Computers & Electronics

My graphics card sounds like a jet engine

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  • Dec 26th, 2009 11:53 am
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Deal Addict
Oct 9, 2005
1884 posts
230 upvotes

My graphics card sounds like a jet engine

It's Christmas and I finally have time to play some games :) I turn on Age of Empires and every 3 seconds the fan gets louder and louder, until it sounds like a jet engine that I can hear from the room next to mine. It didn't used to be like this. I vacuumed the dust out from inside the computer but it's still as loud, though a bit less when the cover is off. When I turn the game off, the fan gets quieter and quieter until it dies into the normal computer noise.

I've got an Nvidia GeForce 8800 GT that came with my Dell XPS 420 I bought Feb 2008. I only got the warranty for 1 year from Dell but because I bought it with my Visa Card, Visa automatically extends the warranty by 1 year. So right now it's still under Visa warranty.

I've searched Google and it seems people have been taking the fan apart and putting a bit of lube on it to stop the noise. I don't really want to be taking apart the card.

Should I just phone up Visa and say my graphics card is broken so they pay me for a new one?
6 replies
Deal Fanatic
Apr 15, 2009
6858 posts
5573 upvotes
M-Arkham
guessaaa wrote: It's Christmas and I finally have time to play some games :) I turn on Age of Empires and every 3 seconds the fan gets louder and louder, until it sounds like a jet engine that I can hear from the room next to mine. It didn't used to be like this. I vacuumed the dust out from inside the computer but it's still as loud, though a bit less when the cover is off. When I turn the game off, the fan gets quieter and quieter until it dies into the normal computer noise.

I've got an Nvidia GeForce 8800 GT that came with my Dell XPS 420 I bought Feb 2008. I only got the warranty for 1 year from Dell but because I bought it with my Visa Card, Visa automatically extends the warranty by 1 year. So right now it's still under Visa warranty.

I've searched Google and it seems people have been taking the fan apart and putting a bit of lube on it to stop the noise. I don't really want to be taking apart the card.

Should I just phone up Visa and say my graphics card is broken so they pay me for a new one?
it's not really broken, dust got inside the bearing for the fan on your videocard, and that's due to lack of dust cleaning maintenance. Dust is a real fan killers when you don't clean it out often enough. the only thing you can really do beside getting a new card is change the hsf(heatsink fan) on the videocard.

You can try phoning visa up and see if they'll replace it for you.
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Deal Expert
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Jun 27, 2004
15218 posts
4405 upvotes
Vancouver.bc.ca
> I've searched Google and it seems people have been taking the fan apart and putting a bit of lube on it to stop the noise. I don't really want to be taking apart the card.

"Taking apart" often simply involves peeling back the sticker on top of the fan.

Just don't use too much lube, and put the sticker back securely, or else it may drip, since the card sits "upside down".
Deal Addict
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Aug 17, 2004
1446 posts
14 upvotes
Edmonton
Maybe you've just forgotten how loud it is? I have a 8800GT as well, and when I play games, or run CUDA apps (video encoding), the card's fan always spins up and gets pretty loud and has been this way since day one.
Deal Addict
Oct 9, 2005
1884 posts
230 upvotes
supernerd wrote: Maybe you've just forgotten how loud it is? I have a 8800GT as well, and when I play games, or run CUDA apps (video encoding), the card's fan always spins up and gets pretty loud and has been this way since day one.
It never used to be noticeable, and I ran Flight Simulator X then.
Deal Expert
Feb 29, 2008
30106 posts
5547 upvotes
Montreal
Open your case, pull out the card, and blow off all the dust. Clean the dust from your case fans too. If that doesn't work you cab just run with the case panel open.
Member
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Aug 13, 2006
498 posts
71 upvotes
Toronto
There is probably a dust builtdup in the heatsink, making the fan spin faster than usually to keep the video card cool.

Open your case and take the video card out. Look at the heatsink and get it cleaned (with a compressed air can should okay).

After that, download RivaTuner (http://www.guru3d.com/category/rivatuner/) and look at the temperature of your video card. Mofidy the fan speed if such a way to keep the temperature below 90C.

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