Howling nVidia 6800

cmoffett · Post by **cmoffett** » Tue Dec 20, 2005 10:08 am

Hi,
I could use some help. I thought I had a whopper of a PSU noise problem, but it turns out to be the nVidia 6800 graphics card I'm running. It's howling. All the time. Howling!

First question:
Could it be that it is because the tv tuner Dell installed is sitting right on top of the fan with maybe 7mm clearance? The fan just barely peeks out from under it on one side. Is the fan just in overdrive all the time to compensate? If so, what can I do about it?

Second question:
If that is not it, and it is just a crazy loud cooling system, should I give the Zalman VF700 a try? And will it fit, or am I going to have a clearance problem. I couldn't find dimensions for it. Anyone have some experience with it?

I'm afraid I'm out of my limited depth when it comes to the insides of cases.... If it weren't for the infernal racket I probably wouldn't tackle this.
But some wise words from the experienced would ease my worries.

Thanks,
Chris

Mccoyness · Post by **Mccoyness** » Tue Dec 20, 2005 10:13 am

I assume there are no other free slots to move the tv tuner to.
If that is the case you are going to have a hard time installing the better aftermarket coolers. the VF-700 takes up 2 slots.

cmoffett · Post by **cmoffett** » Tue Dec 20, 2005 10:32 am

OK, pardon my ignorance.... There is a slot below the video card but it has a different connection to the board. Longer. (That's technical language.) It looks like the tuner would fit, just not take up all the connection. Can I just switch it?! If so, that would clear up plenty of headroom. In fact, if I can switch the tuner to the lower slot, it may improve the airflow enough to not need another cooler.... But maybe not. I'm assuming when you say the Zalman needs two slots you are talking space not connections, yes?

Krazy Kommando · Post by **Krazy Kommando** » Tue Dec 20, 2005 3:02 pm

if there are no other slots that look exactly the same as the one the tuner is currently in, uve got two choises:
a) take out the tuner card and not use it. install a 3rd party cooler on the gfx card
b) live with the noise

warriorpoet · Post by **warriorpoet** » Tue Dec 20, 2005 3:48 pm

Krazy Kommando wrote:if there are no other slots that look exactly the same as the one the tuner is currently in, uve got two choises:
a) take out the tuner card and not use it. install a 3rd party cooler on the gfx card
b) live with the noise

c) remove both the tuner and the video card, replace them both with an ATI All-In-Wonder series video card, replace the ATI card's noisy cooler, rollick through the flames of your burning cash.
d) burn the Dell, buy a new computer

BTW, what model Dell, and what options? Being more specific may help in addressing your problem.

For instance, if you have a PCI-e TV tuner, you may be able to "downgrade" to a PCI TV-Tuner, freeing up enough space for a Zalman, or my favorite, an Arctic Cooling NV Silencer 5 Rev.3

e) buy an aftermarket cooler that locates the cooling element on the backside of the card, like a Thermalright V-1 Ultra

cmoffett · Post by **cmoffett** » Tue Dec 20, 2005 4:44 pm

Oh, the options!

Sorry, here's what I'm running:
A Dell XPS 400 with
Dual P4's
2G RAM
Dual 160 Hard Drives
nVidia geForce 6800 video card
Generic Dell single tuner (ATI)

Maybe I'll pull the tuner and see if that makes any difference in the sound. I'm assuming the longer unused connection beneath the video card will accept something like a Hauppauge capture card. Can anyone confirm this? (The problematic connection that the current tuner has is just an inch long.) So if the sound is better with the tuner removed I'll just replace the tuner. Lovely. If not, I can replace the tuner and get an aftermarket cooler for the video card? Or at that point should I just go with option (c): the ATI All-in-Wonder card with new cooler? And a second job? Argh, I can't think with all this noise!!!

