7900gt - fan noise

[Chakka]

Hello all. Im new to the forum and it looks like this may be a place to go for xfx video cards.

Well I was excited when I got my xfx 7900gt...its the 520/1500 version. Anyway, I used drivercleaner to clean out the old drivers and loaded the xfx 84.21 nvidia drivers. I ran 3dmark05 and it was 9037 and in 3dmark06 my score was 5023. The graphics were amazing and the scores suggest I have a great card.

However, as my excitement died down, I noticed that the fan on the card did not power down and seems to run a little loud. I have been on different forums and it seems to be a common problem on all 7900gts. Several fixes were mentioned but none seem to stand out.

I think my 7900gt is a winner with the 3dmark05 scores (will run 3dmark06 tonight). Any solutions to this problem that anyone is aware of (without modding the card)?

[Scott]

I have moved this so XFX support will read it.

[Victor]

is your case/system cool enough? Maybe you need to clean the system a bit so that the air can cool the card properly. Please list your complete system specs, as well as whta temperature that your card and other parts is reporting for the XFX techies to see so that they can help you.

[Chakka]

Oh, I didnt realize that this is what this section is for. Anyway, my temps are as follows:

7900gt - 40c
cpu - 37c
system - 36c

These temps are at idle after windows has booted and the last time I checked was after surfing the internet and playing music for about 2 hours.

[werty316]

Is it loud at idle? Having the fan loud is normal when running anything 3D. If it isn't loud when idle then it is fine.

[xfxsupport]

Hello Chakka,

Do you notice the fan on the card spinning at two different speeds? Generally, the fan on that card will spin up to a higher (3D) speed under load, and while the system boots (during BIOS post), then it should throttle down to a lower (2D) speed.

We’ve also seen this problem associated with insufficient power; can you provide the specs on you PSU?

Your temps look great, so definitely does not seem to be an overheating issue.

Also, give the latest Beta’s from Nvidia a shot: http://www.nzone.com/object/nzone_downloads_rel70betadriver.html .

Finally, fill out a support ticket on our website, and please link to this thread: http://www.xfxforce.com/web/support/ticket/getTicketHeaders.jspa . I want to try and replicate the issue in our office, so please include the serial number from the card as well.

Best regards,
Daniel
XFX Technical Support

[Chakka]

Is it loud at idle? Having the fan loud is normal when running anything 3D. If it isn't loud when idle then it is fine.

No its loud, well louder than Im used to and even the 6600gt that it replaced was quieter which was well known to be a tad loud too.

[Chakka]

Hello Chakka,

Do you notice the fan on the card spinning at two different speeds? Generally, the fan on that card will spin up to a higher (3D) speed under load, and while the system boots (during BIOS post), then it should throttle down to a lower (2D) speed.

We’ve also seen this problem associated with insufficient power; can you provide the specs on you PSU?

Your temps look great, so definitely does not seem to be an overheating issue.

Also, give the latest Beta’s from Nvidia a shot: http://www.nzone.com/object/nzone_downloads_rel70betadriver.html .

Finally, fill out a support ticket on our website, and please link to this thread: http://www.xfxforce.com/web/support/ticket/getTicketHeaders.jspa . I want to try and replicate the issue in our office, so please include the serial number from the card as well.

Best regards,
Daniel
XFX Technical Support

Thanks for replying so quickly! The fan speed does not change at all. I will try to reseat the card a few times just to make sure it makes good contact with the mobo.

I have both an ocz powerstream 520w with 33a on the 12v rail and a tagan u22 480w with 30a on the 12v rail in another rig that I have built and have tried both with this card.

Before I send a ticket, I try the new beta driver that you have linked to. I will also try switching the 6 pin cable and also try the y cable too. Thanks for the quick response!

[shanewu]

FYI...I heard about a 7600 (not XFX but can't remember the brand) that needed a BIOS flash to get the fan to work correctly.

[PUTALE]

FYI...I heard about a 7600 (not XFX but can't remember the brand) that needed a BIOS flash to get the fan to work correctly.

I think it's evga's brand.

[z3r0C00L]

Hmm where was that thread I made again talking about the cheap 7900GT fans?

They're alot like the fans found on the x800 series by ATi. They also die quickly.. but they're covered under warranty... you just have to pay to ship the card.

Of course they were introduced to keep the price down on the 7900GT. I wonder if XFX would still offer there warranty if you switch the cheap fan for an aftermarket cooler?

[werty316]

I contacted XFX about using a aftermarket cooler and they said using a cooler other then the stock cooler voids the warranty. I was then thinking then how will they find out if I did use a aftermarket cooler?

[z3r0C00L]

So using a GOOD cooler rather then the piece of crap that comes with the card voids the warranty... Gee whiz.

Lol... like seriously the cooler that comes with those 7900GT's ir horrible... it's like semi-soldered bent, contorted copper with a small sleeve bearing fan.

[werty316]

Yeah too bad; Most users out their use an aftermarket cooler for their CPUs so how is the warranty treated? I think it goes the same with CPUs as if you don't use the stock cooler it voids your warranty.

[Chakka]

I contacted XFX about using a aftermarket cooler and they said using a cooler other then the stock cooler voids the warranty. I was then thinking then how will they find out if I did use a aftermarket cooler?

