Ok, let me start off my saying I will never EVER buy an ATI product again. With that said, last summer I bought a 9800 Pro 128MB (Built by ATI). Never once have I tried oc'ing it. The other day, my HSF stopped spinning. I figured the fan just went out. I got it started again...until yesterday. My computer locked up, so I figured it was the fan again. I powered down, removed side panel, then took a look. "What the...??!!" No fan. Look 3 slots below, there it is sitting on my audigy. Holy shizz, the fan MELTED OFF the sink. Then everything started to click. The fan stopped working because the plastic connecting it to the HS was beginning to melt, causing the fan to not move, in turn, melting the fan right off. A friend of mine came over and looked at it, realizing that the fan is designed UPSIDEDOWN!!! For EVERYONE who hates nVidia for dual slot cooling solutions, and bitch about how much of a pain they are...well, ATI should take a lesson. What does it say about a company whose cooling solution for a very hot product MELTS OFF. Kudos, ATI, you just lost a customer. I can't wait till tech support hears this one. I'm foreshadowing the conversation to start like this, "Hello, sir, I looked through your FAQs online and it didn't seem to be listed, but what do I do when my fan drips off the heatsink?" Oh, I have pictures too
Look at the blade direction of the Pro
Now look at the direction of the XT
As you can see, the fan is definately designed upsidedown.
Look at the blade direction of the Pro
Now look at the direction of the XT
As you can see, the fan is definately designed upsidedown.