[SOLVED] graphics card and its unadoring fan

Disuninured · 06-21-2009, 12:56 AM

Hello

My pc's video card (GeForce 6600 sth) has a small fan added to it. About a week ago it started letting out signs of its now-anticipated demise with ugly growling sounds.

My reasoning is to remove the thing, the most this computer is used for is CAD, so I don't think the absence of one fan will be missed, amirite?

And even though its dying, but not dead yet, should I remove it anyway? (I'm lazy)
Is it necessary to replace it? This isn't a gaming computer and there are 5 other fans.

And what prompted this question was one short screen freeze yesterday, and one second-long blackout today. Could the video card be damaged, or am I over reacting?

I know I have a habit of incoherent expression :)

~~zerofire~~ · 06-21-2009, 01:22 AM

A GPU fan is vital to the normal functioning of a GPU unit if there is one. If you plan on keeping that computer functioning you must get another video card or replace the fan. GPU fans are dedicated to the cooling of the GPU and case fans are no excuse to not replace it. Only another GPU fan can do the duty of a GPU fan.

Disuninured · 06-21-2009, 05:12 AM

That is not good news--this computer is essential to my penniless self.

How dangerous can this be to the whole computer? And it really isn't under any great strain, it's mainly pdfs, email and cad.

And I've had short freezes five times now, can I expect more of these? And should I undergo a comprehensive backup?

~~zerofire~~ · 06-21-2009, 10:07 AM

If a GPU fan fails while the system is powered on then you will almost instantly fry your graphics card and possibly motherboard. I would know since one of my cards had its fan break off and fly around in my case while causing some compactors on the motherboard to explode at the same time. Had to replace the video card and motherboard. You either find a fan to replace the one you have making sure it is compatible and struggle to replace it or you can completely replace your video card along with the fan saving you loads of time and work. Strain is not the issue with graphics cards since they function at 100% all the time no matter how much of its resources are in use. The short freezes can be a couple of things but the most common is a video card that is dieing. Making a backup of the hard drive is not required since on failure of the computer it will still retain its data.

Disuninured · 06-23-2009, 02:15 AM

Thank you for your help.

It seems like the gpu is as good as dead, very frequent screen freezes.
So I'm going to have to buy a new one... *sigh*

~~zerofire~~ · 06-24-2009, 11:08 AM

Your welcome. It would also be very appreciated if you would mark the thread solved from the thread tools menu. This helps distinguish threads I have completed from threads I still need to assist in.

06-21-2009, 12:56 AM	#1 (permalink)
Disuninured Registered User Join Date: Apr 2009 Posts: 4 OS: XP ?sp2?	[SOLVED] graphics card and its unadoring fan Hello My pc's video card (GeForce 6600 sth) has a small fan added to it. About a week ago it started letting out signs of its now-anticipated demise with ugly growling sounds. My reasoning is to remove the thing, the most this computer is used for is CAD, so I don't think the absence of one fan will be missed, amirite? And even though its dying, but not dead yet, should I remove it anyway? (I'm lazy) Is it necessary to replace it? This isn't a gaming computer and there are 5 other fans. And what prompted this question was one short screen freeze yesterday, and one second-long blackout today. Could the video card be damaged, or am I over reacting? I know I have a habit of incoherent expression :)

06-21-2009, 01:22 AM	#2 (permalink)
~~zerofire~~ Troubled Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: United States Posts: 637 OS: Windows 95/98se/2000 Pro/XP Home, Pro, or MCE/2003 and 2008 Server Enterprise/7, Debian, Ubuntu My System	Re: graphics card and its unadoring fan A GPU fan is vital to the normal functioning of a GPU unit if there is one. If you plan on keeping that computer functioning you must get another video card or replace the fan. GPU fans are dedicated to the cooling of the GPU and case fans are no excuse to not replace it. Only another GPU fan can do the duty of a GPU fan.

06-21-2009, 05:12 AM	#3 (permalink)
Disuninured Registered User Join Date: Apr 2009 Posts: 4 OS: XP ?sp2?	Re: graphics card and its unadoring fan That is not good news--this computer is essential to my penniless self. How dangerous can this be to the whole computer? And it really isn't under any great strain, it's mainly pdfs, email and cad. And I've had short freezes five times now, can I expect more of these? And should I undergo a comprehensive backup?

06-21-2009, 10:07 AM	#4 (permalink)
~~zerofire~~ Troubled Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: United States Posts: 637 OS: Windows 95/98se/2000 Pro/XP Home, Pro, or MCE/2003 and 2008 Server Enterprise/7, Debian, Ubuntu My System	Re: graphics card and its unadoring fan If a GPU fan fails while the system is powered on then you will almost instantly fry your graphics card and possibly motherboard. I would know since one of my cards had its fan break off and fly around in my case while causing some compactors on the motherboard to explode at the same time. Had to replace the video card and motherboard. You either find a fan to replace the one you have making sure it is compatible and struggle to replace it or you can completely replace your video card along with the fan saving you loads of time and work. Strain is not the issue with graphics cards since they function at 100% all the time no matter how much of its resources are in use. The short freezes can be a couple of things but the most common is a video card that is dieing. Making a backup of the hard drive is not required since on failure of the computer it will still retain its data.

06-23-2009, 02:15 AM	#5 (permalink)
Disuninured Registered User Join Date: Apr 2009 Posts: 4 OS: XP ?sp2?	Re: graphics card and its unadoring fan Thank you for your help. It seems like the gpu is as good as dead, very frequent screen freezes. So I'm going to have to buy a new one... sigh

06-24-2009, 11:08 AM	#6 (permalink)
~~zerofire~~ Troubled Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: United States Posts: 637 OS: Windows 95/98se/2000 Pro/XP Home, Pro, or MCE/2003 and 2008 Server Enterprise/7, Debian, Ubuntu My System	Re: graphics card and its unadoring fan Your welcome. It would also be very appreciated if you would mark the thread solved from the thread tools menu. This helps distinguish threads I have completed from threads I still need to assist in.