Thats my contention too. How do they really know if you actually put the fan back on the card. Its too bad XFX doesnt step up to the plate on this issue like evga.

I think that for most users like us who buy these cards, we use arctic cooling to zalman to water cooling. Whats wrong with using these aftermarket products if we are careful not to damage the card in anyway.

I dont get it. It would actually be preserving the life of the card.

[Bio-Hazard]

I can totally understand their (XFX) point really, it's extrenely easy to break a card changing a cooler if you're not careful and don't know what you're doing. How is XFX or any card maker supposed to know who is knowledgeable and who isn't.......... :shock: So in end effect, you have to take a chance and swap the cooler out on your own and if there's a problem, swap it back and hope for the best................ :shock: I don't agree with it, but I didn't write the rules either.

[werty316]

I think its risk of damaging it and also because the product has been altered from a retail state.

[Bio-Hazard]

I know that's the thing 100%. but I'll be 100% honest here, when I get my next video card, regardless of whick company it comes from, as soon as I run it in stock configuation to see that everything works, the stock cooling is coming off and water cooling is going on. I'm getting old and hate the fan noise for prolonged periods of time, so water cooling it will be. I will keep the stock cooling solution as I always do just in case............. :wink:

[Chakka]

I know that's the thing 100%. but I'll be 100% honest here, when I get my next video card, regardless of whick company it comes from, as soon as I run it in stock configuation to see that everything works, the stock cooling is coming off and water cooling is going on. I'm getting old and hate the fan noise for prolonged periods of time, so water cooling it will be. I will keep the stock cooling solution as I always do just in case............. :wink:

Yep, Im with you but I usually wait 3-4 months of continued use unitl Im sure its a keeper. Too bad XFX couldnt come up with an approved aftermarket cooling solutions for their vid cards but that may be too hard to manage.

[Chakka]

Ok, back on track.

I reinstalled winxp over the weekend, tried 2 different psus that each come with 2 shielded 6pin connectors, tried the y cable, tried reseating the vid card 7 times....still the fan stays constant at startup and after winxp loads. I tried the nvidia beta. Just cant think of anything else to do. No matter what, no change in fan speed.

I do not want to give up this card...my 3dmark06 score is above 5,000 and the 3dmark05 is above 9,000 - both great scores and the temp is at 39c-40c.

Daniel, I will start a ticket and reference this website and report back to this website the results. thanks.

[werty316]

Give RivaTuner a run and see if you can control the fan using that app

[Chakka]

Give RivaTuner a run and see if you can control the fan using that app

Yes, good suggestion. However, the current version does not support the new 7900 series of gpus. I tried it but all of the fan speed controls are missing. Sucks cause thats the only other way to control the fan noise from a "software" based perspective.

I wonder if XFX has a new bios for the card. Does anyone know if they do that and where on the XFX website would I find it?

[werty316]

There are alot of bios that user upload here:

http://www.mvktech.net/component/option,com_remository/Itemid,26/func,selectcat/cat,2/

You can check to see if you have the newests bios version. You also could try Speedfan but I don't think it supports 7900 card either.

[Chakka]

There are alot of bios that user upload here:

http://www.mvktech.net/component/option,com_remository/Itemid,26/func,selectcat/cat,2/

You can check to see if you have the newests bios version. You also could try Speedfan but I don't think it supports 7900 card either.

The bios version on the card read from the sticker - 5.71.22.12.03 - and the bios version on the mvktech sight reads - 5.71.22.12.04. So now comes the hard question, are these bioses supported by XFX and if I update the bios, will XFX void my warranty?

Whats funny is that this fan noise problem maybe solved with a simple bios update...anyway, lets hope so.

[werty316]

Not really sure as I ahve only updated motherboard bios and never VGA cards.

[Bio-Hazard]

If it isn't a XFX signed Bios, it will void your warranty, Get the Nvidia bios editor and open it up to check what vendor wrote/modified the bios, if it's from XFX you MIGHT be ok. Vidoe bios are normally internally marked as to what make and model of card they go with, at least ATI ones are. If you flash the card and kill it for any reason and the bios doesn't match the card and vendor ID, you're out a card. That is unless you can reflash it back to stock bios in the blind that is................ :shock:
I've only flashed ATi cards in the past, a 9500 to 9700 Pro and a 9800 Pro to a 9800XT, plus I modded the bios with ATi bios editor so that the cards ran at my OC speed by default with out the aid of software. I've never had the chance to mess with anything new from Nividia yet............. :twisted:

[Chakka]

Ok I have tried all day to supply XFX with a support ticket and it wont take. I get "page temporary unavailable". Will try tomorrow but this is frustrating.

I guess its one way to limit support issues if users cant submit them...

[werty316]

I wouldn't try to use a different bios that didn't come with your card. Best bet is to just contact XFX support.

[xfxsupport]

Hello Chakka,

I’m not sure why you are having trouble submitting the support ticket, but I checked the page and it seems to be working now. If you continue to have issues submitting the ticket, just send an email to: support@xfxforce.com . Also, others have reported that firewall and anti-virus software has prevented the page from loading, so try temporarily disabling that software.

