My only noise problem left. How do I fix it?

ThaArtist · Post by **ThaArtist** » Tue Dec 08, 2009 12:35 am

Heres my last noise problem. How do I fix it?

ASUS EN9600GSO/DI/512MD3/V2 GeForce 9600 GSO 512MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

ASUS support page:
http://usa.asus.com/product.aspx?P_ID=CIZSDULRZI4VCsZ8

ThaArtist · Post by **ThaArtist** » Tue Dec 08, 2009 12:38 am

From some website:

Replace the fan
Most chipset fans are 40x40x10mm, and Papst/EBM makes an excellent replacement fan called 412FM, however, many gfx cards and chipsets use special mountings for the fans, which makes it impossible to replace the fan with a standard fan. If this is the case you will need to buy another chipset cooler and then replace the fan. Fortunately I haven't had this problem myself yet.
Replace the heatsink/fan combo with a large heatsink
This would be my preferred solution, but you should beware that the risk of overheating can be pretty high, so be sure to monitor the temperature. It might be a good idea to combine a large heatsink with ducting or a slot cooler, both could use low-noise 80mm fans as listed on the case fans page.

It seems like whats in bold will pertain to me.

ThaArtist · Post by **ThaArtist** » Tue Dec 08, 2009 12:48 am

This one boasts it will work with the nvidia 9600 but its big as ever any my video card already droops on the end!

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6835185081

ThaArtist · Post by **ThaArtist** » Tue Dec 08, 2009 2:22 am

Wow and the reviews on newegg people says its quiet, super quiet, very quiet...

What are these people smokin?!?! It's definitely not loud but its the only thing in my case making noise! Unacceptable!

SebRad · Post by **SebRad** » Tue Dec 08, 2009 2:58 am

Hi ThaArtist, the first thing I would try is to download Nvidia System tools.
The performance part allows you to adjust the fan speed on your video card. It maybe it doesnâ€™t support slowing the fan but at least then youâ€™d know.
GPU-Z will show current clock speeds, temp(s), fan speed and fan speed setting.
If your card is running ok temps (GPU < 90Â°C, VRM <100Â°C, PCB <80Â°C) then you can try manually slowing the fan. You can probably unplug the fan from card PCB and connect to a Zalman Fanmate (not an exact fit but pins should bend a little and connect up OK) to allow you to adjust the fan speed to desired noise / cooling level.
I, briefly, had a Gigabyte card that only had 2 pin fan on no fan control and Zalman Fanmate worked fine with it.
Another option if your motherboard has fan headers controllable with Speedfan is to connect the video card fan (with extender cable) to motherboard fan header and then as Speedfan can read GPU temp you can setup to control the fan speed based on it.

If you want to upgrade the cooler as your card isn't very hot or expensive I would suggest a more value solution like Accelero L2 Pro It should be pretty quiet, although you may need to reduce the fan speed with a fan controller as it has 4 pin fan and your card appears to have 2 pin so no PWM control.
Alternative, if you have room in your case, is Accelero S1 which is a large passive heatsink so makes no noise at all and no worries with fan control.
Good luck, Seb

ThaArtist · Post by **ThaArtist** » Tue Dec 08, 2009 3:24 am

I appreciate all the info Seb! Right before I read your post I was installing Asus' stuff which is iTracker, Smart Doctor, and Gamer OSD.

They basically do the same thing although smart doctor will not let me slow the fan speed down.

I got a blue screen of death after restarting from them programs though so I think I will uninstall and stick with nvidia since they seem to always have better stuff for their GPUs

ThaArtist · Post by **ThaArtist** » Tue Dec 08, 2009 3:41 am

Ok yeah uninstalled all of Asus tools and installed Nvidia's. Same thing. Cant view fan speed etc or adjust. But I can overclock etc.

ThaArtist · Post by **ThaArtist** » Tue Dec 08, 2009 4:05 am

SebRad wrote:so no PWM control.

I can't figure out what PWM means? Anyone?

