What connector do GPU fans use? Want to upgrade fan

[jay2tall]

So here is an odd question. What is the connector type that GPU fans use? specifically the 3 pin version. I'm wondering if I could find either a 80,92,120mm fan that uses this type of connector or an adapter which converts the standard 3 pin case fan connector to this type.

My asus 4870 Dark Knight cooler fan runs at 50% all the time and its annoyingly loud. The cooler is awesome and I just want to zippy tie a fan to it for WAY better cooling. I guess I could use a mobo connector but it's easier to monitor the and control from Rivatuner on the card.

 

[IH8U]

Personally I'd replace the entire heatsink and fan with an aftermarket cooler like these:
http://www.frozencpu.com/products/8100/vid-117/Arctic_Cooling_Accelero_TWIN_TURBO_Quad_Heatpipe_Universal_VGA_Cooler_NVIDIA_and_ATI.html
$47 Arctic Cooling Accelero
or
http://www.frozencpu.com/products/8177/vid-119/Thermalright_T-Rad2_Six_Heat_Pipe_Universal_Video_Card_Cooler_-_SLICrossFire_Ready_NVIDIA_ATI.html
$56 (presently out of stock) Thermalright T-Rad2

 

[jay2tall]

^
Why? Those are nice coolers if I had a reference cooler. But the cooler it comes with is honestly REALLY nice. It keeps the heat off of it but the little fan it uses is just kinda loud when it spins up.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121291

I had an x1900xtx in the past and know how the whole heat deal goes, that was a toaster with 2 DVI ports.

 

[frozenlead]

I would just mod a fan on there. Hook up a multimeter to your GPU fan and see what it can do on load, buy an according fan that's decently quiet, connect the wires, and screw it in. Easy, cheap...but does require some assembly.

 

[IH8U]

It looks like a standard 3 pin, so you may be able to rip off the old fan and replace it with an 80mm, or 92mm fan. Just look for one that is slim (25mm or less thick).

http://www.frozencpu.com/products/2491/fan-190/SilverStone_FN82_92mm_Case_Fan_in_80mm_Mounting_Frame.html?tl=g36c15s59
$8 Silverstone 92mm (I'd get some rubber pull through screws instead of zipties)
http://www.frozencpu.com/products/3863/vid-19/Zalman_ZMOP1_Noiseless_Slim_Fan_80x15mm.html?tl=g36c15s58
$9 Zalman 80mm fan (15mm thick)

http://www.frozencpu.com/products/5245/scr-100/Rubber_Anti-Vibration_Screw_4-Pack_for_Closed_Chassis_Fans_-_Black_RS-CC-BK.html?tl=g33c111s484
$2 rubber fan screws (pull through type, set on the inside, and slip fan over em, then trim)

 

[jay2tall]

The connector on the Graphics card is smaller than a normal case fan 3 pin. I've been able to find one for 2 pin version that some cards use, however it does not have the 3rd signal wire. But is shows the larger fan plug to the small video card plug.

http://www.svc.com/cb-ya-d2p.html

I'm just going to zippy tie a fan on there. I did that with my old x1900xt with the thermalright cooler. Zip tied a 120mm fan on it and it gave me 20C lower temps than the stock cooler on LOAD.

 

[coozie7]

Yes, zip ties are our friends, just do n`t use too large a fan or it will not blow cooling air onto the memory chips.

 

[jay2tall]

It I zippy tie a 120mm fan it will blow air all over the place. I'm actually thinking about finding some short ram coolers for those ram chips.

 

[Zorg]

Yeah, zip tie the fan on and power it from the PSU. Maybe one of those Antec tri cools so you can adjust it easily. You could always extend the switch outside the case to make it easy to change when gaming.

If you do connect the fan to the card, heed frozenlead's advice about not drawing too much current from the card, because you could smoke it.

Or... the aftermarket cooler.

 

[jay2tall]

If you do connect the fan to the card, heed frozenlead's advice about not drawing too much current from the card, because you could smoke it.

Good point. I zippy ties a 120mm fan on it last night just to see what happens. It was cool on idle but when in a game it ran just as the stock fan did. I need to have a way to adjust it easily during gaming. I dunno if I want to bother droping $30 on a fan controller for the 5.25 bay. I have one actually but my buddy is using it. I did that with a previous build and it was annoying always having to remember to turn it up before a game. I'd forget sometimes and the OC would cause the card to kill the game.

I think i might stick with the stock cooler. Heck if for some reason the card dies in 3 years its under warranty.

 

[wh3resmycar]

this would be completely off topic but my solutions to loud fans are, and since im not a fan of voiding my GPU warranty by replacing its cooling sytstem:

1. 2.1/5.1/7.1 surround speakers (im on 5.1)
2. Big Bulky DJ Headsets

the only problem lies when you're idling in front of the monitor doing nothing.

solution #2 would probably lessen the noise even if you're not listening to anything.

 

[jay2tall]

Honestly the only time i want it to idle quietly is when i dont have my headphones on and im just browsing the internet or in my room period. Other than that it can spin up to whatever. I did set a fan profile to 35% which has kept it pretty quiet actually. I'm actually kinda happy with it.

I wouldn't replace the cooling system, the cooler is really nice. The fan is just kind of small. It removes very easily. There are 4 screw on the corners of the metal fan attachment to the heatsink.

 

[wh3resmycar]

what about wireless headset? 😀 kidding.

anyway, this might work for you.

http://www.arctic-cooling.com/vga2.php?idx=139

 

[jay2tall]

You know what I was looking at those. But i dont think the connector is the right one. I actually looked at my card and it is a 3 pin SUPER TINY connector.