Regards,

Daniel

[Chakka]

Hi Daniel, thanks for responding and keeping in touch with this thread. I will try again tonight and if it doesnt work, Ill disable the protections I have running in the background. Last resort will be a direct email. Im on the east coast and will send it out when I get home from work so you should be getting it around 2-3 pm west coast time. Thanks again.

[Chakka]

OK, I still couldnt get the support ticket screen to work but did send via email as instructed. Guess we will have to wait and see if XFX Support can fix this for me.

Thanks to werty316, I gave them the bios version of my card which ends in .03 and on the mvktech the newer bios versions end in .04. Hopefully this is just a bios version update cause this card I have performs so well, I do not want to give it up through the RMA process.

[werty316]

np and keep us informed about your situation. Don't update any BIOS till XFX says so. I wouldn't risk it.

[Bio-Hazard]

Without XFX say so, you will either void your warranty or kill the card........... 8) So unless you have a extra 7900GT in your back pocket, just wait for a answer back.................... :wink:

[Chakka]

No response yet from XFX support. They started off great but Im concerned now. I sent the email and resent it yesterday. Getting a little disappointed.

[Bio-Hazard]

Lots of folks had a long weekend because of Easter and it's also Spring Break in alot of places, that's why it's slow everywhere right now.

[Chakka]

Just to let everyone know, XFX support did reply to my email. XFX support (Daniel) was very prompt and we did have a good exchange of ideas about how to solve the fan noise problem.

It has come down to my decision to either RMA the card in which they always replace it with a new one or replace the fan myself with a 3rd party silent cooling system. Of course it voids my warranty, but that is the only solution to this problem. If you all remember, the performance of the card is simply outstanding and I would rather not risk a new card based upon my previous experience.

My previous experience was with a SLI setup where the 1st card (6600gt) I had I could overclock almost 20%. I bought the second card, same company, same serial number but could only get about a 4% overclock, thereby dimishing my whole SLI experience. So when I get a great card, I usually want to keep it.

Thanks XFX Support and also Bjorn3d for your help in this matter.

[Bio-Hazard]

Good to hear that you decided on what you're going to do, just be sure to keep your old cooler, just incase..................;)

[z3r0C00L]

Wow...

Voided warranty... those dbl lifetime warranties sure are worth it... ;)

[Bio-Hazard]

Same as with just about any other card with or without a lifetime warranty. And ATi with their whopping 1 year warranty (down from 3 years), now that's faith in their product, but at least a few vendors are opting of lifetime on ATi cards like PowerColor, but thats' only for their top cards.

[werty316]

Just to let everyone know, XFX support did reply to my email. XFX support (Daniel) was very prompt and we did have a good exchange of ideas about how to solve the fan noise problem.

It has come down to my decision to either RMA the card in which they always replace it with a new one or replace the fan myself with a 3rd party silent cooling system. Of course it voids my warranty, but that is the only solution to this problem. If you all remember, the performance of the card is simply outstanding and I would rather not risk a new card based upon my previous experience.

My previous experience was with a SLI setup where the 1st card (6600gt) I had I could overclock almost 20%. I bought the second card, same company, same serial number but could only get about a 4% overclock, thereby dimishing my whole SLI experience. So when I get a great card, I usually want to keep it.

Thanks XFX Support and also Bjorn3d for your help in this matter.

Why don't you just RMA the thing. Its not a big deal that it OCs really well. How much of a difference can your OC make in games. Only real reason to OC is to get a higher 3dmark score. The 7900GT is fast and if you get 75-100fps you won't notice 10-20fps more. Since you really want to keep it just get a after marketcooler; I mean how will XFX know you installed an aftermarket cooelr?

[ueadian]

Other companies allow you to swap the fan out without voiding warranty, its sad that XFX doesn't. I know EVGA does for a fact. I'm pretty sure BFG does as well. The fan on the 7900 GT is so ridiculously easy to remove its a shame they dont warranty an aftermarket cooler. The thing litteraly pops off. Cheap cheap cheap.
Oh and btw a site that specializes in BIOS says that the XFX 7900 BIOS does NOT support throttling of the fan period. Read newegg.com reviews, not even one person who reviewed the XFX's 7900 GT's did NOT say "My fan is so loud!!! ALL THE TIME!!!" It doesn't really bother me since I have lots of case fans and MP3's on 24/7 but when I turn off my music I can hear the cards fan from my living room a good 200 feet away lol. Just buy a aftermarket cooler that supports manual fan speed adjustment or comes with a program to institute throttling. My NV silencer hsa the fan speed at 10% almost constantly never goes higher then 50% during gaming while keeping the temps at 45-49.

So RMAing it would be completely pointless as none of their cards have throttling. Like I said, jump over to Newegg.com and read the 5 star reviews that list the only problem with this card being the loud loud ass tiny fan.

Concern over "frying" your card by putting an improper fan on it is ridiculous, you'd see artifacts long before you did permanent damage signaling that you put a bad fan on it. Really, they are safe, read reviews from users and sites saying as much, and there are plenty of people who can tell you how to do it properly.

