a quick fix to my video card
Posted: Thu Oct 20, 2005 3:53 pmim very pleased with myself right now... i feel smart 
here's the deal... my video card (radeon 9800xt) has had problems with the cooler since day one... i've had it changed once and repaired on numerous occasions...
over the last few days, the cooler bummed out again... usually poking it a bit makes it work for a little longer... but today it completely refused to work, it was making weird noises and all... i thought "now im gonna have to repair this damn thing"
i've managed to repair it by myself once, so i tried to do it again... took out the card, disassembled the cooler, cleaned it and put it back... usually that works, but not today... it still refused to work... i
so here i was thinking i was gonna have to send the card back to the shop again
when it struck me... it was a last-resort-what-if-plan-B idea, but i had nothing to lose anymore, so i went ahead with it...
i have a case fan that hangs over the radeon to help cool it down, i took it out and strapped it over the radeon's cooler
amazingly, IT WORKED
the fan, now on top of the damaged cooler, pumps air into the card's heatsink, doing the job perfectly... actually, it's even cooler now than it was when the default cooler was working well... my theory is that the downflow of air spins the blades of the old cooler, which is still running (or trying to), and helps it do it's job.... and if the case fan breaks, i can easily replace it, since they're much esier to find than card fans
i tested it for a while, and the temperature held stable at 71
here's the deal... my video card (radeon 9800xt) has had problems with the cooler since day one... i've had it changed once and repaired on numerous occasions...
over the last few days, the cooler bummed out again... usually poking it a bit makes it work for a little longer... but today it completely refused to work, it was making weird noises and all... i thought "now im gonna have to repair this damn thing"
i've managed to repair it by myself once, so i tried to do it again... took out the card, disassembled the cooler, cleaned it and put it back... usually that works, but not today... it still refused to work... i
so here i was thinking i was gonna have to send the card back to the shop again
when it struck me... it was a last-resort-what-if-plan-B idea, but i had nothing to lose anymore, so i went ahead with it...i have a case fan that hangs over the radeon to help cool it down, i took it out and strapped it over the radeon's cooler
amazingly, IT WORKED
the fan, now on top of the damaged cooler, pumps air into the card's heatsink, doing the job perfectly... actually, it's even cooler now than it was when the default cooler was working well... my theory is that the downflow of air spins the blades of the old cooler, which is still running (or trying to), and helps it do it's job.... and if the case fan breaks, i can easily replace it, since they're much esier to find than card fans
i tested it for a while, and the temperature held stable at 71
...!