Another topic begging for computer related help. :P Yay. Sorry guys.

DarkHoodness · #1 03-27-2008, 06:24 AM

It's computer hardware related help too, so those who don't know anything about that, you can turn back now and continue foruming as normal.

Anyway, I has problem.

/beg

I'm still using an old dinosaur of a graphics card: Radeon 9800 Pro 128MBs. Seems after 4 years of use, the fan is beggining to make these horrible grinding sounds and it's giving me a headache.

I want to buy a whole new PC when I get a job in the next year and have some money, but I can't afford do it it yet (emphasis to prevent misunderstandings and "GET A NEW PC ALREADY, FFS!" type posts). My current PC will suit me for now anyway despite it's age, so I just want a replacement fan for the Radeon just for the time being.

I did find this cool thing here (literally, hehe), but my card is so damned old that no-one sells these or any other spare parts anymore. And if they do sell these then they're hellish expensive - I don't want to spend a ton of money on an old card which I'll probably have for less than a year. Not even E-Bay helps me with this. :S

Now, my question: Is there any effective low-tech solution I can use to fix this, or any cheap place I can buy new fan from? Anyone here good at case modding?

Thanks for reading this far though, it's really appreciated.

Unorthodox · #2 03-27-2008, 06:31 AM

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ARCTIC-COOLING...QQcmdZViewItem

?

DarkHoodness · #3 03-27-2008, 06:48 AM

Yeah, I looked at that.

:

Compatible with ATI 9800 Pro 256MB

My card: Radeon 9800 Pro 128MB.

:

With certain modifications, can be used on all 9800 Cards.

What modifications? :P I can put PC parts together but I'm no good at modifying them.

Thanks anyway though.

Unorthodox · #4 03-27-2008, 07:51 AM

I had a 9800 SE once and bought a fan (looks extremely similar and may even be the same one). It's to do with the way the memory chips are shaped IIRC (L shaped or something else). Anyways all you need to do is file down a little area on the new fan heatsink (but not on the actual area that's in contact with the GPU). It's nothing too major and shouldn't take more than 5 minutes to sort out.

Havoc · #5 03-30-2008, 03:55 PM

Here's an idea. Buy a new graphics card instead. A cheap one can go for as low as 30 bux and will be better in any way then your current one.

DarkHoodness · #6 03-30-2008, 05:13 PM

There isn't much point in buying new or second hand graphics cards for something I intend to replace completely soon. People are selling off other AGP graphics cards, but they're going for £20 or more and I don't want to get anything that doesn't perform as well as what I've got. Besides there's nothing wrong with my card, except for the fan, which can be replaced.

Havoc · #7 03-30-2008, 05:51 PM

Replacing a VGA fan can be more of a pain then you think

.

But if you're going to replace it soon anyway then why not just wait it out.

DarkHoodness · #8 03-30-2008, 05:52 PM

It seems I'll probably end up doing that. It still runs and keeps the graphics card cool, but it's just annoying. :P

Havoc · #9 03-30-2008, 05:55 PM

I know your pain. Nothing more annoying then having a loud humming noise right next to you all the time. That exact problem caused me to buy a bunch of elastic string and suspend my hard drives with them. It's a neat sight to look at and you can't hear a thing anymore

.