Hi. I wonder if anyone knows of a solution (other than buying a new card) for my problem. I'm running a Radeon x1600 Ati card, and since xmas have had no problems. Now, even though the card is running perfectly, there is a continuous noise coming from what i think is the fan. (like a duller sounding dentist drill). It comes and goes, and i think it may just be a loose fan or it may need adjusting. Can anyone help. I know it isnt a big prob, but the noise starts to get to you after a while lol... any help appreciated. thnx
The first thing I would try doing is a good cleaning of your computer. Get a can of compressed air. Open the case and blow the dust out and vacuum it up. Just be very careful when you do this. It fixed the noise my computer was making in the summer, but it could be something entirely different but it is a good place to start and it never hurts to clean the dust out of your computer.
It's probably a faulty bearing in the fan, that can happen with graphics cards (primarily due to the heat the fan is exposed to), and the noise it produces is pretty much exactly as you described. What you can do is when the PC is off, put something (non-metallic) in the fan blades to prevent them from spinning round. Turn the PC on and see if the noise occurs, then remove the blockage. (It's safe to do that while the PC is still on, you don't need to turn it off a second time) Does the noise come from the card all the time, or does it get worse when producing something 3D? (e.g. a game). If the latter, it may be a problem with the memory chips, which can often happen with the X1000 series. If it's that, you'll have to live with it I'm afraid. If the noise doesn't stop when you stop the fan, but happens all the time, I'm not really sure what the problem could be, other than perhaps capacitor whine. (which could potentially be the motherboard or the graphics card)
thanks for the help guys. took everything out, cleaned it, put it back together again. still happening, only not as loud, and i tried the thing with the fan, and it stopped the noise completely. must be the bearing. quick update for saturday - noise has now stopped altogether, checked the fan and it;s still operating......so touch wood - everything stays like that lol... again, thanks for the advice
Perhaps spray a bit of WD40 in there if it returns (do that when the PC's off though, and leave it a few hours before you turn it back on!)
