My video card is ATI Radeon 9700 - replacement fans options?

[YLSF]

OK.. I figured out that the card is actually a ATI Radeon 9700 XT (says TX on the bill but I guess that is a mistake).

I purchased the computer in January 2003 and unfortunately the warranty expired a few months back.

So, I need a new fan for the computer and I want a silent fan... I am looking at this one:

http://www.arctic-cooling.com/vga2.php?idx=36


I found it at NCIX for around $30... Does anyone have any other suggestions??

[djpharoah]

check under
My computers
Properties
Hardware
Display Adapters..

if ythe drivers are installed, then they should reveal the model

[YLSF]

Only thing is I don't want to start up my computer without a fan on the video card now! I don't have much experience with cooling issues so I was thinking it would do damage (even if for 5 minutes).. If not, I will go ahead and use that method. If it is the 8500 model do they make silencers for it? I only see 9500+ silencer models.

[doc_ock]

What does the PCB of your card look like?

ATi Radeon 9500:
http://www.price.ro/images/preturi/videocard/PowerColor/ATI%20Radeon%209500.jpg

ATi Radeon 8500:
http://www.cbcentral.com/hardware/images/radeon8500card.jpg

[computer01]

Just boot into Windows quickly and don't run any 3D games or other graphically intensive apps. You'll be fine with just the heatsink for a few minutes. If you're really paranoid, pop the side panel from the computer to drop the case temp a couple of degrees.


Only thing is I don't want to start up my computer without a fan on the video card now! I don't have much experience with cooling issues so I was thinking it would do damage (even if for 5 minutes).. If not, I will go ahead and use that method. If it is the 8500 model do they make silencers for it? I only see 9500+ silencer models.

[Cafe_333]

above poster is right. your videocard will be fine for a few minutes - just as long as you power your computer up from a dead cold start so that the heatsink had time to cool off.

[goofball]

since you're going to take the heatsink off to install a silencer anyways, or at least another cooler, just take the heatsink off now and look at the core. It will have some info etched onto it. R3xx is the 9500/9600/9700/9800 series.

[Amourek]

It's perfectly safe to boot up without the fan on to check the model number.

[Gee]

On the back of the card there is a sticker with a serial number, below it is a part number.

It is in this format

P/N 102xx xxxxx xxxxxx

If you get the part number you can identify the card at ATI's web site

http://apps.ati.com/102lookup/index.asp

[YLSF]

What does the PCB of your card look like?

ATi Radeon 9500:
http://www.price.ro/images/preturi/videocard/PowerColor/ATI%20Radeon%209500.jpg

ATi Radeon 8500:
http://www.cbcentral.com/hardware/images/radeon8500card.jpg

Based on the pictures it is a Radeon 9500... I didn't even think of using google image search to find some pics because I figured they would look very similar. Is it only the 9000s series cards that are red?

I am glad it is a 9500 (will double check with the part number tonight) because it seems more difficult to find a quiet fan for the 8500. To bad it isn't a 9800 since those fans are on sale at NCIX right now!

[Cafe_333]

Actually the retail ati 9000 series can come in either red or green. But only the 9000s were ever made in red. Seeing how yours is red you can be sure it's a 9000 series line of card. In any case, your best bet is to stick it in for a few minutes to power up your card and find out what it is, or if you know for sure it's BBA, you can also follow Gee's post and look it up in the link he provided on another computer. Better be sure the exact model number of your card if you are going to buy a fan for it, so double check!

[terrybear]

if ya have a 9500 series card then the vga coolers for them should be cheap ... priced out a few of them & there anywhere from $17 - $30 for a new 1 depending on what brand ya buy of 1.

[willy]

One of my PCs has a 8500 and the fan went dead about a year or 2 ago. I removed the stock fan and just screwed on a double bearings 50mm fan on the heatsink. It's still spinning happily so far. I needed to power the fan up from the mobo so that I can monitor the fan speed. Not bad.

[WiZZLa]

There's also a program from ATi that will determine what you have.

[YLSF]

Bump for update..

Found out card is ATI Radeo 9700 xt. I am looking for replacement fan options (besides Artic cooling)

[Amourek]

You card is a 9700TX. I suggest the Zalman VF700.

Whatever heatsink you choose, it might be a good idea to remove the shim... it's a metal frame that surrounds the GPU to prevent damage during heatsink installation. Unfortunately on the 9700 series the shim is HIGHER than than the GPU itself so for good contact to be made the shim should be removed. To compensate for this, ATI's reference cooler uses a thermal pad instead of paste to make up the difference in height.

[sleepyguy]

I never use stock fan... too loud and inefficient. I mounted a big 486/p2 fan heatsink on my 9700 pro... mounted a 80mm/92mm fan via metal braces and bingo... silent cooling... although pretty damn ugly. Don't care as my case has no case windows, I do the same for my cpu and nb.

[Hurk]

You card is a 9700TX. I suggest the Zalman VF700.

Whatever heatsink you choose, it might be a good idea to remove the shim... it's a metal frame that surrounds the GPU to prevent damage during heatsink installation. Unfortunately on the 9700 series the shim is HIGHER than than the GPU itself so for good contact to be made the shim should be removed. To compensate for this, ATI's reference cooler uses a thermal pad instead of paste to make up the difference in height.

There is no such thing as a 9700 XT or TX. It's either a 9700 Pro / Non-Pro. Regardless, a good replacement fan, as previously mentioned would be an Arctic Cooler Silencer.

[Poy]

FYI there is a 9700 TX but not an XT. The 9700TX is the Dell pulled version. Unfortunatly i belive you're gonna have to flash the card to a beta bios to overclock it further.

[Hurk]

FYI there is a 9700 TX but not an XT. The 9700TX is the Dell pulled version. Unfortunatly i belive you're gonna have to flash the card to a beta bios to overclock it further.

You are correct Poy. A lesser version of the 9700 non-pro.

[YLSF]

So I am guessing that the actually card layout is the same (i.e. that a silencer designed for a pro card would fit fine on the tx card?)

[Hurk]

So I am guessing that the actually card layout is the same (i.e. that a silencer designed for a pro card would fit fine on the tx card?)

Yes. They are basically cards that didn't pass initial inspection, and kind of dummied up. The layout is the same though.