[Chakka]

Other companies allow you to swap the fan out without voiding warranty, its sad that XFX doesn't. I know EVGA does for a fact. I'm pretty sure BFG does as well. The fan on the 7900 GT is so ridiculously easy to remove its a shame they dont warranty an aftermarket cooler. The thing litteraly pops off. Cheap cheap cheap.
Oh and btw a site that specializes in BIOS says that the XFX 7900 BIOS does NOT support throttling of the fan period. Read newegg.com reviews, not even one person who reviewed the XFX's 7900 GT's did NOT say "My fan is so loud!!! ALL THE TIME!!!" It doesn't really bother me since I have lots of case fans and MP3's on 24/7 but when I turn off my music I can hear the cards fan from my living room a good 200 feet away lol. Just buy a aftermarket cooler that supports manual fan speed adjustment or comes with a program to institute throttling. My NV silencer hsa the fan speed at 10% almost constantly never goes higher then 50% during gaming while keeping the temps at 45-49.

So RMAing it would be completely pointless as none of their cards have throttling. Like I said, jump over to Newegg.com and read the 5 star reviews that list the only problem with this card being the loud loud ass tiny fan.

Concern over "frying" your card by putting an improper fan on it is ridiculous, you'd see artifacts long before you did permanent damage signaling that you put a bad fan on it. Really, they are safe, read reviews from users and sites saying as much, and there are plenty of people who can tell you how to do it properly.

Hey werty I saw your post but you can do an easy volt mod this card too. If Im getting great scores where its at and if I know its stable for 90 days, I plan on putting on an after market cooler and do the easy volt mod on the thing and bring it up to 7900gtx status. I already know the card will go higher (well I cant state that I actually know cause I would void the warranty) so I know the thing has alot of potential for gtx performance.

So at some point after 90 days Im going to do as ueadian says with an aftermarket cooler and bios mod with easy 1.4 volt mod thats been discussed on other forums to get it up to 650mhz performance.

So I think Im probably going to commit to voiding the warranty later. The problem that some have is that they volt mod and exchange out the heatsink/fan as soon as they take it out of the box and find out a week or month later they start experiencing artifacts. Patience is a virtue so Ill wait awhile.

You may ask why, well when I start playing oblivion, Im going to need the performance of the higher overclock if I want all of the eye candy turned on - not just for a 3dmark05/06 score. Just my 2 cents.

[Kougar]

So I think Im probably going to commit to voiding the warranty later. The problem that some have is that they volt mod and exchange out the heatsink/fan as soon as they take it out of the box and find out a week or month later they start experiencing artifacts. Patience is a virtue so Ill wait awhile.


You mean getting artifacts after a few weeks of use once they've already volt modded and modified it? Sounds more likely they pushed the hardware farther than it was capable of and the damage just took a little while to build up.

Saw this frequently with people going nuts overclocking GO 6800 Ultras in their laptops. Even if they managed to keep the card cool enough, after a few weeks to a month of two of use the cards would start to rapidly develop artifacts. Simply reflashing the original BIOS and voltages and clocks naturally would not undo the physical damage done to the card and the resultant artifacts, white screen, and other issues...

[Chakka]

You mean getting artifacts after a few weeks of use once they've already volt modded and modified it? Sounds more likely they pushed the hardware farther than it was capable of and the damage just took a little while to build up.

Saw this frequently with people going nuts overclocking GO 6800 Ultras in their laptops. Even if they managed to keep the card cool enough, after a few weeks to a month of two of use the cards would start to rapidly develop artifacts. Simply reflashing the original BIOS and voltages and clocks naturally would not undo the physical damage done to the card and the resultant artifacts, white screen, and other issues...

I just posted in the nvidia section about the volt mod link...yeah the problem is a few of the users on the different forums Ive been on have volt modded way too early cause they were soooo excited about getting 7900gtx performance on the 7900gt card....or they just did the mod wrong or pushed the 7900gt way too hard on stock air.

It looks like you can push the 7900gt up to 650mhz but some have gone well beyond 700mhz and have blown their vid cards...oh well, its been a hot thread on different forums. Personally, Im waiting a month to see if these modders come back and tell us all not to do it cause it kills the card early. Check out the link, with embedded links to other forums about the mod...

[werty316]

Its like that guy who had a 7600GT and OC'd it to 7900GT speeds or was it 7800GTX speeds? well I can't remember well anyhow he killed that card. Of course volt-modding and OC'ing to extreme speeds will lessen the life of a card.

[Bio-Hazard]

7900GT speeds it was I think and he did something like touch it or try to do something to the card while the system was turned on.

[xfxsupport]

Hey All, I just wanted to touch base and state that yes any alterations (OCing or changing the cooling solution) will void your warranty. We are aware that other vendors will allow this but have limitations on your warranty after doing so. We offer you a lifetime warranty and a lifetime warranty to your sibling or the neighbor down the street that you sell the card to when you upgrade. In order for us to stand behind that strong of a guarantee we ask that you do not alter the cards in any way. This is to protect you in the unlikely event a fault occurs then we feel confident in servicing or replacing your product for as long as you (or they) have the card.

[mousiness]

the heatsink on the 7900gts are VERY small too, the heatsinks on 7800gts are much bigger and better, i cant believe using an aftermarket cooler voids the warranty, does XFX want to produce more cards and waste money on that for replacing cards? i dont think so, i think its just that XFX wants to keep their customers happy and using a properly placed heatsink rather than have an amataeur seat an aftermarket cooler.

