Videocard cooler is it possible to turn off?

[silverbytes]

I have an old videocard nvidia tnt2 model 64 pro, it comes with a cooler and is extremely noisy! So tried cleaning cooler without results.

Next thing I did was unplug the cable from cooler to videocard (I thought that way I would be disconnecting the cooler only, but then noticed I had no video at all, so plugged it in again and got video image back, but still I hear all noise cooler does).

Is there a way to anulate the cooler and still have the video card? And would I spoil the videocard that way?

[J_RaD]

its noisy cause the fan is old and the bearings are shot. If you unplug the fan the card will just overheat.

given the age of your card it would be cheaper for you to just go pick up a $30 AGP card vs replacing the heat sink and fan and it will a MUCH better card.

[Leosghost]

And would I spoil the videocard that way?

yes

and your display ( screen on your monitor ) would get really wiggy ..unusable ..a soon as it got hot ..:)

[silverbytes]

Thanks for the frank responses

[steve]

You could install Speedfan which is free. You can then see exactly what temperature your graphics card is running at, and use it to adjust the fan speed accordingly - a slower fan is quieter.

WARNING If you run the fan too slow and the card gets too hot you could damage it.

FWIW I recently bought an NVidia Geforce 6200 AGP card which is passively cooled - no fan - I think it cost about £25 UKP. Vista compatible, two monitor outputs, and the hardware acceleration works with Photoshop.

[silverbytes]

where do you adjust fan speed?
bios?
or does that freeware do it?

[steve]

Speedfan allows you to do it, but keep in mind not all fans have the required hardware for variable speed.

The TNT2 was available without a fan. Overclockers would fit an old CPU fan to the heatsink, when they were tweaking it for maximum performance.

It's surprising the temperatures graphics card will withstand, my 6200 tends to run at 42/48C but the spec says its happy up to 70C.

[Leosghost]

Get graphics cards that hot 70°C and your background whites in open windows start to go from beige to light blue ..most will have started long before ..and passed that stage at about 55°C and gone onto fritzzy lines and black and rainbow bands ..seen it ..just before they are toast ..

Manufacturers specs are like top speeds claimed by them in cars ..you push right upto the top ..and something breaks ..if not straight away then you've shortened it's life ..components like to run cool ..

[edited by: Leosghost at 6:46 pm (utc) on Aug. 4, 2009]

[bakedjake]

rivatuner is the defacto standard for controlling nvidia products. It is free and very useful.

[martinibuster]

I'm with J_RaD. If the fan is making that much noise it's probably shot. It's possible to replace the fan. Fans don't necessarily have to cost much. But pull out the card and see if this is something you can do yourself first.

I think buying a new card is the way to go though. If the fan is shot, slowing it down may damage the card and worst case scenario cause the inside of your box to overheat, damaging your CPU. Saving thirty bucks may end up costing several hundred for a new computer. NewEgg has an AGP card from Gigabyte [newegg.com] for only $38. The card features passive cooling, meaning no fan at all.

[smallcompany]

Check "silent" cards before you decide. You may like that idea and eventually be OK to pay for it.
Just search newegg or similar sites for "silent" and you'll get cards like Asus or so. I see some for $32.
Personally, I'm already set to plug the Silent 9600GT when I configure my new machine. It got nice reviews and performs well.