Arctic Cooling ATi Silencer 1 Rev. 2

[MrCraphead]

So I bought one of these, hooked it up just fine to the onboard power connecter, but when I put my fingers behind the exhaust pipe, I do not feel any air current at all. On the other hand, when I put my hand in front of the "intake" I feel quite a bit of current flowing out, not sucking in.

I guess what it seems like is happening is that the fan is intaking from the exhaust, and exhausting from the intake. I'm pretty sure I plugged the fan in right since I dont' think I could plug it in the other way w/ the way the connector is made.

So I was just wondering if anyone else had this problem? Should I try to ghetto mod it and switch the wires on the power lines? will that help if the fan is running the other way?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Ketchup]

I have noticed the same thing with my Silencer 5, Rev. 2, and have read other posters with the same story. But, the card does run quite a bit cooler, so I really don't think it matters to tell you the truth. I am just a little disappointed with how noisy the thing is. It isn't extremely loud, but I can easily hear it in my quiet case. If it is quieter than the stock fan, (at it's lowest setting of course) it isn't by much.

 

[Navid]

What you feel when you put your hand near the fan is turbulence.
The amount of air exhausted from the back is very small.
But, it does exhaust.
No matter which way the fan turns, it will move air out because of centrifuge. Don't get me wrong! I am not saying that it does not matter which way it turns. I am saying that do not think that you have plugged the fan the wrong way.

Hold a Kleenex at the back near the exhaust and you will see that air comes out.

 

[MrCraphead]

I can swear I don't feel a single thing. I even licked my fingers so they'd be even more sensitive to the breeze, but nothing. I really hope there is at least some air flow going through there, and it's not just by heat dissipation through the air.....

 

[Ketchup]

Well, with the fan unplugged my gpu temps go up about 10 degrees, so that should be a good indication that it is working.

 

[MrCraphead]

Yeah, true, but then what's the comparison w/ the original stock fan? Is it doing a better job than that? I guess that's what I'm wondering.

 

[Chode Messiah]

the wire could've been plugged in backwards, reversing the polarity of the charge, therefore reversing the direction that the motor spins the fan. (Navid is right though, in the fact that some air should come out either way

 

[IceWindius]

The airflow exhaust from the newer VGA silencers isn't that strong but not to worry, it is exhausting. To put your mind at ease, put a piece of kleenax in front of the exhaust and you'll see air movement. The fans the VGA silencers use are centrifugal blowers so they have to move air sideways rather then directionally down like alot of other HSF units do.

 

[Navid]

You can only plug the fan connector one way. Even if you force it in the wrong way, it will not turn.

Another factor that affects how much air comes out the back is the air pressure inside your case. If you only have exhaust fans, in your case, the air pressure inside your case will be low and less air will come out of the silencer.

At the end, all you need to consider is the temperature of your GPU (and RAM).

 

[MrCraphead]

I guess that's one thing I didn't think about, the positive/negative case pressure created by the intake/exhaust fans. I think I have 2 intakes and 3 exhausts at this moment.

And with the temperature, I can't check it b/c my 9700 Pro doesn't have onboard temperature diodes.

 

[Navid]

Originally posted by: MrCraphead
And with the temperature, I can't check it b/c my 9700 Pro doesn't have onboard temperature diodes.

OK. Then, I can only make one suggestion.
Download and install ATItool.
http://www.techpowerup.com/atitool/

Run ATItool and click on "Scan for Artifacts". Let it run for 15 minutes. At this point the GPU will be hot. Now, hold your hand behind the case near the silencer exhaust. Do you not feel any warm air coming out?
If not, open the case and try again.

 

[Jeff7]

I've got two VGA Silencers set to high; I can hardly feel any air moving out of the back at all. But they do still seem to be doing the job that they were designed to do.

Originally posted by: Chode Messiah
the wire could've been plugged in backwards, reversing the polarity of the charge, therefore reversing the direction that the motor spins the fan. (Navid is right though, in the fact that some air should come out either way

This kind of fan motor doesn't work like that. I don't remember what the name is for it, but the motor isn't a regular DC motor like you find at hobby stores or Radio Shack. Reversing the polarity won't make the fan spin at all; it'll just remain still, overheating itself to death.

 

[qwertynerd]

Jeff7,

How do you set your Silencer to high? I'm trying to figure out how to control the fan speed on mine because I keep on hearing that people can set it to high or low . . .

Thanks in advance

 

[Navid]

Originally posted by: qwertynerd
How do you set your Silencer to high? I'm trying to figure out how to control the fan speed on mine because I keep on hearing that people can set it to high or low . . .

The old silencer, that only worked on ATI cards, had a switch that would set the fan RPM to high or low.
http://www2.newegg.com/Product/ShowImag...%20120mm%20VGA%20Silencer%20-%20Retail