Down one card....... $@*@&%#)@@!

[Fire$torm]

Yesterday afternoon the system with the 8800's starts making bad fan noises so I open the case to find the culprit, which turned out to be the CPU cooler fan just vibrating against the heatsink. During the search I accidently jammed my finger tip on one of the 8800 fans. No big deal right?

WRONG!!! That mistake cracked the hub of the fan where the shaft attaches. Didn't notice until around 2 am. I don't know how many times that system rebooted do to that card overheating........

I'm still kicking myself. Let the team roasting begin.

[GregK]

your pobably not home right now your at the computer store buying a replacement fan or better yet an upgrade! lol

[c303a]

We all err at times...Just not so many things at once. I'm sure you will figure out how to get another cooler or fan for the card....sooner or later. Meanwhile sit back relax and have a beer. :D:D:D

[joker]

We have all stuck our fingers someplace we shouldn't have. ;)

[JerWA]

We have all stuck our fingers someplace we shouldn't have. ;)

I can neither confirm, nor deny...

[Maxwell]

We have all stuck our fingers someplace we shouldn't have. ;)
And that's why I'm not allowed in the state of Ohio for 12 more years... ;)

[Crazybob]

Oh, I can confirm, just no details.;) Good luck get'n it back up.

[Dandasarge]

And that's why I'm not allowed in the state of Ohio for 12 more years... ;)

hahaha, I try to stay afar away from that place as possible, good bars but crazy woman! Yes there could be fingers involved.

[DrPop]

After all the physical exams we had to learn to perform in college to get that little er... "Dr" thingy... I'll just stay out of the finger comments, thank you. :p;)

But I DO hope you get the fan replaced soon, F$!

[Dandasarge]

After all the physical exams we had to learn to perform in college to get that little er... "Dr" thingy... I'll just stay out of the finger comments, thank you. :p;)

But I DO hope you get the fan replaced soon, F$!

HAHAHAHA what places could a "dr" put his fingers? you didn't pick peoples nose's did you?

[DrPop]

Unfortunately, no. The nose was not the orifice I was remembering from those classes. ;)
And BTW, don't even get me started about checking for hernias. You ever seen a testicle the size of a grapefruit? Talk about painful. You literally feels the guy's pain just looking at it - and then you have palpate it! yeah, the "Dr" stuff aint all its cracked up to be sometimes...:p;)

[joker]

Sorry about this F$.....

[Dandasarge]

Unfortunately, no. The nose was not the orifice I was remembering from those classes. ;)
And BTW, don't even get me started about checking for hernias. You ever seen a testicle the size of a grapefruit? Talk about painful. You literally feels the guy's pain just looking at it - and then you have palpate it! yeah, the "Dr" stuff aint all its cracked up to be sometimes...:p;)

Hey to get a Medal of Honor you almost have to be a Dr. these days. They sure ain't handing them out to anyone for any other reason. Might be a conspiracy I'll have to work on that.

[Fire$torm]

Sorry about this F$.....

LOL, no worries mate. I posted in part for the comic relief because I was really bummed out. Just damn stupid move...... ~X(

Anyhow, thanks guys for the laughs. It hadn't occurred to me that the finger comment would be the instrument of focus. :P

So like OK, time for the F$ Update...... "The Hack Mod. A story in pictures."


(The crack is on the left have of the fan hub) (Click images to enlarge)
http://img717.imageshack.us/img717/9315/repair001small.png (http://img197.imageshack.us/img197/4627/repair001.png)

http://img51.imageshack.us/img51/2421/repair002small.png (http://img219.imageshack.us/img219/5301/repair002.png)

http://img171.imageshack.us/img171/1727/repair003small.png (http://img714.imageshack.us/img714/4228/repair003.png)

http://img716.imageshack.us/img716/6518/repair004small.png (http://img846.imageshack.us/img846/4919/repair004.png)

http://img715.imageshack.us/img715/2615/repair005small.png (http://img197.imageshack.us/img197/6408/repair005.png)

http://img130.imageshack.us/img130/7512/repair006small.png (http://img546.imageshack.us/img546/8412/repair006.png)

http://img576.imageshack.us/img576/1725/repair007small.png (http://img8.imageshack.us/img8/175/repair007.png)

http://img861.imageshack.us/img861/1561/repair008small.png (http://img593.imageshack.us/img593/5783/repair008.png)

[joker]

Just curious.....did they put a ton of TINY screws in your video card? When I had to take apart my 5830, they had like 10 of these tiny screws to remove to get the original heatsink/fan off. Had to go buy a set of micro screw drivers to get them off.

