Asus GeForce Ti4200 GPU Fan Failure?

[melon]

So, after blaming every fan I have in my machine, even spending around $70 for a Swiftech heatsink, Thermaltake "Coolmod" Smart Fan, and Arctic Silver III thermal paste to replace my old one (not that I don't love my new heatsink and fan; with the fan manually adjusted to around 3250 RPM, I hover around 35 C, down from 53 C, and it is about 2 C cooler than my mobo...lol).

Anyhow, I *still* had the lawnmower noise, and the only fan left that I haven't either replaced or selectively disconnected is the fan hooked up to the video card. Interestingly enough, it started up very noisy and "revved" down to no noise at all.

Now how would I know whether my fan failed or whether it "corrected" itself? Either way, I'm looking to probably cash in on my warranty with it. I'm just afraid of something ending up in smoke. However, as we speak, I'm using this computer, and I have no problems.

In other words, what should I think or do on this one?

Melon

 

[LeeJend]

If a fan was making noise either
1). the bearing is bad (it will eventually seize)
2). the blades are out of balance (is annoying and will cause premature bearing failure) or
3). there is something hitting the blades like a peice of paper on bicycle spokes (like the power wire from the fan to the card?).

1 - sounds like a rumble or buzz. get a new fan ASAP. Thermaltake makes a "better" replacement fan or you can get an OEM from ASUS (go with ASUS to protect your warantee).
2 - kinda of whining sound. replace the fan at your convenience.
3 - this will be a very fast clicking sound or buzz. make sure the power wire is not touching the fan. Also make sure the fan blades are centered in the heatsink (not hitting the sides).

Also if the card was not screwed into the chassis or if the AGP card retainer pin on the mother board (no pin on older MB's) did not engage the pcb slot, the fan might be ok but caused the loose card to vibrate making the noise.

Place your finger gently on the edge of the card while its running and you should be able to feel any excess vibrations.

Feel like you just took your car to the garage and the mechanic said "what funny noise".

I'd guess the bearing is shot. A "friend" gave me a heatsink and fan because it was too noisy for him. The brand new fan had a bad bearing.