is your 3870 fan always loud?

[rshanahan]

hmm, post a video? My luck I'd brick my card for everyone to see. I decided to get a cooler and replace the fan on mine. Don't really want the hassle of trying to get it replaced.

Not sure when I'll do it, I did receive the fan over the weekend but it's still in the box. If I do film it I'll post it up.

 

[pmdiaz23]

Just posting back. i RMAed mine and threw in the new card today. So far, no noise (actually you hear the fan but only if you listen close and it's quite) and my room temp is 2 degrees above normal.

Send it back and get a new one. This keeps ATi honest and that way they correct the problem on future cards.

 

[pprior]

Just a data point. I was one of the first to get a 3870 and mine has always been quiet. In fact I've never heard the fan spin up at all. FWIW. I'm running a 2007 mac pro and my card info matches the screenshot posted above.

 

[kwarwick43]

Too hot with passive cooler?

Well I've installed the Arctic Cooler S1 Rev 2 and of course it is totally silent. But now I'm concerned with the temperatures I was seeing while playing a heavy 3D game such as Crysis in bootcamp. According to various tools like ATI Tool and GPU-Z I was seeing temps of 97C during game play. I could see that the card was attempting to ramp up the speed the non-existent fan, so I'm wondering if I need to be concerned for the long term durability of this card with a passive only cooler?

 

[nanofrog]

Well I've installed the Arctic Cooler S1 Rev 2 and of course it is totally silent. But now I'm concerned with the temperatures I was seeing while playing a heavy 3D game such as Crysis in bootcamp. According to various tools like ATI Tool and GPU-Z I was seeing temps of 97C during game play. I could see that the card was attempting to ramp up the speed the non-existent fan, so I'm wondering if I need to be concerned for the long term durability of this card with a passive only cooler?

I have to ask, did you apply thermal paste between the GPU chip and the cooler?

Assuming you did, and the temps are accurate:

You might want to look at the turbo module that was designed for this cooler.
Given that much heavy use, it may required. Better to be safe, and $8.99USD is cheap insurance.

 

[kwarwick43]

I have to ask, did you apply thermal paste between the GPU chip and the cooler?

Assuming you did, and the temps are accurate:

You might want to look at the turbo module that was designed for this cooler.
Given that much heavy use, it may required. Better to be safe, and $8.99USD is cheap insurance.

The cooler came with thermal paste already installed and I verified I had good contact between the cooler and the GPU.

I think I've found a possible solution: Using smcFanControl to alter the Mac Pro fans.

I bumped the PCIe/HDD fan speed up from the default of 500 rpm to 2000 rpm and then rebooted into bootcamp (fan speeds stay set through a reboot) and when I ran Crysis again GPU temps reached a max of 55C. Since the fans were a bit loud at 2000 rpm I tried again at 1200 rpm (pretty much unnoticeable vs. the default 500 rpm) and when tested with Crysis temps reached a max of 65C. For now I think I'll stick with 1200 rpm and keep an eye on it.

I would say in essence I'm doing the same thing with the Mac Pro fans as the turbo module would do which is to get some additional air flow over the fins of the passive cooler. I'm considering the turbo module but I'm concerned that since the fan speed controller on this card clearly has issues that it might cause the turbo module to run faster and therefore louder than it needs to.

Karl

 

[nanofrog]

The Turbo Module fans spin at 1500 rpm (42 cfm), so I don't think it would be loud even at full tilt.

 

[apfhex]

I reported earlier than I could always hear the fan in OS X even when idle. In comparison, under Windows Vista during normal use (web browsing, etc) the card is completely silent. When I start up a game I can hear the fan about as loud as it is doing the same in OS X. So I'd say it's definitely a driver thing. I wish it were as quiet in OS X.

I don't know the temps under Vista because ATI Control Center crashes upon startup and I had to uninstall it. Don't have any other temp apps installed.

 

[heboy]

Arctic Cooler fans for the 3870

Just got the Arctic cooler Acellero S1 with Turbo fan Module...only problem is that the fan comes with a 3 pin power connector and the 3870 only has a 2 pin connector. Does anybody know how to resolve this little problem...?

 

[kwarwick43]

Just got the Arctic cooler Acellero S1 with Turbo fan Module...only problem is that the fan comes with a 3 pin power connector and the 3870 only has a 2 pin connector. Does anybody know how to resolve this little problem...?

Did you ever figure out how to connect the fans? I'm still considering if I need the turbo fan module or not as it seems just boosting the PCI bay fan has done a good job keeping the temperatures under control.

Karl

 

[apfhex]

Did you ever figure out how to connect the fans?

I'd like to know too.

Has anyone experienced crashing due to overheating with the stock cooling? It seems that any demanding game, whether it's in OS X or Windows, will eventually crash the card. This wasn't even a problem with the X1900 XT — untill it died of course. I kind of regret getting another ATI card. But the fan noise combined with this is all the more reason to get a cooling module.

 

[irontony]

Just got the Arctic cooler Accelero S1

Add me to the list, but I got the Arctic cooler Accelero S1 rev 2.

