Graphics card problem
 

I have just sourced a cheap Hercules GeForce3 Ti500 card from someone.
The person who I got it from said it was 2nd user but he hadn't had
time to test it. When I used it in my machine there would be several
display problems and distortions, not responding at all on one
occasion. The display became worse after several boots so I took the
card out to have a look. On inspection I quickly found out that the
fan had seized up and wouldn't roatate. Are the problems I described a
typical of over heating of the card or is there most probably some
other fault? The rest of the card seems to be in good working order
with no physical damage.

If I do need a new fan what options do I have? The Thermaltake crystal
orb cooler looks suitable but im worried its a bit OTT for me. It
looks like it would generate a lot of noise and takes up the PCI slot
space beneath it. Would it be possible to get another matching fan for
this card or is there a slower graphics card fan I can purchase for
this? Thanks for any help.

On 5 Dec 2003 16:02:55 -0800, (LanNam)
wrote:

I have just sourced a cheap Hercules GeForce3 Ti500 card from someone.
The person who I got it from said it was 2nd user but he hadn't had
time to test it. When I used it in my machine there would be several
display problems and distortions, not responding at all on one
occasion. The display became worse after several boots so I took the
card out to have a look. On inspection I quickly found out that the
fan had seized up and wouldn't roatate. Are the problems I described a
typical of over heating of the card or is there most probably some
other fault? The rest of the card seems to be in good working order
with no physical damage.

If I do need a new fan what options do I have? The Thermaltake crystal
orb cooler looks suitable but im worried its a bit OTT for me. It
looks like it would generate a lot of noise and takes up the PCI slot
space beneath it. Would it be possible to get another matching fan for
this card or is there a slower graphics card fan I can purchase for
this? Thanks for any help.

Overheating could certainly cause the problems... the only question is
whether it's JUST the overheating, or the core itself has been damaged
from that. IF the display looks ok from a cold (system) boot, all the
way to the windows desktop (so the heatsink hasn't gotten very hot
yet), it's probably worthwhile to get a fan.

IF the display looks bad (from a cold system, boot) right away, even
before hitting the desktop, the GPU is likely damaged and not fixable.

I don't know how loud the Thermaltake Orb is, but in general it's the
really big 'sinks that are quiter, the tiny ones are those needing
obnoxiously loud fans to achieve the same temp reduction. Given the
age, low value and questionable state of the card, if it were me I'd
first try putting a drop of oil in the fan, gently freeing it's
bearing, and if it didn't keep working then attach an old socket 7
heatsink to it. The main question is whether you need that first PCI
slot.. if not you ought to leave it empty even if the heatsink doesn't
block it, as the card will have better airflow with that slot empty.


Dave