Passive cooling 6950?

[BioInclined]

I have the MSI 6950 non-OC'd and won't be OCing it. I think one of the fans is having a bit of trouble, for the first 2-3 minutes of the PC being on it has a sound like its "rubbing" but more of a small off balance and then just goes away, even with out speed adjustment.

I am wondering how efficiently will it cool with just the heat-sinks?
I searched a bit for aftermarket coolers but obviously MSI hit big with it's cooling design as i haven't found one unimpressed review.

 

[DeathPrincess]

Passive coolers still use fans and rely on some airflow over the heatsinks, which tend to be larger as they rely on lesser airflow.

As its a 6000 series isn't it still in warranty?

 

[~CS~]

You should probably send it in for warranty,MSI will replace the fan,but honestly if you have a "Twin frozer" heatsink,the card will probably will do just fine with one fan,if you don't want to be without a card.

 

[klasik]

I have the MSI 6950 non-OC'd and won't be OCing it. I think one of the fans is having a bit of trouble, for the first 2-3 minutes of the PC being on it has a sound like its "rubbing" but more of a small off balance and then just goes away, even with out speed adjustment.

I am wondering how efficiently will it cool with just the heat-sinks?
I searched a bit for aftermarket coolers but obviously MSI hit big with it's cooling design as i haven't found one unimpressed review.

It's definitely not going to enough to cool the card. The heatsink is not big enough for the card to be used without a fan.

 

[Mr Spocko]

Try this Gelid have a good quiet cooler for VGA cards

http://www.gelidsolutions.com/products/index.php?lid=1&cid=17&id=52&tab=4

You won't run a passive card like that best chance is something mid range like a Sapphire Ultimate Radeon HD 6670 that would be fine for me I'm not a hard core gamer but you're best bet is to try the Gelid it's very popular and can cool beefy cards without making much noise at all.

 

[Procyon12]

have you considered just taking off the shroud and affixing a quiet 120mm fan to the card? itll cost you $10 and an extra slot.

 

[Soulmetzger]

I'd contact the manufacture and see what they say.

Go from there.

 

[trasixes]

I agree with others here. Should still be in warranty, if so just RMA it. I'm not sure if MSI works the same, but I do know XFX will send out a new fan instead of making you RMA the card. If MSI will do the same, it is win/win.