I have the Sapphire 3870 Toxic edition which also blows hot air into the tower

I replaced the slot fan with the Accelero S1 rev 2 and now enjoy sweet silence... No more jet engines ramping up every once in a while. Im using it without the turbo module. I dont do heavy gaming, just AOE 3 and Unreal. They play fine. I cant check the 3870 temps BUT my system temps have gone down of course.

Easy install. Just remember to use isopropyl alcohol to clean the ram modules and GPU (the heat sinks stick on fine once cleaned)

I may add a spare 120mm fan to it if I feel obliged... just use plastic ties to keep it on wrapping through a heat spreader fin.

I recommend it the Accelero S1 Rev 2

 

[moutian]

I installed the s1 rev.2 too. The installation would be much easier if the ram heatsinks would not fall off. Now it is quiet, of course. The stock fan is loud. The big heatsink is only warm to touch. I am wondering what the gpu temperature is.

 

[highjumppudding]

my fan is still constantly loud. when are updates going to be available from ati for this card? we still only have the original drivers right?

 

[DualShock]

my fan is still constantly loud. when are updates going to be available from ati for this card? we still only have the original drivers right?

Given that my replacement card is quiet as a mouse, while my original sounded like a hurricane, and I used the same drivers for both, I believe it is a hardware issue.

I think Sapphire (mfr of card according to GPU-Z under Windows) released a set of cards with defective coolers. It appears to be hit or miss as to whether or not you get a quiet card.

 

[Sandman824]

3870

I just got this card last week. I am a casual gamer. I just picked up Crysis to play on my XP partition.
THe card is virtually silent. I replaced the stock 7300 on my 2006 Mac Pro. The only time I have heard it is when playing Crysis, but I have the game volume up so I don't notice it. When I reboot back to MacOS the fan runs for a couple of minutes to cool down then I never hear it again while web surfing email etc. I can't say I have heard it during UT 2004 either. Maybe I just didn't play that enough yet.

I was worried after reading a lot of posts but have to say that I couldn't be happier!

Got it from Otherworld computing.
Running the latest os upgrade, 3gb ram

 

[Rankrotten]

Mine is also loud but is drowned out by the 3870x2 beside it

I installed the drivers last month when they were posted on Rapidshare and then updated to 10.5.5 with its own built-in Radeon drivers. Never bothered to reinstall the ATI CD.

 

[highjumppudding]

my fan is still constantly loud. any word on updated drivers from ati on this card yet?

 

[DualShock]

my fan is still constantly loud. any word on updated drivers from ati on this card yet?

It's not a driver problem. It's a hardware problem.

 

[jazz1]

Just Installed on my MacPro 2.66

Well, there is a fan, that is for sure. My stock NVIDIA did no fan. So to be fair there is a constant whoosh. Waking from sleep it seems to kick up a notch but go right down. Compared to my old Mac G5 Dual 500 and 1.25 it is quieter. But I'm going to have to put this down on a shelf under my desk instead of on top of my desk. I was trying to avoid the dust bunny issue.

 

[nanofrog]

Well, there is a fan, that is for sure. My stock NVIDIA did no fan. So to be fair there is a constant whoosh. Waking from sleep it seems to kick up a notch but go right down. Compared to my old Mac G5 Dual 500 and 1.25 it is quieter. But I'm going to have to put this down on a shelf under my desk instead of on top of my desk. I was trying to avoid the dust bunny issue.

Vacuum/sweep the floor around it often. It might help prevent the large chunks/rolling dust bunnies from invading the internals.

 

[Chaos123x]

you guys must have defective cards my 3780 is totally silent my 2600xt was not loud at all but the 3870 I can't hear at all. My 2.16ghz iMac is louder than my 2.8ghz octo Mac Pro.

 

[jazz1]

you guys must have defective cards my 3780 is totally silent my 2600xt was not loud at all but the 3870 I can't hear at all. My 2.16ghz iMac is louder than my 2.8ghz octo Mac Pro.

O.K. I'm into day two with this card. I'm getting a constant "whoosh" sound. Is the fan always on for this card? I'm having a hard time determining if I was unlucky and got one of the bad cards, or that this is the good card and fan noise is always present?

I'm hearing no difference in fan speed/noise while I watch Hulu video or run iDVD or iMovie. My CPU temps are 85 and 77 degrees. The closest description I can give is that it sounds like the DVD player is running all the time.

 

[nanofrog]

O.K. I'm into day two with this card. I'm getting a constant "whoosh" sound. Is the fan always on for this card? I'm having a hard time determining if I was unlucky and got one of the bad cards, or that this is the good card and fan noise is always present?

I'm hearing no difference in fan speed/noise while I watch Hulu video or run iDVD or iMovie. My CPU temps are 85 and 77 degrees. The closest description I can give is that it sounds like the DVD player is running all the time.

If it's driving you crazy, you could opt for a passive cooler.
Links in previous posts, IIRC.

 

[jazz1]

If it's driving you crazy, you could opt for a passive cooler.
Links in previous posts, IIRC.

I think under the desk first, and then the DIY fan option. That last one makes me nervous on a new piece of hardware. Looks cool though with the modded cooling.