Replacing Fan on HD6870

[GaleForce]

I noticed my temps skyrocketing on my XFX HD6870 recently and finally tracked the problem down to the fan on the heatsink. It seems like the fan is intermittently turning on and off. Sometimes it will run as intended but as of a few days ago it seems to spend more time sputtering, for lack of a better term, between the speed I set it at and just stopping completely. I'm assuming this is because the fan itself is dying. I figure this could be an opportunity to get a fan that's better than stock anyway (although I never had temp issues but it couldn't hurt) but I'm not quite sure how to go about this. I know the entire heatsink can be replaced but I'd rather not go that route due to cost and because I don't want to complicate my warranty coverage any further (can always swap the old fan back if I had to RMA the card).

Anyway does the heatsink use a standard size fan? Can I just buy any fan that's the right size and swap it out or do I need to buy a specific type of fan? If anyone can provide details on this is would be much appreciated (size of fan, connector, other considerations, etc.)

Also, this is the card I have: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150561 - I know they make a few different models with different heatsinks and I don't know if the fan specs differ from one product to another.

Thanks in advance for any help anyone can provide.

 

[Col_Hogan]

why spend any money on another cooling solution...just rma the card back to Xfx.

 

[GaleForce]

Because I figure replacing a small fan can't be that expensive (it's not like I'm buying an entire new cooling solution, just a fan to drop in). If the heatsinks use normal fans then it wouldn't be any more expensive than a case fan and I could probably get something better than the stock fan for pretty cheap. If I do need some type of special fan, and it was expensive, then I would definitely RMA the card. In addition I don't have a back-up computer that I can game on so if I do RMA the card I'll be out a gaming computer for a while depending on their turnaround time. I'd much rather fix the issue as quickly as possible. Thanks for the suggestion though.