sometimes thermal paste) that will generally fit that card, even in some cases they will fit a non reference card. For example, when i bought my MSI R9 290X Gaming (which uses a non reference pcb) used from a miner it worked fine for a few weeks but it started throttling soon after in which case I went out and bought the Artic Accelero III which states that it is indeed suited for reference pcb's of 290x. But i bought it anyway and it fit surprisingly, it still didn't cool as well as i had hoped but it kept it from throttling at stock and did wonders compared to the stock Twin Frozr IV cooler that was on it. You could try contacting Sapphire and see if they will send you a replacement fan (who knows they might) if not try looking up the model number or serial number for the card and amazon might have one there.

I already have two fans that I matched up a while back and purchased. I hope it is a problem with the fan and not the graphics card. I know that all cards and fans function differently. However, only one fan spins when it is idling. I am certain that something is wrong because one, my friend has the exact same graphics card and both of his fans always spin, and two, I am fairly certain myself that they both worked simultaneously.

The funny thing is when I put it under a stress test the other fan begins to work. I have Arctic Silver thermal paste around here somewhere. If I do have to dissemble it will not be the end of the world. All I have to do is clean the CPU just like the main unit and replace the paste and assemble it right?

 

[TwilightRavens]

If that card uses the reference PCB you can in theory buy a whole aftermarket air cooling kit (Heatsink, sometimes vrm sinks, fan assembly and also sometimes thermal paste) that will generally fit that card, even in some cases they will fit a non reference card. For example, when i bought my MSI R9 290X Gaming (which uses a non reference pcb) used from a miner it worked fine for a few weeks but it started throttling soon after in which case I went out and bought the Artic Accelero III which states that it is indeed suited for reference pcb's of 290x. But i bought it anyway and it fit surprisingly, it still didn't cool as well as i had hoped but it kept it from throttling at stock and did wonders compared to the stock Twin Frozr IV cooler that was on it. You could try contacting Sapphire and see if they will send you a replacement fan (who knows they might) if not try looking up the model number or serial number for the card and amazon might have one there.

I already have two fans that I matched up a while back and purchased. I hope it is a problem with the fan and not the graphics card. I know that all cards and fans function differently. However, only one fan spins when it is idling. I am certain that something is wrong because one, my friend has the exact same graphics card and both of his fans always spin, and two, I am fairly certain myself that they both worked simultaneously.

The funny thing is when I put it under a stress test the other fan begins to work. I have Arctic Silver thermal paste around here somewhere. If I do have to dissemble it will not be the end of the world. All I have to do is clean the CPU just like the main unit and replace the paste and assemble it right?

Yeah pretty much just like a cpu though from my experience the thermal paste matters a bit more (not really sure why, never cared to looking into it) but the only luck that I've had was with thermal paste was something metal based something like AS5. And it not spinning at idle sounds like it might just need to be lubricated or something, because if its working under stress then it should be alright. If you spin both fans does the one that doesn't spin idle spin freely or does it kind of struggle?

 

[Hexa Fox]

Yeah pretty much just like a cpu though from my experience the thermal paste matters a bit more (not really sure why, never cared to looking into it) but the only luck that I've had was with thermal paste was something metal based something like AS5. And it not spinning at idle sounds like it might just need to be lubricated or something, because if its working under stress then it should be alright. If you spin both fans does the one that doesn't spin idle spin freely or does it kind of struggle?

Okay so I thought that I would come back and update. I installed two new fans on the graphics card last night. It was definitely a pain, but I was able to do it without taking the graphics card apart. I am very surprised that I did not damage anything and guess I will really not be certain until I get it loaded up. However, it was a success, both fans are now spinning and I have a nice little sense of accomplishment.

I guess I should consider myself very lucky. Because I was only able to purchase the exact fans that went into my graphics card and had to purchase both of them. After getting the first fan out I realized that even though they were pretty much identical the headers that split the connection was different. Therefore, I had to replace both fans. It was a challenge getting the new fans to line up with the holes for some reason. Let us just say I would not have been able to accomplish it alone without a magnetic screwdriver.

To be honest, when the fan kicked on it acted like it should. As in it seemed to match the speed of the other fan, and did not admit any noise or anything of that nature. However, like I mentioned before, after I noticed one was not functioning I consulted my friend with the same one and he said both fans on his were turning at idle.

 

[Hexa Fox]

From what I read online, you do have to take the heatsink off as the power wire for the fans run through the heatsink. Kind of an odd design in my opinion, but there it is.

It does not actually weave through the heat sink so to say. However, I believe that the proper way to do it would have been to dissemble the card. However, with a little effort and prying on the plastic cover here or there I was able to make it work. Again, I am surprised both fans are spinning and seems to be functioning fine after how violent I was during the procedure lol.