• Some users have recently had their accounts hijacked. It seems that the now defunct EVGA forums might have compromised your password there and seems many are using the same PW here. We would suggest you UPDATE YOUR PASSWORD and TURN ON 2FA for your account here to further secure it. None of the compromised accounts had 2FA turned on.
    Once you have enabled 2FA, your account will be updated soon to show a badge, letting other members know that you use 2FA to protect your account. This should be beneficial for everyone that uses FSFT.

GeForce trouble

J

JohnCT311

n00b
Joined
Nov 1, 2004
Messages
12
Hey, I have a slight problem with my video card. It came with a Gateway 700x I had purchased in August of 2002, and is listed by Gateway as a "NVIDIA NV25 GeForce4 Ti 4600G 128-MB AGP Graphics Card R3 - Part number 6002246." It worked fine for about a year~year-and-a-half, but now, when I try playing games, the games either run unbelievably sluggish, make my machine hardlock, or just completely reboot it. About a month ago, the fan started making some really bad squealing-type noises so I ordered a new fan from Newegg. Trying to get the old fan off is proving to be a chore, though. I asked another friend and he said that it was his knowledge that a fan can't be taken off a stock card, and then pointed me here to Hardforum for a second opinion. Can it be replaced or will I have to bite the bullet and buy a new video card?
 
First of all, is your warranty still in effect ?
 
No. I only got a one-year warranty since I didn't count on this kinda thing happening. :S
 
I cannot tell about the card you have but usually, the heatsink and fan is attached to the card via 2-4 pins and it is possible to remove it. It is very rare to see a heatsink glued on the video card unless it is a older card.
 
It must be glued on, then.. I tried taking the pins out and the thing wouldn't move worth a damn.
 
Yeah, several times. No matter what version of the nVidia driver I use, it all ends up the same way.
 
Ok, if the heatsink is glued on (you've removed the videocard and examined it closely, I hope), then look at this:

http://users.rcn.com/chinmonster/hsremove.htm

To that, I would add that plain rubbing alcohol will probably be fine for removing the glue, and that you should let it soak in for a minute before scraping away a layer (then add more alcohol to soak in, then scrape away another layer. etc.).
 
From the page Dank posted:
Those who own cards with heatsinks using retaining pins to secure the cooling unit need not bother reading any further.
Click to expand...
The thing was secured with a couple of black pins, so... these directions, unfortunately, don't apply to my card, huh?
 
With regards to some older nVidia cards, glue + pushpins were used.

Once the pushpins are out, well the glue is a pain.

The trick is to freeze the card.

The glue is designed to be more adhesive when heated. When frozen, it become extremely brittle and makes the whole credit card/screwdriver trick all the easier to remove.

Also with regard to cleaning, it just "chunks" off easilly when frozen. Allow the video card to return to room temp before using. Also ensure no condensation is on the card before using.
 
I see. I'm.. not really comfortable with the idea of letting my video card sit in the freezer so I can take it apart, though, and I can't really think of a way off the top of my head to freeze something without it getting sopping wet. Any suggestions?
 
Freezing and getting wet is not a problem as long as you let the card dry completely before installing in the computer. Also, if the humidity in the air is kept at reasonable levels, condensation is almost non-existent.
 
Freezing isn't necessary at all. The heatsink pops off pretty easily, and once it's off, just let alcohol soak into the glue, and it will shave off in fairly thick layers.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top