Cooling Radeon 9100

They make noise, too.

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Ex22
Posts: 26
Joined: Sun May 18, 2003 12:24 pm

Cooling Radeon 9100

Post by Ex22 » Wed Jun 25, 2003 3:01 pm

Well, after having my Radeon 9100 for a month, the fan is making too much noise.

What are my options?
-Replace the fan with ....
-TermarTake Crytal Orb ($18)
-Zalman ZM-17cu ($30)
-Zalman XM80A ($45)
-Vantec Iceberg A4C ($30) -> too loud?

I'd like it to be quiet, but don't see the need to pay $45. Almost half the price of the card.

Suggestions?

somebody
Posts: 207
Joined: Thu May 22, 2003 2:47 pm

Post by somebody » Wed Jun 25, 2003 3:15 pm

Does your 9100 have holes for the heatsinks you mentioned? I remember seeing a 9100 that didn't have holes. If it does have the appropriate holes the $30 Zalman is probably the best choice.

Ex22
Posts: 26
Joined: Sun May 18, 2003 12:24 pm

Post by Ex22 » Wed Jun 25, 2003 3:44 pm

Just checked, it doesn't so no Zalman XM-80(A).

You recommend the AM-17?

Harry Azol
Posts: 228
Joined: Fri May 02, 2003 9:21 am

Post by Harry Azol » Wed Jun 25, 2003 4:15 pm

I disconnected the fan, and setup an undervolted panaflo to blow air over the card..

others have just disconnected the fan and don't bother with a fan..

do a search, the 9100 is the same as a 8500, which should get you more results.

Dr.CrackEnHore
Posts: 86
Joined: Wed Apr 16, 2003 12:05 pm

Post by Dr.CrackEnHore » Wed Jun 25, 2003 5:20 pm

From what I have seen is most of the ATI fans are pretty quiet so with any of these other fans you will see probably more noise. That is unless you got a crappy fan on your video card.

Ex22
Posts: 26
Joined: Sun May 18, 2003 12:24 pm

Post by Ex22 » Wed Jun 25, 2003 9:01 pm

My fan got crappy after one month. The store where I got it from said that that's not covered by warranty. It wasn't making so much noise when I first got it.

How would you set the panaflow? The zalman bracket will blow air down, not from the side.. can you bend it?

Dr.CrackEnHore
Posts: 86
Joined: Wed Apr 16, 2003 12:05 pm

Post by Dr.CrackEnHore » Thu Jun 26, 2003 10:37 am

You can always mount it up with some simple "L" brackets from a harware store. Just make the angle you want to see.

Ex22
Posts: 26
Joined: Sun May 18, 2003 12:24 pm

Post by Ex22 » Thu Jun 26, 2003 3:36 pm

Great idea, thanks. I'll give that a try, sound simpler than replaying the fan. :)

Harry Azol
Posts: 228
Joined: Fri May 02, 2003 9:21 am

Post by Harry Azol » Thu Jun 26, 2003 6:34 pm

Ex22 wrote:My fan got crappy after one month. The store where I got it from said that that's not covered by warranty. It wasn't making so much noise when I first got it.

How would you set the panaflow? The zalman bracket will blow air down, not from the side.. can you bend it?
there's a picture of MikeC's "poor man's Zalman-style fan bracket" if you scroll down here: http://www.silentpcreview.com/modules.p ... =14&page=1

it doesn't really matter which direction the air blows, as long as it moves hot air off the heatsink, and you have some airflow through the case

madlee
Posts: 44
Joined: Tue Jun 10, 2003 10:13 pm

Post by madlee » Fri Jun 27, 2003 11:56 pm

I have a Sapphire Radeon 9000 Pro and it too got very loud all of a sudden.

It's only about 2 months old.

Ex22
Posts: 26
Joined: Sun May 18, 2003 12:24 pm

Post by Ex22 » Sat Jun 28, 2003 12:59 am

Cheap fans.. I'm going to try to rig a panaflo and see how that works. It seems to be very hard to find a 50mm fan at stores...

Hanu
Posts: 19
Joined: Wed Jun 11, 2003 8:38 am

Post by Hanu » Sat Jun 28, 2003 1:32 am

Dr.CrackEnHore wrote:ATI fans are pretty quiet
So you think, but we ATI fans are NOT quiet.:D

Sorry I couldn't resist.

madlee
Posts: 44
Joined: Tue Jun 10, 2003 10:13 pm

Post by madlee » Sat Jun 28, 2003 3:42 am

the fan on my sapphire radeon 9000 pro is the loudest thing in my PC.

it's not just regular fan noise. it rattles and vibrates. it sounds horrible..

I don't understand the design of the AGP card. isn't the ATX form always have the AGP port on top of the PCI ports?

if that's the case, why don't they design a card that has the chips on the other side, so that it will allow heat to disperse better?

Ex22
Posts: 26
Joined: Sun May 18, 2003 12:24 pm

Post by Ex22 » Sat Jun 28, 2003 9:47 am

Found this little fan that would do the trick:
http://www.quietpc.ca/casefans.html
Though the cost of shipping doesn't make it worth it. They do have a US/UK stores as well

madlee
Posts: 44
Joined: Tue Jun 10, 2003 10:13 pm

Post by madlee » Sun Jun 29, 2003 1:19 am

I'm wondering if it means returning the video card.

I'd like to know if this fan failure is a common experience...

Ex22
Posts: 26
Joined: Sun May 18, 2003 12:24 pm

Post by Ex22 » Sun Jun 29, 2003 8:11 am

I think it's happens, I was on a ATI forum where a few people had fan failures. Depending on the company, (ATI, Sapphire, etc..) they handle this prolem differently. They might ship you the a new fan or ask for the card to be sent back. That's where I'm at, I have to RMA and send it back. So no card for a while.. so I'm going to try something else instead.

madlee
Posts: 44
Joined: Tue Jun 10, 2003 10:13 pm

Post by madlee » Sun Jun 29, 2003 2:12 pm

the fan on the sapphire comes off real easy. two small jeweler screws and it pops right out of it's heat sink.

there's a label over the top of the heatsink/fan assembly which hides a screw that allows you to really get at the fan.

I didn't lift the sticker/label because I don't want to void my warranty...

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