Reducing noise in a 6600GT

Hi there. My old shuttle (SN85G4V2 / AMD3000+/ 2048 PC3200 / Gainward 6600GT) is going out to pasture as a set top box. It will now be playing movies/mp3s and such on a tv.

I'm finding the GT's little fan much too loud for this, it runs constantly at full speed with a high pitched hum. AFAIK there's no software solution to slowing it down.

I don't want to replace the card with a cheaper passive cooled one, at the risk of reducing the quality of s-video output (i've found some cheap cards have very dodgy s-video).

So i'm looking for sugguestions.


1: Can I get a resistor for the two-pin fan connector anywhere?
2: Will it survive if I just plug out the fan? (Bear in mind that it only ever operates in 2d mode, and i can underclock it)
3: Is there somewhere i can buy a slower fan that will fir the heat sink?
4: Can anyone sugguest a cheap quiet aftermarket cooler?

Thanks

One of these would do: http://www.kustompcs.co.uk/acatalog/info_2824.html

I'm assuming it's a PCIe card right?

NV silencer. I have a brand new sealed one of these, ill double check its for the 6600 if you fancy it.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by aidanjt

I'm assuming it's a PCIe card right?

---

Nope, agp. Probably should have mentioned that!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Clunk

NV silencer. I have a brand new sealed one of these, ill double check its for the 6600 if you fancy it.

---

No thanks. Waaay too big for my case. I got >1cm clearance between the stock hs/f and the side of the case, so any solution will have to be fairly flat

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by daveharnett

Hi there. My old shuttle (SN85G4V2 / AMD3000+/ 2048 PC3200 / Gainward 6600GT) is going out to pasture as a set top box. It will now be playing movies/mp3s and such on a tv.

I'm finding the GT's little fan much too loud for this, it runs constantly at full speed with a high pitched hum. AFAIK there's no software solution to slowing it down.

I don't want to replace the card with a cheaper passive cooled one, at the risk of reducing the quality of s-video output (i've found some cheap cards have very dodgy s-video).

So i'm looking for sugguestions.


1: Can I get a resistor for the two-pin fan connector anywhere?
2: Will it survive if I just plug out the fan? (Bear in mind that it only ever operates in 2d mode, and i can underclock it)
3: Is there somewhere i can buy a slower fan that will fir the heat sink?
4: Can anyone sugguest a cheap quiet aftermarket cooler?

Thanks

---

I ran a VF900 on my 6800 in my old SN41g2 but I needed to remove the case to do so. The VF900 was definitely much quieter than the stock Nvida reference fan and so was the VF700 that preceded it!!

I did manage a AeroCool VM-101 on a GF4 TI4200 inside a SN45G. Had to chop the bottom corner off the hard-drive tray but it was worth it for the quiet.

The fan cable could just be modded if you don't mind soldering. Either directly add a resistor to it, or convert it to a 3 pin connector and run it slower off the motherboard/fan controller.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by daveharnett

No thanks. Waaay too big for my case. I got >1cm clearance between the stock hs/f and the side of the case, so any solution will have to be fairly flat

---

The VF700 should be able to fit if you have very little room

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by LuckyNV

The VF700 should be able to fit if you have very little room

---

Looks like the smallest of em. i'll give it a try. Thanks

Rivatuner will allow you to setup some profiles with regard to fan speed. Head over to Guru3D, they've got a guide on how to do it. Could be a temp solution till you find a cooler to fit.

Other option is to sell your card and buy a passive card.

I used to have an AGP Inno3D 6600GT, which had an annoyingly high pitched fan that ran at 100% the whole time. I tried using Rivatuner, and it's definitely an option, but I found Gainward's Expertool software (google it) to be easier to use and more versatile. It did a great job of shutting the thing up!

A word of warning. Not all 6600s have the necessary hardware on board to do temperature monitoring and fan control. If you can get temperature sensing working in the nVIDIA driver (coolbits) then you should be able to get Expertool working with the fan control.

If you find yourself looking at aftermarket coolers, remember that passively cooled cards that outperform the 6600GT can be had for under £50, even on AGP. I'd be asking myself if it's really worth the effort if I were you.