Sounds like a fan bearing going on my 6800GT

[Anjow]

I've got a Gainward 6800GT Golden Sample (like this: http://images.planetamd64.com/phatsob/6800gt/17.jpg )

When I boot up or power off (i.e. when the fan is going slowly so it is more pronounced) I can hear a rattling noise coming from one of the fans in it (it has 2 small ones inside the metal frame). I have systematically disabled all my system fans and narrowed it down to the graphics card for certain.

What are the implications of this? Will it just pack up and die one day? I'm guessing if it does that it may kill my graphics card from overheating...

What should I do? Should I get hold of an aftermarket cooler? Are there any available which will suit my card, and will they provide better cooling than the stock one? Are they hard to fit (for someone who is afraid of doing anything not in the manual)?

Any advice would be good, thanks.

[Edit] It's sounding pretty awful... Every couple of minutes it will start grinding like old computers do and then gradually quiten down before starting again.

[Hughhefner]

Link http://store.yahoo.com/svcompucycle/avc-nv5-r3.html

Great price right now, very easy to install, even I was able to do it :p

If the fan dies, the card could become unstable. For $20 a cooler like this is a real easy choice.

It is much quieter than my stock 7800Gt cooler, and my temps are 5-6 deg. C lower to boot. i'm quite happy with mine.

[Anjow]

So changing the fan is the best idea then? I can't believe all these problems are happening to me at once (had boot problems and a dangerously malfunctioning monitor).

NB: I'm in the UK so I can't get things from that shop.

Would it be easy enough to install on a non-standard card? I think I might have a problem because of the large metal frame that surrounds my card, and the fact that it is dual-slot but one of the rear faceplates is solid (not allowing any air extraction).

[Hughhefner]

If your card is a gainward 6800GT then it would be standard.

The other option is warranty service for your card, contact the mfg and see if the fan is covered under warranty.

Or have someone in the US buy the cooler "if you can't find a cheap one where you live" and ship it to you, it happens here all the time . Check out the classifieds for parts or mailing services.

As for the rear faceplate being solid, the cooler does NOT reach all the way back, it leaves a little space, probably just for the reason you mentioned, if it did reach all the way back and you did not have a way to open the backplate, it might cause some backpressure to the fan.

The GOlden sample edition might simply be an standard 6800gt that overclocks to Ultra and has an Ultra cooler installed.

My last card Was a BFG 6800Ultra OC, Just an Ultra that was Overclocked from the factory.

[Anjow]

Sorry you are right - what I meant was the cooler that wasn't standard. By that I mean I haven't seen it on any card other than the 6800 golden samples, i.e. it isn't on a normal ultra but it is on an ultra golden sample one.

For now I have lowered the fanspeed to 90% when running on the 2D clock and left it at 100% for 3D as when I'm gaming I won't hear it anyway.

Looks like I'll get one of those arctic accelero coolers, I was just afraid of fitting it myself but if they're this popular they can't be THAT hard.

[Hughhefner]

Its not that hard to install. I did it on my 7800 Gt in less than 10min, and that was because I read the directions and didn't want to Screw up my new $300 card.

[chevro1et]

My Accelero was a breeze to install, and dropped my idle and load temps significantly... idle dropped ~8C, load dropped ~23C

[Anjow]

Installed and working now.

It wasn't as easy as I expected, the instructions were wrong... Had I followed them then my memory chips would not have any cooling and would be fried by now.

[einstein2]

damn, I got the XFX 6800GS XXX edition from ebuyer uk and that cooler could be better but it does the job. Glad you got yours going again :D

[chevro1et]

Installed and working now.

It wasn't as easy as I expected, the instructions were wrong... Had I followed them then my memory chips would not have any cooling and would be fried by now.
What was wrong in the instructions? I seem to remember them being pretty good... oh, and how is the cooling performance?