The Accelero S1 Rev2 is definitely my choice! Thanks so such for showing me that! Now I just need newegg to restock it since they were cheaper than everyone else. I just checked and to get one now outside of newegg is 30-40$ with shipping.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6835186016

Post by **NeilBlanchard** » Tue Dec 08, 2009 5:33 am

PWM = pulse width modulation = a "digital" method of speed/"voltage" control for fans, in this case.

SebRad · Post by **SebRad** » Tue Dec 08, 2009 7:04 am

Hi, PWM fans use 4 wires. The first two, like most fans, are ground and +12V. The 3rd wire is the speed signal, like most case / CPU fans. The 4th and final wire is the one that carries the speed control signal. Most motherboards now have 4 pin PWM header for, at least, the CPU. The advantage over voltage speed regulation is greater control, in theory the fan spins at the requested % of its full speed. The fan is fed full 12V all the time and the speed control is built in the fans motor itself. This allows more stable control of the speed, especially at low speeds when non-PWM fans may stall as the motherboard canâ€™t tell the start/stall voltage for the fan as they vary from 2-3V to 9-10v. High end video cards and now some PSUs are also now using PWM control, Iâ€™ve just fitted PWM case fans to my GTX260 and it controls them perfectly.

There was a previous version of â€œPWMâ€

ThaArtist · Post by **ThaArtist** » Tue Dec 08, 2009 2:21 pm

Wow great info seb. Droppin some college PWM theory on us! lol

Good to know. Now I know it. Andddd I cant wait until newegg gets my accelero back in stock. I think my PC will be virtually inaudible. Which is really good since i record and mix in the same small space where my pc is.

JamieG · Post by **JamieG** » Tue Dec 08, 2009 2:26 pm

Try RivaTuner for fan control in the interim.

Accelero S1 is probably the best long term solution though.

cmthomson · Post by **cmthomson** » Sat Dec 12, 2009 11:49 am

There are PWM fans, which use four-pin connectors as described above. Recent Intel stock CPU coolers use this type of fan.

There are also PWM headers, which can be two, three or four pins. Many high-end motherboards and graphics cards have PWM control of their fan headers, and most of them are three-pin. They control the speed of the fan by putting out a variable-width square wave on the nominal +12 pin. These controllers are so popular because they are cheaper and more energy efficient than variable-voltage DC controllers.

BTW, I haven't seen much evidence of a switch from three to four pin headers other than CPU headers. Three-pin PWM headers are very common on new high-end motherboards and graphics cards. However, after-market 4-pin PWM fans are starting to be more common. They used to be very hard to find.

If your board can control the fan speed, it almost certainly has a PWM controller on the fan header. As long as that header is two or three pins, you can attach any standard quiet 12V fan (Scythe, Nexus, etc) and still control the speed.

As for the ticking that some slow-speed fans emit when used with a 3-pin PWM header: this isn't caused by the modulation of the +12V, which is typically 10 KHz or higher. It's more subtle than that.

Many fans have speed sensors that require uninterrupted +12V for half a revolution to accurately report the speed. To handle this nearly all PWM header controllers put out a solid +12V for a fraction of a second about twice per second so the BIOS/OS can read the speed correctly. This causes the fan to abruptly accelerate (or at least attempt to) about twice per second. This sudden increase in torque makes the whole motor/bearing emit an audible click. It's usually very quiet though.

ThaArtist · Post by **ThaArtist** » Mon Dec 14, 2009 3:15 pm

Ok got the Accelero Sp Rev 2 installed. A bit tricky for my card had to mod some of the voltage regulator heatsinks. No biggie.

Just installed RivaTuner and I'm running right now at 43C.

My pc is officially almost silent! Cant hear anything but a slight slight slight slight wind sound which Im guessing is the stock AMD heatsink fan.

Silent pc for the first time Ive built computers! Lovin it! Can barely even tell its on. I think I hear an "electrical" ringing sound though. not sure if my ears are over sensitive or what? Maybe my monitor? I dunno... a lil music will cover that up though ahaha...