"Clicky" X800XL Fan

[w00dy]

I researched a great deal about my new video card and almost bought a passive X800XL heatpipe from Gigabyte - that was until I became concerned about 100c temps !

I decided eventually to go for a Club 3D X800Xl which is a nice card and seems to be a good performer.

The fan is noisy, though I can though Rivatuner reduce the fan speed to around 25% which slows down the fan speed. The problem is that there is an audible clicking from the fan at this speed.

Is there anything I can do - don't really want to change the fan on it as it will void the warranty ! The fan is connected to a tiny 3 pin header which does not fit a Fanmate, so cannot link the fan and reduce to 7v manually.

Any other suggestions?

Thanks

[teejay]

Have you tried lower fan speeds? The stock fan on my Club3D X800XL runs at 8% (through ATi tool) which gives me ~48C on the desktop, both underclocked and at stock speed. Do you have the PCI-e version or the AGP one? They appear to have different coolers (I've read that the PCI-e version is lit up by a bunch of white leds... lucky me with the AGP version).

[w00dy]

Thanks for the reply

I have the PCI-E version thank god I haven't got a side window panel with those white LEDs

I have now set the ATI Tool to 8c and the GPU is currently 70c

I am actually convinced it is the LEDs flashing that is making the noise !

Any ideas how to save my sanity !

[teejay]

Mmmm, that's a big temperature difference. What's your case & fan lay-out like? Is the noise really in sync with the flashing LEDs? (are they actually flashing? OMG... double lucky me on the AGP version! Although I would have liked a PCI-e setup )

Have you tried underclocking the gpu with ATiTool?

[SebRad]

Hi, I have a Radeon 9600pro and it has a fairly small 2 wire connector from the fan to the board. I just shoved it on to a normal fan header, yes the pins have to bend a bit but it's been fine for 18 months. You may well be able to buy adapters, of could just make one from a old/broken case/cpu fan by pushing the wires into the cards fan header so its a revesable mod.
As you hinted at the clicking could be caused by PWM that the card uses to control fan speed, so different power to the fan may well help.
Seb

[w00dy]

Thanks guys

Yes Teejay it is almost like a "strobe" effect - at full speed is almost continuous light but at slower speeds the flashing becomes more irritating (I am sure the kids would dig the bling with a side panel but I am too old for that :0)

Actually the sound is more "pulsing" than constant so i think the bling may have something to do with it

Temp was 70 but disconnected my case fans now back down to 50c at 24% fan speed.

The fan header is tiny but will have a look tomorrow night.

Actually the sound is quite high pitched - may be something that some Acoustipack could take the edge off? (I am looking to get some Acoustipack anyway).

Thanks for the help guys - gives me some hope of solving this one

[w00dy]

Small update - the pulsing noise is still apparent, but is better if I try and keep GPU temp fixed at 60c (through ATI Tool) - this means the fan runs at minimal speed and keeps things a bit more under control.

I have been looking at the Zalman Flower GPU cooler - I have never changed GPU coolers before (scared of voiding warranty) - is it easy/risky to do?

Thanks again guys

[crays]

The fan is noisy, though I can though Rivatuner reduce the fan speed to around 25% which slows down the fan speed. The problem is that there is an audible clicking from the fan at this speed.

Is there anything I can do - don't really want to change the fan on it as it will void the warranty ! The fan is connected to a tiny 3 pin header which does not fit a Fanmate, so cannot link the fan and reduce to 7v manually.

Any other suggestions?

You didn't mention what your case is, but have you considered using Zalmon's VF700? At 5v, I can't hear it, and my X800 idles somehwere between 37 and 40c.

If I play EQ2 at 16x12 in full screen, it tops out at 60c. In a window (I run a 1920x1440 desktop) it's around 53-56c.

My machine is significantly quieter and my chipset 8-10c cooler since installing it.

Kevin

[cjpark]

I've also got a clicky fan, but on my x800pro. I know its from pwm so I'm trying to work around it and power the fan a fan controller instead. Can anyone tell me what the 3 wires are, theres a red, black, white. I assume black is ground but I'd rather not guess at it if someone here knows what they are for sure.