Problem With Stuck Vga Card Fan

[opalhort]

Hi,

My system:

XP SP3

VGA card: NVIDIA GeForce 7300 LE

MB: ASUS P5B Deluxe

After three weeks of problems (programs shut downs, black screen, strange screen patterns on start-up, hanging WIN etc.) I think I fianally found the guilty part.

The fan on the VGA card was stuck.

The reason I did not see it before is that the VGA card is installed up-side-down (soldering side of the PCB is up and component side with fan is down) and right below it in the next slot is a fax modem.

For now I have to use my little finger to get the fan running.

Questions:

1: Can the fan on a VGA card be replaced / repaired or do I have to go and get a new card?

2: Is there any software with which I could monitor VGA card fan speed and Temperature?

I do have the ASUS monitoring software and all is okay but it only shows CPU and MB temp and CPU and MB fan speeds.

opalhort

Edited April 22, 2010 by opalhort

[welo]

Just remove the card from the PC and go shopping. Fans exist in various sizes and shapes, often combined with a large heat-sink. You have to find one that actually fits the mounting holes on your card.

When replacing the fan and heat sink make sure to clean the GPU and apply new thermal paste.

Not sure about prices of standalone fans for graphics cards, might be a good time to check if you'd like to upgrade your graphics card. The 'LE' usually points to a budget version.

welo

[richardt1808]

Hi there,

I dont know of any repair shops who would try a repair on a VGA card fan, but with the prices on the base models so cheap, it is really faster and more convenient to just replace the card in most cases. They are normally sold with a warranty so you may have some luck getting it swapped or at least a discount on a new one. I do electronics as a hobby, but for a job like this I honestly wouldnt bother trying to save it.

Cheers

[garyh]

Quite often it is possible to take the fan apart (usually a sticker over the end where you can take a plastic clip off the shaft and disassemble it) and oil it, oil then take it apart and clean the dirty oil out and repeat this till the crap is out of it. This may work for a long time but not always successful. You could also remove the fan and strap a larger fan like a common 80mm fan to the card with cable ties or whatever works.

But as mentioned already there are many cheaper graphics cards available starting at around 1000 baht http://www.thanni.com/index.php?main_page=...=20a&page=2

[Daffy D]

Iv'e "fixed" the fan on my aging graphics card several times over the years.

The first few times I put a couple of drops of light oil (Singer) on the spindle. You have to peel of the sticky cover to do this and can use a bit of any sticky tape as replacement if the original doesn't stick back. Obviously take out the card first.

After a couple of years of this the fan really was on it's last legs so I bought just an ordinary small fan approx the same size and just screwed it onto the original heat sink.

You don't have to worry too much about what sort of fan as long as the screws from the fan fit into the heatsink at some point and the fan is not too thick to foul any other expansion card.

The fans I used are just normal 12v and don't have the special plug to fit into the graphics card so I connected them straight to a spare hard drive connection. The Yellow wire is 12v.

The thing is to check the heatsink is firmly seated on the GPU then it's not too important what kind of fan is fitted as long as it's cooling it.

I also periodically check the fan is still working either lightly with finger to feel the rotation or with a mirror.

[opalhort]

Thanks for all the replies.

I have been re-activating case fans many times using a small squirt of Sonax (Singha oil tends to harden and make things worse in the long run). It worked for 3-4 times until they finally died on me.

Since I plan to replace this PC anyway within the next two years I don't want to invest much in it but just keep it running.

Though my other question:

2: Is there any software with which I could monitor VGA card fan speed and Temperature?

I do have the ASUS monitoring software and all is okay but it only shows CPU and MB temp and CPU and MB fan speeds.

remains unanswered. Any idea?

opalhort

[welo]

HWMonitor http://www.cpuid.com/hwmonitor.php

ATITool (supports some NVIDIA chipsets as well) http://www.techpowerup.com/atitool/

Speedfan (criticized by some here on the board)

And just to make sure - you don't happen to have installed new nividia drivers lately (version 196.75) http://www.bjorn3d.com/viewnews.php?id=4268

Btw - can you move (or remove) the modem card next to the GPU. Might improve airflow.

welo

[opalhort]

Btw - can you move (or remove) the modem card next to the GPU. Might improve airflow.

welo

Originally the modem was installed in the lowest slot leaving one slot between it and the VGA card but last year the modem had problems and the shop got it working again but only in the slot directly below the VGA card. No idea why.

Now I also have a parallel port card for a printer installed in the lowest slot.

I have not changed any drivers for some time. Will give the suggested monitoring software a try.

Thanks.

opalhort

Edited April 22, 2010 by opalhort

[welo]

My (short-term) strategy for fixing overheating problems is to open the computer enclosure and point a standard 16" table fan at the inside. This way you can also easily check if it's really an overheating issue.

welo

[Daffy D]

Thanks for all the replies.

I have been re-activating case fans many times using a small squirt of Sonax (Singha oil tends to harden and make things worse in the long run). It worked for 3-4 times until they finally died on me.

opalhort

No! No! No! That's SINGER not Singha

[opalhort]

No! No! No! That's SINGER not Singha

He he, you got me there.

Singha is what is standing beside my PC - hence the spelling mistake. Singer oil is kept in a closet.

opalhort