[JerWA]

Nice fix. :cool:

[Fire$torm]

Just curious.....did they put a ton of TINY screws in your video card? When I had to take apart my 5830, they had like 10 of these tiny screws to remove to get the original heatsink/fan off. Had to go buy a set of micro screw drivers to get them off.

I didn't have to mess with that since I bought the 8800s from Keith last year with the Zalmans installed.


Nice fix. :cool:

Thx.

[YoDude9999]

I can't tell what the hell you really did there in those pix, but from the over all outcome, it looks as though you succeeded in your endeavor, good work!

Now as being a younger person at one point in my life, I can appreciate sticking my fingers into things with sometimes surprising results :D and as I got a bit older, the results were more, ahem, pleasing to say the least. With that out of the way, I have to ask the DR......

In the "pal"...."it"....what ever word that was.......are you saying you had to stick a needle in the guys left nut to reduce the swelling? If so...OMFG...If not...Whew!

Yo-

[joker]

I think I am going to regret that finger comment. #-o

[YoDude9999]

Just remember....when the DR. reaches for the tube of KY, you KNOW what's coming!

[JerWA]

Just remember....when the DR. reaches for the tube of KY, you KNOW what's coming!

I've been told everything's ok until you feel BOTH of the doctors hands on your shoulders. >:)

[joker]

I've been told everything's ok until you feel BOTH of the doctors hands on your shoulders.

Insert "comment" here.

[Fire$torm]

I can't tell what the hell you really did there in those pix, but from the over all outcome, it looks as though you succeeded in your endeavor, good work!

Now as being a younger person at one point in my life, I can appreciate sticking my fingers into things with sometimes surprising results :D and as I got a bit older, the results were more, ahem, pleasing to say the least. With that out of the way, I have to ask the DR......

In the "pal"...."it"....what ever word that was.......are you saying you had to stick a needle in the guys left nut to reduce the swelling? If so...OMFG...If not...Whew!

Yo-

Oh, OK. Sorry. I'll keep it short.

The Zalman specs said the fan was 80mm so I took the heatsink fan apart and looked at the mounting base. Decided to use it as a template for its replacement. The neon pink (Yuck) plastic template was made from an old broken clipboard. Next, using an old Antec case fan I removed the fan/motor assembly from its frame, cleaned it up with my dremel tool and super glued it to the plastic template. I mounted the new assembly onto the heatsink and secured it with two twist ties. Done and done.

BTW: The 8800 with the hacked cooler is running 5C~6C COOLER then the other 8800 with the unmodified Zalman. :D

[GregK]

Oh, OK. Sorry. I'll keep it short.

The Zalman specs said the fan was 80mm so I took the heatsink fan apart and looked at the mounting base. Decided to use it as a template for its replacement. The neon pink (Yuck) plastic template was made from an old broken clipboard. Next, using an old Antec case fan I removed the fan/motor assembly from its frame, cleaned it up with my dremel tool and super glued it to the plastic template. I mounted the new assembly onto the heatsink and secured it with two twist ties. Done and done.

BTW: The 8800 with the hacked cooler is running 5C~6C COOLER then the other 8800 with the unmodified Zalman. :D

lol nice you ended up better off!

[c303a]

I knew you would get it done. Super glue, and twist ties. All you need is the duck tape.:D

[Fire$torm]

I knew you would get it done. Super glue, and twist ties. All you need is the duck tape.:D

\:D/ \:D/ \:D/ Yeppers, I just HAD to get that card crunching again and fast! Its all just a temporary solution. I cannot find that Zalman ZF8015BTM fan online from anywhere so I'll have to email Zalman's Tech Support. But if they want more then what I think is reasonable, like ten bucks, then I will buy an 80mm case fan that is bewteen 15~25 millimeters and use the original Zalman bracket to mount it on.

[YoDude9999]

@ JerWA. OMG I think you're right on that count! Never let the DR stand behind you!

@ FireStorm. Thanks for the description. I was wondering what that pink stuff was.