[mousiness]

Hey All, I just wanted to touch base and state that yes any alterations (OCing or changing the cooling solution) will void your warranty. We are aware that other vendors will allow this but have limitations on your warranty after doing so. We offer you a lifetime warranty and a lifetime warranty to your sibling or the neighbor down the street that you sell the card to when you upgrade. In order for us to stand behind that strong of a guarantee we ask that you do not alter the cards in any way. This is to protect you in the unlikely event a fault occurs then we feel confident in servicing or replacing your product for as long as you (or they) have the card.
well whoever wrote this said it for me ;)

[pupa]

Hey All, I just wanted to touch base and state that yes any alterations (OCing or changing the cooling solution) will void your warranty. We are aware that other vendors will allow this but have limitations on your warranty after doing so. We offer you a lifetime warranty and a lifetime warranty to your sibling or the neighbor down the street that you sell the card to when you upgrade. In order for us to stand behind that strong of a guarantee we ask that you do not alter the cards in any way. This is to protect you in the unlikely event a fault occurs then we feel confident in servicing or replacing your product for as long as you (or they) have the card.

XFSupport
I just bought two 7900GT extreme cards today, have not tested yet but I just came across this problem on the net! See links Please look at this and inform whether we can heat-sink the ic's in question before we use these cards.
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=99895http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?p=1467437#post1467437
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?p=1458110#post1458110
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?p=1467437#post1467437
Please verify and confirm urgently. I plan to get more once this issue is cleared. If I new three hours ago I would have set off this purchase for now. I will not test these cards till I get confirmation!

BTW Anyone recommendation: Which is the best SLI Mboards for this cards. Asus?

[mousiness]

ASUS or DFI are overall leaders in motherboards, and they should do well for SLI too.

EDIT: BTW those are some cool thermal pics :)

[werty316]

XFSupport
I just bought two 7900GT extreme cards today, have not tested yet but I just came across this problem on the net! See links Please look at this and inform whether we can heat-sink the ic's in question before we use these cards.
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?t=99895http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?p=1467437#post1467437
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?p=1458110#post1458110
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?p=1467437#post1467437
Please verify and confirm urgently. I plan to get more once this issue is cleared. If I new three hours ago I would have set off this purchase for now. I will not test these cards till I get confirmation!

BTW Anyone recommendation: Which is the best SLI Mboards for this cards. Asus?

I heard about this and it seems to be the voltage regulators. Some users "fix" this by attaching a small heatsink to the backside of the card.
http://www.fatonion.net/7900hot.jpg

http://img355.imageshack.us/img355/9314/clipboard018zc.jpg

http://img403.imageshack.us/img403/5623/pic0011jh.jpg

As for boards I owuld choose ABIT, Asus, or DFI.

[mousiness]

who would ever guess that those puny items on the back of card could heat up so much? i know i wouldnt... i didnt even know that they were voltage regulators there until i read what was on the chips

[Bio-Hazard]

They do get hot, extremely hot, but nothing that a small heatsink won't cure........;) I've got sinks on several IC's that get pretty warm................:)

http://img296.imageshack.us/img296/7418/182sq.jpg

[Bio-Hazard]

I also put a few mor on the front where it got pretty hot.

http://img452.imageshack.us/img452/6189/511ip.jpg

http://img205.imageshack.us/img205/4518/168hi.jpg

[werty316]

Damn thats alot of heatsinks. Do bad for the 7900GT cards that are plagued by this.

[Bio-Hazard]

Mine's working just fine, now............;)

I'm just basicly a cooling freak, if it gets hot, it gets a heatsink...............:)

[pupa]

Mine's working just fine, now............;)

I'm just basicly a cooling freak, if it gets hot, it gets a heatsink...............:)

My question here http://www.bjorn3d.com/forum/showthread.php?p=32163#post32163 to support is basically that IF I add heatsinks to the new cards, on the problem areas, what happens to my warranty?????? as they state you are not allowed to change their puny cooling for something better!

[Bio-Hazard]

XFX has already stated that you will void their warranty if you change anything on their cards.

"Hey All, I just wanted to touch base and state that yes any alterations (OCing or changing the cooling solution) will void your warranty. We are aware that other vendors will allow this but have limitations on your warranty after doing so. We offer you a lifetime warranty and a lifetime warranty to your sibling or the neighbor down the street that you sell the card to when you upgrade. In order for us to stand behind that strong of a guarantee we ask that you do not alter the cards in any way. This is to protect you in the unlikely event a fault occurs then we feel confident in servicing or replacing your product for as long as you (or they) have the card."

[werty316]

How would XFX find out?. If you need to RMA the card at anytime just take off the heatsinks. No one is the wiser if they don't know.

[pupa]

XFX has already stated that you will void their warranty if you change anything on their cards.

Read again! Its not about overclocking or changing the cooling solution. Its about resolving a design defect on these boards where the voltage regulators is overheating. This is causing lots of problems and I will rather return my two brand new boards, still boxed, before using them without resolution!

It seems to me they only look at this forum once in a while so I presume a quick answer is not going to come. I will return these boards promptly!

