Grinding Noise on Reference 5850

[bigbubba3]

I have a reference 5850 that has been making an odd grinding noise on cold boot, its more audible at slow fan speeds (25%) but can still be heard up through (50%) I know its the Card fan, because when i provide resistance with my finger which drops the RPMs the sound subsides to normal. For reference this grinding noise is louder 5 25DB case fans as well as the fan on the 5850 itself.

As the card "warms up" the sound becomes less pronounced which is why I believe its the fan bearing freezing in some way as the ambient temp in my room drops to around 45C at night and this only happens on cold mornings when i start it up.

Am i correct in my superstitions? And is there anyway to alleviate this? I will be applying 3 in 1 this evening.

Thanks for the advice guys.

 

[RavenSEAL]

Here is my advice: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835118061

 

[ZipSpeed]

I have the same issue on my 5850. Anything above 35% fan speed causes the grinding noise. Luckily, the card rarely goes above 35% so I don't hear the noise often. Still, I have been meaning to replace stock cooler with an aftermarket one but I've been lazy.

 

[frozentundra123456]

I have the same problem with a 9800GT, but it mainly happens when I start the computer. So far, if I leave it on long enough the sound goes away, and does not come back even if I ramp up the fan speed. Sometimes comes back when starting the card from scratch though.

What is it with graphics card fans anyway? Are they really that cheap? This is the second card in a row I have had the problem with. This is not too bad because I have had the card for a year or so and it is still usable. The card before this started screaming unbearably only 2 or 3 months after I purchased it. The noise was so loud and never went away, so I had to quit using the card. Should have returned it, but just never got around to it.

 

[Despoiler]

I have the same issue with my 5850. The fan isn't dying. It's a known issue with the fan supplier. The problem causes the fan to spin out of balance. I just tap my case to get the noise to go away. Eventually it re-balances itself so I don't need to do the tapping.