My HIS HD 6850 suddenly became very loud.

[grathomp]

I've had an HIS HD 6850 for 13 months. It was working great until yesterday when its fan began making an intolerable amount of noise. It was clean, but I blew any dust out of it. I then checked all of the screws fastening the fan and heatsink to the card (they were all tight). I've never had anything like this happen to a GPU so I was going to ask if anyone has any advice on a solution to this problem.

Thanks!

[Maxwell]

I've had a fan become unbalanced and start clacking against the side of the holder. Try running the card and actually looking at it to see what's going on...

[Fire$torm]

I've had an HIS HD 6850 for 13 months. It was working great until yesterday when its fan began making an intolerable amount of noise. It was clean, but I blew any dust out of it. I then checked all of the screws fastening the fan and heatsink to the card (they were all tight). I've never had anything like this happen to a GPU so I was going to ask if anyone has any advice on a solution to this problem.

Thanks!

I've had a fan become unbalanced and start clacking against the side of the holder. Try running the card and actually looking at it to see what's going on...

Yes Maxwell's suggestion would help. And going out on a limb here I'd say the fan bearings are shot, as in failing due to wear. ATI/AMD fans are notoriously sub-par. Many fail completely within two years. If this is indeed the problem you can find OEM replacements on eBay or Amazon. But please make sure to purchase the item from a reputable (high ratings) seller. Another alternative is to upgrade to an aftermarket VGA cooler but currently the list of compatible coolers for 6xxx & 7xxx series is very short, at least for air cooling. Water cooling options are available for those with deep pockets.

[Beerdrinker]

Back in the days, you could salvage a case-cooler by dripping a drop of oil directly in the bearings.

I am not sure if you can do that - but it migth be worth a shot...at least until you can get a replacement.

[grathomp]

Thanks for all of your suggestions and input. Sorry that it took me so long to respond (I've been in bed the past three days with the flu). Do you think that this cooler would be a good choice?

[grathomp]

I just got done removing the fan from the card and determined that it is exactly this fan.

It would probably be a lot cheaper to buy this replacement fan than a completely new cooler. What do you think?

[Fire$torm]

I just got done removing the fan from the card and determined that it is exactly this fan.

It would probably be a lot cheaper to buy this replacement fan than a completely new cooler. What do you think?

Well for 4 bucks with free shipping it's cheap enough. For me the biggest concern would be effectiveness. The blade design on the original is much different then the replacement you are considering. Is that good or bad? Not sure but what the heck.

That Gelid cooler comes in three versions. So the one offered on Newegg may not right for your card.

[DrPop]

Man, for that price, I would try the replacement for sure! Never know, might luck out and it will work for the life of the card.

[grathomp]

Ordered that $4 replacement fan yesterday, and I just got a notice of shipping from amazon saying: "Your estimated delivery date is: Wednesday, May 23, 2012"

A month and a half wait for a $4 part is kind of frustrating. I couldn't find a similar part stateside. Maybe it is time to buy a new video card.

[Crazybob]

Hopefully that is a mistake. I ordered some parts through Amazon with a due date far out in the future and it ended up shipping in 2 days. Hope it works out for you. I just replaced a fan and GPU heatsink about 2 weeks ago. Works nice, but was a litlle pricey for the age of the card.