Graphics card fan is going south

MikeCroft · 08-28-2006, 09:49 AM

I have two questions, but first my home built computer info:
Mother board: ASUS P4P800S-X Pentium 4
Graphis card: Ati Radeaon 9600
Ram: 2 Gig
PS: 350 Watts

I am haveing a problem with my fan not working on my G. card. If I go in and flick it, it will start running and everything is fine. If the fan stops of its own accord, maybe once per session, I start to get 10 sec black screen until I get an autmatic video recovery. I can again push the fan a little and it starts running again and all is fine. (If you don't believe that computers are still in their "Ford Model T" days, then witness the fact that there is someone in America ( me ) who gets up in the morning and push starts his computer!! ) This is my gaming computer and as such it must jump through more hoops than my work computer.

Question A: can I have a local company install a new fan or should it be done at the factory?

Question B: Should I upgrade the card and can you recommend some good compatable cards that I might consider as an upgrade.

**jnob** · 08-28-2006, 11:27 AM

If you wish to replace the fan it's fairly simple, something you could probably do yourself. However if you don't have the time a local shop should be able to do the job for you. Just don't let them charge you much as it should only take them about 20 minutes.

If you're looking to upgrade one thing you must consider is your power supply will likely need upgrading as well. Newer video cards are pulling quite a bit of wattage and amps.

As far as what to upgrade to depends on how much you can spend on both a video card and power supply, and how much performance you desire. If you're happy with what you have you can probably just grab a 9600XT from newegg for around $60 (which might cost the same as a new fan if you have a shop install it), it will be brand new and a little bit better than what you're using now, and you probably won't need to upgrade the PSU quite yet.

MikeCroft · 08-28-2006, 07:12 PM

Thank You Jnob,

I have ordered a 550 watt PSU from newegg so Whould that change what you might buy as a graphic card replacement?

**jnob** · 08-29-2006, 04:12 PM

A high quality 550Watt PSU with plenty of AMPs on the voltage rails should be capable of supporting any AGP video card on the market. Something like this would be really nice

MikeCroft · 08-30-2006, 12:48 PM

Thank You jnob for the input. I am new to these forums and used the tutorial on power supplies ans well as the forum to pick a new one....and I did it with confidence. However, am a little more insecure with the grapics card. I can do the card that you recommend but will it work with my ASUS P4P800S-X mother board??

**laboye** · 08-30-2006, 12:58 PM

Yes, that card (quite nice) is an AGP 4x/8x. Your motherboard is AGP 8x. It will work, but you'll need a PSU capable of feeding it. You're good there, so you should be OK all the way...

MikeCroft · 08-30-2006, 01:14 PM

Thanks, you guys are great.....I will go ahead and order it.

08-28-2006, 09:49 AM	#1 (permalink)
MikeCroft Registered User Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 6 OS: Win XP	Graphics card fan is going south I have two questions, but first my home built computer info: Mother board: ASUS P4P800S-X Pentium 4 Graphis card: Ati Radeaon 9600 Ram: 2 Gig PS: 350 Watts I am haveing a problem with my fan not working on my G. card. If I go in and flick it, it will start running and everything is fine. If the fan stops of its own accord, maybe once per session, I start to get 10 sec black screen until I get an autmatic video recovery. I can again push the fan a little and it starts running again and all is fine. (If you don't believe that computers are still in their "Ford Model T" days, then witness the fact that there is someone in America ( me ) who gets up in the morning and push starts his computer!! ) This is my gaming computer and as such it must jump through more hoops than my work computer. Question A: can I have a local company install a new fan or should it be done at the factory? Question B: Should I upgrade the card and can you recommend some good compatable cards that I might consider as an upgrade.

08-28-2006, 11:27 AM	#2 (permalink)
jnob TSF Enthusiast Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: CA Valley Posts: 692 OS: XP Pro, SP2 My System	If you wish to replace the fan it's fairly simple, something you could probably do yourself. However if you don't have the time a local shop should be able to do the job for you. Just don't let them charge you much as it should only take them about 20 minutes. If you're looking to upgrade one thing you must consider is your power supply will likely need upgrading as well. Newer video cards are pulling quite a bit of wattage and amps. As far as what to upgrade to depends on how much you can spend on both a video card and power supply, and how much performance you desire. If you're happy with what you have you can probably just grab a 9600XT from newegg for around $60 (which might cost the same as a new fan if you have a shop install it), it will be brand new and a little bit better than what you're using now, and you probably won't need to upgrade the PSU quite yet. __________________ Everest Memtest86

08-29-2006, 04:12 PM	#4 (permalink)
jnob TSF Enthusiast Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: CA Valley Posts: 692 OS: XP Pro, SP2 My System	A high quality 550Watt PSU with plenty of AMPs on the voltage rails should be capable of supporting any AGP video card on the market. Something like this would be really nice __________________ Everest Memtest86

08-30-2006, 12:58 PM	#6 (permalink)
laboye TSF Enthusiast Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Hollywood, FL Posts: 1,246 OS: Windows xp Pro/Vista Beta 2/Ubuntu 6.06 LTS My System	Yes, that card (quite nice) is an AGP 4x/8x. Your motherboard is AGP 8x. It will work, but you'll need a PSU capable of feeding it. You're good there, so you should be OK all the way... __________________ Repair Windows XP Guide --- Resolutions Crazy Computer that I'm saving up for::Antec P180 Case;PC Pwr&Cooling 1kW Quad SLI PSU;Asus P5N32-SLI SE Deluxe;Intel Core2 XE X6800;Corsair TWIN2XP2048 2GB PC2-6400 DDR2 RAM;2xAsus GeForce 7950 GX2;BFG PhysX Accel.;IBM DVD-RAM/Plextor DVD±RW;Seagate 750GB HD 7200RPM;WDX 150GB 10000RPM;Vigor Monsoon TEC Cooler

08-28-2006, 07:12 PM	#3 (permalink)
MikeCroft Registered User Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 6 OS: Win XP	Thank You Jnob, I have ordered a 550 watt PSU from newegg so Whould that change what you might buy as a graphic card replacement?

08-30-2006, 12:48 PM	#5 (permalink)
MikeCroft Registered User Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 6 OS: Win XP	Thank You jnob for the input. I am new to these forums and used the tutorial on power supplies ans well as the forum to pick a new one....and I did it with confidence. However, am a little more insecure with the grapics card. I can do the card that you recommend but will it work with my ASUS P4P800S-X mother board??

08-30-2006, 01:14 PM	#7 (permalink)
MikeCroft Registered User Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 6 OS: Win XP	Thanks, you guys are great.....I will go ahead and order it.