Nvidia cooler replacement?

[Strummer]

I had a PNY 9800gt EE edition, which was great, until the fan's motor/ball bearings totally blew out a week or so ago. I'm back using my old Asus 8600gt that came with the computer till I can either get a warranty claim on it or replace it. I'm not sure if PNY will replace/repair it though because I never registered online, so it might not be in warranty anyway.

 

If they won't do anything about it, any suggestions for replacement coolers? The card idled around 63-68 C and under load up to 75 C I think. IMO that's a bit warm, my friend has a similar card that idles around 30 or 40 something and never even gets to 60.

[msaber]

Is it just dirty? If so, take the cooler off clean it, put it back on the card, if that doesn't work do what you said.

[RetiredTacos]

http://www.frozencpu.com/products/7248/vid-109/Arctic_Cooling_Accelero_S1_Rev_2_VGA_Cooler_nVidia_GeForce_8800_GT_GTS_G92_Radeon_HD_4850_4870_And_More.html?tl=g40c21s66

[Plaayer]

When you take it off, don't forget to replace the thermal compound. To take it off the old compund, take a cotton cloth and soak it with a litttle (AND I MEAN A LITTLE!) bit of rubbing alcohol and rub it off.

[Strummer]

That says 8800gt though @ the cooler? And I tried cleaning it already, it's the motor for sure. I just got an RMA number so they took it, I didn't want to void the warranty by taking the cooler off. When I get it back I may get a new cooler for it anyway though, to keep the temps lower.

 

Edit, nevermind I saw the other models it fits

Edited August 25, 2010 by Strummer

[Strummer]

Okay so I realized I won't void my warranty if I take the fan/heatsink off. So should I go ahead and still send it in with the RMA and let them replace it with another stock cooler or just bag RMA and buy the arctic cooler?

[Fps_Ben]

Yes send it in to RMA. They should give you a brand new video card. I sent my old xfx 9800gt in and they sent me a whole new card just because the color on front of the cooler started to fade. Your freinds cooler temps are low because he probably has his gpu fan set to max speed. You can easily do that on your 9800. This is how mine looks like

So yes RMA it. You don't really need a stock cooler only if you want it to be super silent and cool good.

[RetiredTacos]

That says 8800gt though @ the cooler? And I tried cleaning it already, it's the motor for sure. I just got an RMA number so they took it, I didn't want to void the warranty by taking the cooler off. When I get it back I may get a new cooler for it anyway though, to keep the temps lower.

 

Edit, nevermind I saw the other models it fits

 

If they are gonna RMA it and no money out of your pocket, do it.

[Strummer]

Eh, it is tempting, the silent-ness. The fan on the card would never got below like 50% fan duty. It was a bit loud. Not intolerable but it was noticeably audible compared to my 8600gt. I figured it was inescapable because of the shitty circulation in my case, and the one case fan, but having a totally silent cooler sounds kind of cool, not to mention it would keep it below 60 theoretically. Plus I wouldn't have any more issues with fans dying. I had the stock graphics card replaced when my computer was still under the standard HP warranty twice for suddenly noisy/dead fans.

 

I could just RMA it and get a new cooler for the card they send back. The thing I don't want to get is a refurb like a lot of companies do. PNY I have heard isn't the greatest for warranty. I don't really NEED a whole new card, the card itself is fine, it's just the cooler. I could avoid the 2 week to a month turnaround and ground shipping if I went with a cooler replacement.

 

I don't know, it just seems simpler to get a new, better cooler with no moving parts so nothing to really break.

 

 

EDIT: I don't think the arctic one would work too well without the twin fan addon anyway because of my shitty airflow. I have one case fan and one CPU fan/heatsink. Both stock. I may have to stick with a fan running at high speeds to keep it cool. I went onto arctic coolings site and they recommend the usage of the fans with the 9800gt as well as a lot of other cards but is that just a marketing thing? Will the heatsink keep it sufficiently cool without fans?

I would get idle around 65 C and load up to 78 C.

Edited August 25, 2010 by Strummer

[RetiredTacos]

Eh, it is tempting, the silent-ness. The fan on the card would never got below like 50% fan duty. It was a bit loud. Not intolerable but it was noticeably audible compared to my 8600gt. I figured it was inescapable because of the shitty circulation in my case, and the one case fan, but having a totally silent cooler sounds kind of cool, not to mention it would keep it below 60 theoretically. Plus I wouldn't have any more issues with fans dying. I had the stock graphics card replaced when my computer was still under the standard HP warranty twice for suddenly noisy/dead fans.

 

I could just RMA it and get a new cooler for the card they send back. The thing I don't want to get is a refurb like a lot of companies do. PNY I have heard isn't the greatest for warranty. I don't really NEED a whole new card, the card itself is fine, it's just the cooler. I could avoid the 2 week to a month turnaround and ground shipping if I went with a cooler replacement.

 

I don't know, it just seems simpler to get a new, better cooler with no moving parts so nothing to really break.

 

 

EDIT: I don't think the arctic one would work too well without the twin fan addon anyway because of my shitty airflow. I have one case fan and one CPU fan/heatsink. Both stock. I may have to stick with a fan running at high speeds to keep it cool. I went onto arctic coolings site and they recommend the usage of the fans with the 9800gt as well as a lot of other cards but is that just a marketing thing? Will the heatsink keep it sufficiently cool without fans?

I would get idle around 65 C and load up to 78 C.

 

Likely will be cool, but the heatsink is huge, so make sure you got no cards that will sit below it. I'd put that heatsink on with good paste, if not happy with temps my buddies just mounted a quiet 120mm to the bottom for cooling. That heatsink with a fan will probably put temps at 40C lol

[Strummer]

Hmm. Alright well what I think I'm going to do for now till I get some extra $$ is just send it in RMA and when I have extra money I don't need to spend I'll get the arctic cooler + the twin fans.

 

I used to have a TV tuner PCI card above my graphics card, but I took that out the other day to save the space/circulation and power because I haven't used that tv tuner in over a year. So now the only thing above it is the power supply and pretty close below it is the processor but other than that it's pretty open now, so maybe I'll get better circulation.

 

Thanks guys for your input

[Fps_Ben]

If you want a good heat sink then get this one[ http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835118001 ]. It's old but it will fit perfectly on a 9800gt and it has 5 eggs which it deserves. My friend has a 8800gt with the same cooler. Well its up to you. If you live close to a Fry's electronics Or Micro center in our area then you will find very good priced vga coolers at those places.