7850 - rattling fan

[Vostok]

Hello,

I recently bought a SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 7850 (Non-OC version). Everything was going smooth, until approx 2-3 days ago when one of the fans started rattling. At first it only occurred when the fan was working at 20% load, but now this happens on any speed between 20-30 %. The fans rarely spin more then 28% :( - so this means a lot of rattling noise for me.

The sound is really annoying, and unfortunately I can't return the card any more (as the return period in Poland is 10 days from the day of delivery).

I'm seriously considering RMA-ing the card, but that can mean that I'll have to wait as long as a month in order to get it back, not to mention the fact, that I have no guarantee that the fan will be replaced. Therefore I'm looking for any pointers or tips on how to fix this matter on my own. Anyone have any ideas?

[steves6403]

If i was in your position i would take the card out and look to see if anything looks odd or something restricting .Test the fan on alternate power supply and all else fails ,see if i had anything else i could replace it with "fan i mean"
Rma would really suck just for a fan

[Vostok]

I have a XFX 550w PSU, it's about the same age as the graphics card. I'll try giving it a spin on my old PSU.

I checked the graphics card for any oddities, but honestly can't see any. Both fans sit firmly in place - I suppose that the bearing in the fan must be the culprit. The fans seem easy to replace, I'm considering contacting Sapphire to see If I could get a replacement.

This would mean that I wouldn't have to RMA - thus saving a lot of time and money for posting the card to the shop I bought it from.

Does anyone have any experience with obtaining such replacement parts?

[Gr33nGecko]

Erm, dude, if the card is under warranty and it's the FIRST year of warranty - take it back to your retailer. They should be able to test it and/or swap it over for you.
If it's in the 2nd year of the warranty, then you'll have to RMA it via Sapphire's main website. That will need you to have your original purchase receipt, there may be an RMA fee applicable and you may be without a VGA card for up to 6 weeks depending on what's wrong with it, if it needs repairing, and then the return journey home from Hong Kong if it has to be repaired or replaced from there.

So whichever way you look at it, it's an RMA.

Yes, I have had experience in obtaining these types of fans - it's 99% IMPOSSIBLE to find them yourself, and the only two factories I found which made ATI ( at the time ) VGA card fans, the minimum order was for a crate of a stupid amount ( talking thousands here ) .. Or you trawl EBay and buy a dead card for several Euros and swap the fan that way.

I'd just RMA the card personally, less hassle and you still get whatever is left of the warranty by not changing things yourself.

[steves6403]

Six weeks plus without a card.... again it still sux or blows just for a fan (depending on which way the fan is faced).

I hope polish mail is reliable.