[mousiness]

I also put a few mor on the front where it got pretty hot.

http://img452.imageshack.us/img452/6189/511ip.jpg

http://img205.imageshack.us/img205/4518/168hi.jpg
wow thats some smart thinking sbrehm, ;) but unfortuanetly not everyone recognizes and diagnoses the heat issue, and if they do, most of them are too afraid to put heatsinks on them because they think they might damage the card.

[Bio-Hazard]

EXACTLY...............;) I was just repeating what XFX posted...............:)

[Bio-Hazard]

Read again! Its not about overclocking or changing the cooling solution. Its about resolving a design defect on these boards where the voltage regulators is overheating. This is causing lots of problems and I will rather return my two brand new boards, still boxed, before using them without resolution!

It seems to me they only look at this forum once in a while so I presume a quick answer is not going to come. I will return these boards promptly!
I read it and fully understand what you're saying, I'm just repeating what XFX said, you are still modding the card and that in itt's self would void the warranty if it were returned to them in that condition regardless if you think it's a design defect or not.
Thermal tape leaves no trace behind when removed, so that's what I've done.

[mousiness]

yes but if you ever need ti RMA it youve posted all these pics on the net! lol

[Bio-Hazard]

The real world isn't the internet...............no one knows who you really are on the net...............;)

Besides, I've never RMA'd a computer part in my life that I caused to break.........If I break it, I'll take the loss..........it's all part of the game.

[werty316]

The internet is so vast that no one knows who could be who. Unless a user is a botard and opens his mouth telling XFX he modded his card.

[Kougar]

Besides, I've never RMA'd a computer part in my life that I caused to break.........If I break it, I'll take the loss..........it's all part of the game.

Late last month I managed to finally kill my first computer component (That was completely my fault, mind you :p ), on what it probably be a growing list... I was busy stripping every last possible thing off of my rig to try and troubleshoot a booting issue. As I was pulling out the molex connectors to my DVD/CD burner drives, I failed to notice one of them had fallen just perfectly right so that only the 12v pin was touching a ground pin on the lower CD-RW drive. One press of a button later I'd gotten the full effect of a short circuit complete with a slight tingling sensation on my hand and lovely burning smell, as I had been holding onto the metal chassis that it grounded through.

Somehow the drive itself still works fine although the motor doesn't sound to good anymore, and the 400watt Antec PSU still puts out power and even a power good signal for everything. However all the caps inside are now leaking badly, so it's a lost cause.

My point is I didn't even try to RMA it as it was my fault. There is a good reason why businesses don't like to offer longer warranties, and that is because they usually get abused even more than they already are. Abusing a warranty only guarantees that you will hurt the company and other consumers, as they will have to recover the costs for a perfectly good piece of hardware you ruined. Assuming they're big enough to eat it out of profits, they usually just raise prices and cut warranty periods for the next fiscal year...



Incidentally last weekend while at the local flea market, I glanced into one stall full of the usual cacophony of memorabilia, trinkets, and random items spread across both shelves and the ground underneath, and happened to spy the familiar grey metal box of a computer powersupply sitting nestled in the midst of everything with the cables half hidden behind a picture frame.

After a very careful inspection I realized the thing was not only also a Antec supply, not only also 400watts, not only the same exact model# as the unit I ruined... but it was completely brand new and not once used. So $10 later I had a brand new identical replacement to my previous PSU, that would have cost $70 before tax at any local electronics superstore. Considering the only other electronic device in the entire stall was a component splitter, and that computer parts are not usually to be found at the entire market anyway I couldn't even calculate the odds of finding a working PSU from a reputable company, let alone a completely identical one. So far it's handled a full load for 3 days straight running Folding@Home and all rails are within much better specs than the 350watt unit it replaced...

[tomato]

Great find Kougar! ;) Flea markets rule :)

sbrehm, where do you get those little heatsinks? And you attach them with thermal tape, which I assume can be obtained from the same spot? You have peaked my curiousity...

[Bio-Hazard]

They are Swiftech MC14 ram sinks. They come with the tape already applied so there's nothing else to buy. There is a small problem with the thermal tape though, it's not very sticky out of the box . I've found that if you clean the surface very good and then heat up the sinks with a heatgun/hair dryer or something of that nature, they stick much better. It's not a problem with every batch though, the second package I have was super sticky right out of the pack, so maybe they changed something in the manufacturing process. But I still warmed the surface just to be safe.

http://www.swiftnets.com/products/mc14.asp

[werty316]

wow thats some smart thinking sbrehm, ;) but unfortuanetly not everyone recognizes and diagnoses the heat issue, and if they do, most of them are too afraid to put heatsinks on them because they think they might damage the card.

This issue causes corrupted video. If that occurs put your finger on the regulator when it is running to check to see if it is hot ;)

[Bio-Hazard]

And it might burn your finger it gets so hot under load.

[werty316]

Well you won't hold it there for 5 secs.

