Radeon 9800pro fan issue...little help please.

[NgCir]

Hi all, so I've got a dual 2ghz g5 with a radeon 9800pro 128mb. Its the second card that I've had for it.

I took the card out yesterday to clean it for dust, used some compressed air, put it back in and now the fan sounds horrible. It almost sounds like its hitting something, but I've run the machine with the door open and it is spinning without touching anything (I've taken it out again and hit it with compressed air and the fan is nearly silent, so I think its only when it reaches the higher rpms). I had been thinking of selling the machine, but that'll be tricky with the video card fan as it is. So, after discovering how difficult and expensive it is to get an old agp card (I'd like one with adc), I was wondering if it was just possible to replace the fan? the card works fine and I haven't had any glitches on screen. What makes me the most nervous, is that the sound is reminiscent of the previous card that ended up failing.

So, does anyone know of any replacement fans for the 9800pro? On xlr8yourmac i saw in an older article that a company called verax had one (a G03), but it seems that it doesn't produce that model anymore. Or maybe there is a way to repair the fan that I have, that I haven't figured out. Or if there is somewhere online that I missed that I can pick up this card. Basically any solution is welcomed.

Thanks for any tips and help you might provide.

 

[lannister80]

Yep, you can easily replace he fan. I did on my 9800 Pro in my MDD G4 after the stock fan died (so lucky the card didn't get fried).

One of these should do the trick: http://www.directron.com/vichfa.html

Can't remember if it's 45mm, 50mm, or 60mm. 12V, 2 pin, bury frame.

The plastic screw mounts won't line up perfectly with the holes on the heat sink, so you can only use one screw to hold the fan to the heat sink, instead of 3. I thought this would be an issue (if the fan rotated on that one screw it could hit the heat sink), but it's been rock-solid for 2 years now, even with moving the computer around.

 

[NgCir]

Hey thanks for the response.

Had a question though...those fans that you link to are 12v fans. I thought the fan on the 9800 was 5v. Did you have to hook up the fan to your optical drive with a molex connector or am I mistaken and the card can drive a 12v fan?

Thanks again.

 

[Ttownbeast]

The only time I've had a fan problem on anything it was usually because when I removed the fan I might have accidentally remounted it upside down and it would start grinding against the fins LOL

 

[NgCir]

hehe the issues I've had with the 9800 cards occurred both times after I cleaned them. dunno what I'm doing, but you'd think that the fan should be able to handle a little air being blown at it.

 

[lannister80]

Hey thanks for the response.

Had a question though...those fans that you link to are 12v fans. I thought the fan on the 9800 was 5v. Did you have to hook up the fan to your optical drive with a molex connector or am I mistaken and the card can drive a 12v fan?

Thanks again.

When I get home after work I'll look at the actual fan and check...I know for sure that it's a 2-pin and is connected in the normal way to the card (no molex hackery), but I'm unsure of the voltage.

All the bury frame fans I can find online that look like the fan I got are 12V...but again, I'll check this evening.

 

[Shazaam!]

I installed the Zalman VF700-Cu on a Radeon 9800. After the swap the idle temperature of the GPU dropped about 3 - 5ºC in stressed situation, the PCI bay temperature didn't change. The noise level dropped to a level which didn't bother me anymore. The stock card is very loud.

 

[NgCir]

Was there any trick to the install of the Zalman or was it just plug the 2pin in the card?

And thanks for looking Lannister

 

[Shazaam!]

The only problem is the Zalman embossed rear brace plate. When screwed in on top of the rear nipples as directed, it makes the card too wide to get into the G5's AGP slot. I just took it off. Even without it, the installation is very sturdy, and this fan isn't going anywhere. The nipples now just barely come up against the metal wall that's next to the AGP slot. It's a perfect fit. The Zalman is heavy. If you're moving your G5 and it might get bounced around a bit, it might be a good idea to remove the video card and pack it separately.

Just plug it in as shown in the picture. There are two possible speed settings on the Zalman, so I picked the lower voltage to reduce noise. It runs cooler than the stock fan and is almost silent.

If you wish you can use the G5's 4-pin Molex connector that's connected to the optical drive. You just need to get a Molex Y-splitter, literally a two dollar part.

 

[NgCir]

Thanks for all the info. I've gone with the Evercool fan replacement for now since I'd like to sell the G5 sometime in the near future (no reason to spend extra $). If it works, great, cheap replacement. If not I'll pick up a Zalman.

Thanks again guys.