Replacing the Cooling Fan on a Vid Card?

[hubsonfire]

I've got an EVGA 7600GS, AGP, 256MB with a sink and fan for cooling. Had the case open the other day, trying to figure out what was causing some odd noises. Turns out, the cooling fan on the card had stopped turning. The fan is not fully seized, but to keep it running I have to open the side panel and manually spin the fan blades to get it started. I'd like to, if possible, replace the fan and/or heatsink. The fan attaches with 2 plastic fasteners on opposite corners, that function like rivets effectively- no screws into the board, just 2 holes and these reusable fasteners.

I did a quick search on Newegg, and found a couple of possibles, but I thought I would check here. Has anyone replaced the cooler on a vid card? Are the fans a common size and configuration like case fans, or do I need to find an identical setup? Got any tips on what or where to look? I see monstrous setups with big sinks, wiring, and fans that mount in the board slots, and also simple sink/fan combos. I'm thinking the latter is all I need, but I want to make sure I'm not ordering a bunch of fans that won't work.

Thanks,

[1701E]

Well i haven't used a 7600, but almost all card have different fan sizes to meet the performance.  Ex. 8800 uses 3 fans while a 7100 doesn't even have one.  A good place to look is: http://www.arctic-cooling.com/vga1.php  It should be on there ( i don't know what your fan looks like)

[Condor]

Arctic cooler has fans to fit most cards.  I had an ATI 800XL that ran hot.  I replacedthe stock fan with an Arctic Cooler from NewEgg.  It was an easy mod and worked great. 

[MrRiplEy[H]]

Getting a new cooler for the card will cost half of the cards value most likely if you go for a dedicated 'vga cooler'.

A cheap no-brainer option is to buy a $4 120mm (5") case cooling fan and set it up to blow on the card. Does the trick silenty but efficiently if you leave the original heatspreader in place.

[Roscoroo]

most vid cards have heatsinks that are cut for clearance on there diodes/cap's and such on the board . so its best to get one thats made for that card .

i found this out when i made my water cooling sink for mine ..i used a heat sink off a different brand card of the same series and had to go back and mill off another spot for my card.

[alskahawk]

 With some older fans(case fans, vc fans) you can remove them and clean them up, add some lube then they work again. If you can get to the shaft without breaking anything you'll probally find there is some gunk on it thats causing you snags. Clean that off put a little lube on it reassemble.
 Most of the newer fans you can't do anything too. But with a older one like a GS you might be able too. I would not spend any money on it tho. Try the case fan trick. But I would use a 120mm fan if you can fit it.
  If you have some computer geek friends check to see if they have some old AGP video cards. Most of us have a couple layin around collectin dust.

[hubsonfire]

Arctic Cooling makes something for just about every card but mine. No go there, but this reminded me I had another old card boxed up on the shelf. Pulled the sink and fan off that one, but despite the same size fan and same mounting points on the sink, it won't work, as I'd have to cut a corner off the sink to clear some caps. Since I had the old fan/sink off, I popped the fan out, pulled the blade/shaft out, put some white lithium on it, reassembled it, put some more thermal goo on the chip, and it's actually working pretty well. The fan immediately starts spinning at startup, and GPU temps are down about 14*C at idle, so at least it isn't any worse than it was. This box is nearing the end of it's lifecycle, so it's hard to rationalize additional expense if I can MacGuyver it along for another few months.  

[BaldEagl]

Hub, just buy one of those cheap PCI slot fans.  Something like this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835888112 for $16 should do it.

[llama]

The tech support of most video card companies will happily sell you a replacement factory fan/heatsink for around $15. XFX has a lifetime warranty, and they'll send you out replacement GPU coolers FOR FREE.

Personally, I've never owned a video card where the GPU cooler didn't eventually fail. My most recent failure was on an XFX card and I was surprised to get a free GPU cooler 13 months after purchase. When I get another card, I'll be looking hard at XFX again.

-Llama

[hubsonfire]

I'll do some more poking around. Ran it for a few hours yesterday after reassembly, temps stayed low, fan ran fine, but wouldn't spin under its own power this morning. Must have a short or a break in one of the windings. I'm not sure if a slot fan setup would move enough air across the sink, but I'm guessing that they would move as much as that little fan does now. Anything will be better than no air flow. #$%*& cheap components.

Thanks for the tips guys.

[MrRiplEy[H]]

I'll do some more poking around. Ran it for a few hours yesterday after reassembly, temps stayed low, fan ran fine, but wouldn't spin under its own power this morning. Must have a short or a break in one of the windings. I'm not sure if a slot fan setup would move enough air across the sink, but I'm guessing that they would move as much as that little fan does now. Anything will be better than no air flow. #$%*& cheap components.

Thanks for the tips guys.

A 120mm fan will move more air easily and most importantly, quietly than a smaller fan. The same effect as upgrading your bass speakers from 8" to 18". You'll notice the difference.

Or build a horn loaded 18" subwoofer like me. The accuracy of and dynamics are something unbelievable.

[Bino]

I've had good results with the all-copper units from Zalman, available on NewEgg.

For example, I used the Zalman VF700-CU http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835118117 on an old Radeon 9800 and got a good 20% OC outta the wee beastie.

YMMV

[hubsonfire]

Got in touch with EVGA through their rather annoying register, then complete an online form, then wait a few days for a response (despite the claim that all support emails are answered within 24 hours) process. They do not have fans that they can ship to customers, but they are more than happy to have me pay them to get an RMA and have them put a new fan on it for me, and I'd have the pleasure of paying for shipping both ways, in addition to not having a vid card during this time.

Grabbed the Dremel, a cut-off wheel, and a grinding stone, and modified the PNY sink (which has about twice the mass and a good deal more surface area, and a fan which works perfectly) to clear a cap on the EVGA board, installed it, and booted back up for a net investment of $0 and 15 minutes of idle time.

I may go with an aftermarket cooling unit and change my fan setup in the case at a later date, but I may just MacGuyver this one along a bit more and try to build a new system later in the year. Thanks for the input and ideas nevertheless.

[Fulmar]

I have an EVGA card, but have never dealt with the tech support before.  Back in the day I had a BFG TI4600.  Fan was dying on it so I called BFG to order a replacement.  The rep told me the fan was covered under the warranty.  The 30 cent heatsink fan...  I RMA'D it.  A week later my discontinued TI4600 was replaced with a 5900XT (granted it wasn't a large upgrade cuz the 5XXX bombed for Nvidia), but a brand new free card for a 30 cent fan, I'll take it.

I bought EVGA for the lifetime warranty....same as BFG.

[jimson]

Hub, just buy one of those cheap PCI slot fans.  Something like this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835888112 for $16 should do it.

I just installed one of these fans and it works great, blows air right at the heatsink of my cheapo vid card.
easiest install ever.