[mousiness]

no in benchwarmers, get a guy from there and let him burn his finger off lol

[pupa]

OMGosh! I posted an ticket on their site regards to this heat issue wiith reference to here, They send me a mail had they responded and on checking it reads

[ 05/24/2006] URGENT! Please read the forum post below here http://www.bjorn3d.com/forum/showthread.php?p=32163#post32163 http://www.bjorn3d.com/forum/showthread.php?p=32264#post32264 http://www.bjorn3d.com/forum/showthread.php?p=32303#post32303

[PAULV - 05/25/2006] Hi, thanks for your message. If you have a query please let us know. Kind regards Paul

[] Thanks PaulV I just received the e-mail but no resolve! The query is if we can apply heatsinks to the problematic and overheating voltage regulators! as shown on the pictures. Did you read the forum. Will it void my warrantee. If so I will rather return these cards boxed and unused than to have to RMA because of an design problem!

[werty316]

Companies are aware of this issues if you RMA the card there is a good chance you will get another bad card. nVidia is aware also and have not solved it yet and who knows if they will.

[Chakka]

And it might burn your finger it gets so hot under load.

sbrehm....I saw this problem on other forums and have put my finger on the the ics and there just warm so am I to assume my vid card is ok?

I have not overclocked it and have had it at stock for the last few months. Does it get hotter when you overclock?

[werty316]

The IC has a max working temp of 70c I think and cards with this problem have the IC running past that at around 80c or more.

[Bio-Hazard]

Check them when the system is at full load during a benchmark or something. Mine get hot at stock setting as well. When touching then, use a slight bit of pressure and you will feel the heat. I'd say that the a better percentage of the cards will never see a problem as they run a stock speeds and they aren't messed with. But it never hurts to be safe IMHO, a small heatsink applied with thermaltape will only help keep things cool. The only reason I knew to check mine was that I was reading about this long before I got the card, so I was ready just in case. But I always put on more heatsinks than most people do anyway, I like to keep thinge cool.

[werty316]

Also just for users who aren't fully aware it seems to only affect cards that come OC'd like BFG, eVGA, and XFX cards.

[Bio-Hazard]

I've been reading on a ton of forums lately that most are the pre-OC'd cards. Every now and then you hear of a Default card with problems, but you should expect a bad card now and again. Even my card is a slightly OC'd version, granted, it's not a lot, but it's still OC'd higher than nVidias spes of 450/1320. Mine has been runnng great after my first little hick-up when I first got it, so I can't complain. 550/1600 24/7..........;)

[pupa]

No resolve from XFX yet: I can see why! Here is the answer at the same time: http://enthusiast.hardocp.com/article.html?art=MTA2OSwxLCxoZW50aHVzaWFzdA==

[Bio-Hazard]

That was a good read when I read it the first time, mine is still working just fine with the little fixes I installed.............;)No extreme OC's, but enough to make me happy.............:)

[cyclonix13]

I also have a faulty 7900 GT 520M, and I also have the noisy fan problem. it spins at maximum speed all the time, and never slows down.

[Chakka]

I also have a faulty 7900 GT 520M, and I also have the noisy fan problem. it spins at maximum speed all the time, and never slows down.

Yep my issue too. I think the card needs a bios upgrade. On the EVGA website their are bios upgrades that address this issue so I dont think its a driver issue IMO.

[cyclonix13]

it's funny how XFX is insisting that changing the cooling solution will automatically void your warranty, but at the same time they sell you a card with a fan that always spins at full speed, and is a real pain for the ears.

to be honest, that's enough to make a case against XFX

[mousiness]

stop bashing XFX guys, 95% of nvidia distributors have this same warranty and theyre cards run at full speed too, this is a problem but not all of the blame should go to XFX.

[cyclonix13]

why would I blame someone else when my card is a XFX?

my money went to XFX, so they're to blame.

how do they want people to take them seriously if they don't even test their cards before selling them?

I'm telling you, I WILL NEVER BUY A XFX product again. NEVER.

[werty316]

why would I blame someone else when my card is a XFX?

my money went to XFX, so they're to blame.

how do they want people to take them seriously if they don't even test their cards before selling them?

I'm telling you, I WILL NEVER BUY A XFX product again. NEVER.

XFX is not the only manufacturer with this problem BFG, eVGA, and other companies also have problems with the 7900GT. Don't forget who designed the card, nVidia did and not XFX so it should be nVidia testing the card to make sure it works without any problems..

[Kougar]

XFX is not the only manufacturer with this problem BFG, eVGA, and other companies also have problems with the 7900GT. Don't forget who designed the card, nVidia did and not XFX so it should be nVidia testing the card to make sure it works without any problems..

According to that article, I don't see why nVidia should be held responsible for the actions of the other companies that choose to run these cards far above specifications without adequately testing them. nVidia rated these cards to a certain spec/clock speed and tested them accordingly.

It makes since something like this would eventually happen considering just how far out of spec the various nVidia graphics card companies have been overclocking their cards from the factory. Although that doesn't help the people that end up getting the short end of a rather expensive stick of PCB.

[werty316]

It doesn't only affect factory OC'd 7900GT cards.

[Chakka]

In all fairness to XFX, the fan problem has also affected evga and bfgtech 7900gt cards. I think what is getting me and cyclonix13 a little upset is that there is no communication from the company to fix these cards through at least a bios update.

I would at least like XFX to try and fix the fan problem through a bios update. I see that on evga and bfgtech, they have offered a buis alternative and it seems to have fixed the problem.

