Video Card Help Please

I have a GTX-580 Classified Ultra video card. The cooling fan has quit. My temps go up to well over 65 Deg. C. The fan is supposed to come on but it does not. I have used an air can and it is free to turn. I don't know if it is the fan motor or the driver.

 

I see the fan can be removed and replaced. The fan motor is on E-Bay for about $25 plus shipping.

 

Would it be worth trying to repair it or get a new GTX-1050 4 Gb card at $270.

 

Has anyone used the GTX-1050 4 Gb card on FSX. If so how does it work.

 

Thanks, Bob.

Hi Bob,

Do you know for sure at what temp the fan should kick in as Guru3d seems to suggest that 65 degrees is normal for this card?............."This card ran 42 degrees C in IDLE which is very normal. When the GPU is stressed out 100% for several minutes the card reaches roughly 85 to 87 degrees C. For a GeForce GTX 580 these are rather normal numbers. Also, we measure at a room temperature of 21 degrees Celsius"

 

Cheers Stinger

 

Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

Hi . Thanks. The fan never runs. The temp has gone as high as 90 Deg. C and it shuts off the video. I thought I had a program problem casing the shutdown but it was the video card fan. I now have an external fan blowing on the card. When I use GPU-Z it says the fan speed is 0 which I have observed visually as well. Is there any way to test the fan driver to see if it is supplying 12VDC to the fan motor. Thanks, Bob.

IWould it be worth trying to repair it or get a new GTX-1050 4 Gb card at $270.

 

$270 for a 1050? Wow. See if you can get a 1060 for a few dollars more.

 

FWIW a 1050 is about 80% faster than a 580, and uses much less power.

 

Cheers!

 

Luke

Hi Luke. Thanks.Ill look for a 1060 at a decent price. The 1050 would be better than my 580 which works well for me. Bob.

Fans are very inexpensive and easy to replace. As long as your current card is working well for you, other than getting a tad warm, I, personally, would replace the fan. Having said that, I am a cheap SOB...errr...FRUGAL, very, VERY frugal.

There's usually 2-4 screws, generally Phillips Head type, pretty small. You'll need a screw-driver that fits them properly.

Remember to wear a static proofing wrist strap, connected to a GOOD ground point, or something equivalent. A good way is to leave the PC plugged in, but turned off, and let sit for a few minutes to discharge all the capacitors in the power supply, and connect the wrist-strap to the chassis of the PC. Metal area, not plastic. Static can destroy a card with no outward signs at all. All it takes is touching the card incautiously, and you need a whole new card.

If you can, leave the card installed, and replace the fan. If you can't, it's a good idea to leave it touching the metal of the chassis somewhere.

And always wear your static-proofing, whatever it is. Never take it off to go get a cuppa coffee, or soda, or something, and not put it back on when you return. New card time if you do. Maybe. Why take a chance, though? A static wrist strap is very inexpensive insurance.

 

If you're going to replace the card, again, wear a static-proofing of some sort. Do not take the card out of it's static proof wrapper, a plastic looking bag, usually a dark blue color. Touch the bag to the metal of the PC's chassis first, or your wrist strap, assuming it's properly connected, THEN remove it's static-wrap and install it.

 

Just my take on the whole thing. I've been a Radar Tech my entire adult life, and I've seen people destroy a wide variety of IC based computer items with an incautious touch. The smallest amount of static you can feel, the little "ZAP" you get touching a door knob, or petting a critter, is 50,000 volts. Not hardly any current, but lot's of volts. Chips don't get along well with that kind of voltage at all. Even if you can't feel it, it can destroy all the chips on a card in an instant. Be very careful about static. It's the bane of computers.

 

Good luck, whatever course you choose!

Pat☺

Hi Pat. Thanks for all the good info. I will get one and use it.

 

Replacing the fan while the card is in the computer cannot be done by me.

 

Is there any way to check the fan driver circuit. If it is at fault another fan will do me no good.

 

Bob.

Just a little hardware advice. Never use compressed air of any kind to turn a fan. You will over rev it and ruin it. Always use something small like a pencil or screwdriver to hold your fans still while cleaning. :)

Hi. Thanks. I always do hold the fan blades. Bob.

Replacing the fan while the card is in the computer cannot be done by me.

 

Is there any way to check the fan driver circuit. If it is at fault another fan will do me no good.

Hi, Bob :)

No, not really, short of a software of some sort. Having said that, fans are cheap and easy to replace. If you replace the fan, and that's not the problem, heck, you've got an emergency back-up fan available. Just leave it sitting in the bag, box, whatever the new one came in on a shelf someplace.

Fans themselves are much more robust than a IC chip. No need to fear staticing them.

You can, since you can't replace the fan with the card installed, pull the card, and then replace the fan. A little trick I use, since I don't have access to a circuit card mount, a small stand like a table-top vice for circuit cards that can be grounded to protect the card, is to pull the card out, but leave it inside the computer's case. Most PC's have a ton of empty room in them. Work on the card with it sitting on the bottom of the computers chassis. As long as you wear your static-proof wrist strap, grounded to the PC's case, your card will be perfectly safe. With the card touching the case, or chassis, a metal part, that is, it is perfectly safe as well. Once you get the fan replace, just re-install the card and awaaayyy you go.

A question, if I may: A simple way to verify the fan isn't working right is to just take the side of the case off and LOOK at it. Set up a stress test for your video card, and run it while you watch the fan. There are many video card testing programs out there that will stress the card to it's max, and thus cause it to produce the maximum heat, causing the fan to operate. If it works. I would wager there are even fan testing softwares out there someplace. But the best testing devices are your famous Mk. I Eyeballs. If your card get's hot, but the fan doesn't turn in any way, it's bad. End of story.

99% of a fan's circuit is just the power supply for it, usually the +5VDC leg out of the PC's PSU. If that's bad, you will notice a LOT of problems with the PC, other than the fan.

 

Good luck!

Pat☺

Hi again Pat. Thanks for all the help. I know that the fan is not turning as I can see it with a mirror. I will just get a new fan and install it. Bob.