GTX 260 broken fan, new fan or upgrade?

[nodbugger]

Recently the fan on my GT 260 snapped, now it is unusable, it wobbles all over.

Looking at new fans there appears to be only one readily available option. The Accelero Xtreme GTX PRO.

However with its price I find that it may be better to just upgrade to a new card.

The problem I am running into is that I haven't been following video cards since I bought the GTX 260 a few years ago, so I'm a bit lost.

Any help in the less than $200 range?

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

What do you have for a PSU and what are your specs.?

 

[nodbugger]

Phenom II x4 940
4gb ddr2 800
ASUS M3N-HT
Antec TruePower 2.0 550w ,2x 12v 19A rails.

 

[nodbugger]

I solved my problem. I did the zip tie mod, I put an 80mm fan zip tied to the heat sink, works great for right now. 40c at idle right now and much quieter.

 

[Gman450]

So you don't need a new GPU?

You could consider this one.
GTX 560
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127592
For $130.

 

[kit_fox]

I would look at the GTX 560 Ti over the 560, you will notice a heck of a performance bump with either but as the 600 series is now out you should be able to find a 560 Ti under 200 dollars if its on sale or rebate

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130604
is 204 right now after a MIR

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130623
is 199 with the MIR

and finally

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814500196
is a steal at 179 after the MIR

I cant speak for Zotac reliability but I do have alot of friends that swear by the EVGA cards

 

[nforce4max]

I would go ahead and remove the cover then strap the fan onto the end of the cooler where the stock fan used to be at an angle. Tape up the rest to where all the air from the fan is going through the cooler.

 

[coozie7]

Better still, remove the dead fan compleately, or at least cut its blades off so the new fan will work more efficiently. That way the existing cover can still direct heat out of the system and the heatsink will work as intended.
Where would us cheapskate modders be without cable ties and sticky tape?

 

[nodbugger]

Thanks for the replies, I would like the 560 Ti ,but not sure if I can spend the money right now.

I put a second fan on the 260, but as nforce and coozie said I may need to adjust the directions the fans are facing for them to work better.

 

[kit_fox]

Thanks for the replies, I would like the 560 Ti ,but not sure if I can spend the money right now.

I put a second fan on the 260, but as nforce and coozie said I may need to adjust the directions the fans are facing for them to work better.

If you do decide to go the 560 Ti route i would recommend waiting a little longer as the rumor mill is churning there will possibly be a 660 Ti released soon which I imagine will drop their pricing even further as distributors try to sell off excess stock.

 

[verbalizer]

time to upgrade...
$200 = GTX 560 Ti for those who already mentioned it, I agree..