So Im stuck either RMA'ing the vid card and hoping for a card with no fan problem. If I in any way try to put my own cooling system on this card, the warranty is void. I dont want to load a non XFX bios to the card cause that will void the warranty too. I seem to be caught between a rock and a hard place....

[werty316]

Well you won't get a response this weekend being memorial weekend but I hope they resolve this issue with you two; this would be very bad PR if they just ignore the both of you.

[cyclonix13]

Well you won't get a response this weekend being memorial weekend but I hope they resolve this issue with you two; this would be very bad PR if they just ignore the both of you.

well, if they ignore me (already 6 days, still now answer), we'll meet before a judge

[werty316]

6 days whoa sounds like to me XFX doesn't care about this problem; not good at all for them.

[xfxsupport]

Dear Cyclonix13,
Please let me know if you have had a response from the support team. If not please post your support ticket and I will look into thereasons why you have not been addressed.

[hun73rdk]

I just got my XFX 7900GT not OCet and the fan wont turn down ither and i made a ticket to xfx support if i dont get a responce the card goes back and i find another brand of card to buy that hasent this fault on it.....

I cant stand the noise from it. even with headset on its loud :( :( :(

[xfxsupport]

Unfortunately at this time the fans on these cards are not variable speed. I will pass along this desire by the community to our engineers along with a link to this thread for consideration.

[hun73rdk]

Unfortunately at this time the fans on these cards are not variable speed. I will pass along this desire by the community to our engineers along with a link to this thread for consideration.

Its not a desire its a DEMAND.

Rember to write it on you packede for the card that you have to buy ear plugs with the card you really need to make your product's better.

[Bio-Hazard]

That's where water cooling comes in handy............;)

I couldn't stand the noise of the fan either, it was louder than both my PC's running together.

[hun73rdk]

That's where water cooling comes in handy............;)

I couldn't stand the noise of the fan either, it was louder than both my PC's running together.

I aint gona do enything to my card so i dont have my warranty enymore i used all my money on getting if that one is braking for me after i change the cooler on it and i cant get a new one due to no warranty enymore..

So thats a no go for me i can say...

[werty316]

I aint gona do enything to my card so i dont have my warranty enymore i used all my money on getting if that one is braking for me after i change the cooler on it and i cant get a new one due to no warranty enymore..

So thats a no go for me i can say...

No one has to know ;)

[Xero (1)ne]

its not likely that your gonna mess up liquid cooling
just make sure the hoses are clamped down right, and run a leak test overnight to get all the air out,
and i thought you get non-conductive coolant fluid right?:confused:

[Kougar]

its not likely that your gonna mess up liquid cooling
just make sure the hoses are clamped down right, and run a leak test overnight to get all the air out,
and i thought you get non-conductive coolant fluid right?:confused:

Actually alot of sites recommend just using distilled water... with a little additive of some kind to prevent any sort of growth in the liquid.

[Bio-Hazard]

I've never tried any of that non-conductive stuff, it cost way to much and I've read differant reports where it gums up over time. The performance isn't up to that of distilled water and anto-freeze either, granted it may be only a degree or 2 higher, but I just stick with what I know .........;)

[xfxsupport]

While we acknowledge that the fans on certain 7900 series cards are louder than some other models, they are constructed following nVidia's references as closely as possible. Some of the 7900 series of cards do not have variable speed fans and the community’s response is taken very seriously. I have sent this thread link and the community’s desires to our engineers who are looking into the fan configuration.

[samendolaro]

I have had my E6600 on backorder so long that I needed to pick up a cheap Celeron to make sure all my other new components were working and since Newegg only gives 3 for you need to send in rebates.

First thing I noticed was how damn loud that fan was. So today I actually just put in an RMA on this and stumbled across this thread.

I made the mistake of sending in the rebates before getting my CPU to test which means no return to NEWEGG... But since I purchased on an American express they will buy it back if the vendor will not.

I normally keep the PC on 24/7 but I can’t even sleep in the same room with it, this is the most ridiculously loud fan I have ever heard on an idle PC. Even the XFX support here thought it was a multi-speed fan problem until recently confirming that they are all like this.

Since XFX is already aware of this problem I’ll at least give them until the end of next week to see what they say. Otherwise this goes back and I get an ATI 1900.

[Kougar]

You can check and see if your specific model number matches any of the new BIOSs that allow different fan speeds. http://www.bjorn3d.com/pafile/index.php?act=category&id=5 (http://www.bjorn3d.com/pafile/index.php?act=category&id=5). If so, either XFX Support can help you with flashing the card, or there is a thread someplace that explains what you need to do yourself. :)

[werty316]

So is your CPU and GPU fan loud? The way this reads to me is you are saying your CPU fan is loud.

Also remember that those BIOS files are for 7900GT cards only.

[Kougar]

So is your CPU and GPU fan loud? The way this reads to me is you are saying your CPU fan is loud.

Also remember that those BIOS files are for 7900GT cards only.

:lol: You're right, now I'm not sure what exactly he is complaining of...

[werty316]

No kidding, maybe samendolaro can shed more light on what waht fan is the issue and if he has a 7900GT.