Cheers all, everything looking good. It's nice to know we have some "Afro-Engineers" amongst us. ;)

[Fire$torm]

OK, some pretty cool news to share.
Yesterday I emailed Zalman Tech Support requesting the total cost for a replacement fan assembly. Today I received their reply saying that they went ahead and processed my inquiry as an RMA. Their RMA dept. then sent me an email stating that I will receive my replacement in 5~7 days, free of charge!!! No request from them for proof of purchase or anything.

How cool is that? Zalman FTW \m/

[DrPop]

...How cool is that? Zalman FTW \m/

That is awesome! I love when a company stands by their product.

I had a similar experience when I purchased that ASRock Deluxe4 mobo a few months back. I bought it "open box" at NewEgg. Everything was in great order except I realized a week later the optional chipset fan was missing - for O/Cing to the max. So I emailed their tech support and said, "I bought this open box, blah blah...and I'll gladly pay for a fan if you can sell me one."
No response directly, but literally 5 days later, the fan and a little screw driver to install it shows up in a padded envelope! Kind of like your Zalman ... how cool is that? :)

[YoDude9999]

You mean to say they can actually DO that?....I would say, "I don't believe it!", but you being a fellow SETI member, well now, that just takes all accord. Now....if the the ASUS A-Holieos would jump on the "Replaceable Fan" band wagon, that would have made my day fer sure.

I have found typically, that most fans are made as an assembly, where the fan itself is part of the assembly (being the heatsink AND the fan) and therefore not replaceable by itself. Other assemblies are separate in that the fan and heat sink are separate from themselves, but are considered just one assembly. For instance when I tried to find a direct replacement for one of my 5870s, there were none to be found anywhere. Because I often play, "Purchasing Agent" at work, I have a pretty keen idea on how to track these things down. I couldn't find any such like fan around anywhere on the net, however I did find the same fan used on other models of heat sinks, but those models are not 5870 compatible and even the 5870 compatible stock heatsink was nowhere to be be found either. From looking at dozens of posts on other forums, the ASUS fan used on some of their cards is a major problem with lots of failures. A person could probably make a tidy sum from selling nothing but replacement fans for ASUS and other manufacturers cards.

It seems that some manufacturers require "custom" heat sinks and fan assemblies to attach to their products. And even though the fan itself is an entire assembly that COULD be sold separately, they are not offered to the general public.

Thank goodness there are after market products that do support most of the hardware in use today.

Yo-

[Fire$torm]

@DrPop: Way cool indeed. It is good to find a company that BELIEVES in products they put to market. It literally has been over a decade since I have seen anything close this level of customer support for any product I have purchased in that time period.

Example: When I proved to Dell (which took three emails) that the HDD in the system they had sold to me 9 months previous was nearing total failure, I had to argue with their customer support for like fifteen minutes before they relented. Then the SOBs decided not to replace the HDD with same make and model, but rather sent me a refurbished HDD that was a Green design (ie SLOWER). With that I have vowed never to buy anything from Dell EVER! I will also never recommend Dell to anyone ever again.

I mean, Hell, who in world needs that kind of half arse warranty support.

@YoDude9999: The thing is, that fan assembly is a custom design. It was designed and sourced out by Zalman. It was its own part number and is shared with one or more Zalman cooler models like the VF700-AlCu LED VGA Cooler.

If I ever need another cooler product, Zalman will be at the top of my short list.

[YoDude9999]

I'll keep your advisement in mind, it seems worthy of praise. And, my future business, if the occasion arises that I require a produce of their making, I'll be sure to give them [Zalman] a serious look into.

Customer service is probably one of the most important things consumers should expect from manufacturers these days. The retailers are really not the people to blame, but they represent the manufacturers and should provide support for the items we buy.

I think in a nutshell, that consumers should start demanding retail support and that if they can't (or won't) support that [the retailers], then the manufacturers should be made responsible for continued product support.

An example that I can give is EVGA. They have proven themselves to me to be customer orientated, but do have strict rules that must be abided by in order to receive the benefits they offer. All this means however, is you have to play by THEIR rules, but as long as you do, you're golden :)

Yo-

[Fire$torm]

@Yo: I like your way of thinking.

Update: Just like Zalman Support promised, the replacement fan arrived this afternoon. Installed it about an hour ago and humming away.

I am now officially a Zalman fan for life!

[joker]

I am now officially a Zalman fan for life!

Nice play on words there! "Fan".... ;)