Krazy Kommando · Post by **Krazy Kommando** » Tue Dec 20, 2005 7:56 pm

a tuner card wont effect your sound quality at all

cmoffett · Post by **cmoffett** » Tue Dec 20, 2005 8:41 pm

Right. Of course. The question I had was whether the placement of the current tuner right on top of the video card fan was causing the fan to overwork. Not knowing about the ins and outs of the fan control, I'm not sure whether it would distinguish the difference or not. If the fan ramps up with an increase of heat at the card, I thought the tuner placement blocking airflow might be a contributing factor, causing the video card to run hot.
Not that I would bet on it. I'm sure it is a loud fan anyway.
So, remove the tuner, install another one that will fit elsewhere, and if needed add an aftermarket cooler, seems to be the plan.
Any sense of how challenging installing an aftermarket fan is? Do they just pop on or am I in for some fun? This'll be my first.

Krazy Kommando · Post by **Krazy Kommando** » Wed Dec 21, 2005 7:38 pm

before you go out and buy anything, take out the tuner card and see how loud the gfx fan is. if its still loud, ull want to replace it with something quieter such as the VF700Cu. if its quiet enough, ull either have to find a tuner card that fits in a different slot, or just not use a tuner card at all.
alternately, you could buy one of those ATI "all in wonder" cards as mentioned in previous posts

cmoffett · Post by **cmoffett** » Wed Dec 21, 2005 7:59 pm

Will do. I'll report back when its done.

Thanks.

warriorpoet · Post by **warriorpoet** » Thu Dec 22, 2005 12:40 pm

cmoffett wrote:Oh, the options!

A Dell XPS 400 with
Dual P4's
2G RAM
Dual 160 Hard Drives
nVidia geForce 6800 video card
Generic Dell single tuner (ATI)

Yeah, um, I think I located the source of your intense heat. Do you need a furnace with that thing running?

The higher the temps, the higher the noise. I'd be surprised if your PSU weren't ramping beyond control with all that heat as well.

An Interesting Link For You and A Cheaper One. The AIW x1800xl features ATI's new AVIVO technology which improves video playback/TV quality far beyond the industry norm with their new 5.13 drivers, but it costs $100 more...

Buy one of the above, eBay your 6800 and tuner cards, and if it's too loud, replace the cooler with a Zalman VF700-Cu

nosoup_fouru · Post by **nosoup_fouru** » Thu Dec 22, 2005 8:33 pm

warriorpoet wrote:
cmoffett wrote:Oh, the options!

A Dell XPS 400 with
Dual P4's
2G RAM
Dual 160 Hard Drives
nVidia geForce 6800 video card
Generic Dell single tuner (ATI)
Yeah, um, I think I located the source of your intense heat. Do you need a furnace with that thing running?

The higher the temps, the higher the noise. I'd be surprised if your PSU weren't ramping beyond control with all that heat as well.

Completely wrong, the XPS 400 is a BTX based system and actually runs very cool, I have a Dimension 9100 which is th model the XPS 400 is built on (really just a change naming scheme on Dells part). All of his noise is coming from the 6800, mine was equally loud. Since it is BTX the video card cooler is facing up and the VF700 will work fine, in fact there is a free/empty slot above the video card to accomodate dual slot coolers as well. I swapped my 6800 for a 7800GTX and it is the loudest thing in the system, bug signifigantly quieter than the 6800.

There are 2x 120mm fans as front intake (one on the BTX cooler, one as case intake) and all exhaust is handled by 92mm fan on the front of the PSU. Even after several hours of Quake IV I never hear my fans go above maybe half speed (judging by their breif jump to full speed on cold boot). My hard drive diodes show temps in the high 20s to low 30s depending on room temp and my GPU never goes above 64. BTX is amazingly effective and I am glad to see the OEMs sticking with it.

cmoffett · Post by **cmoffett** » Thu Dec 22, 2005 9:22 pm

That makes sense. Everything else seems relatively quiet. Except that empty slot above the video card you mentioned is being taken up by the stupid tuner. So I think I'll stick to my plan: toss the tuner, get one that fits in the lower slot, and upgrade the fan for the 6800.