🚀 go-pugleaf

Bitstring <c14vrp$dto$1@titan.btinternet.com>, from the wonderful person
Cyber J <sorry@munged.com> said
>Hi from a noob :-)
>
>Is anyone familiar with this motherboard? -
>http://makeashorterlink.com/?K5C324877 - Gigabyte/Es GA-7VAXP.
>
>I have one of these and the fan on the onboard Realtek ALC650 sound chipset
>has developed a fault - sometimes it doesn't start up, but when it does,
>there's a really annoying droning sound coming from it.
>
>As I have a Nvidia GeForce graphics card installed, my questions are -
>
>Does the Nvidia card override the Realtek chip, rendering the Realtek
>superfluous?  Whether or not, is it safe to use the computer with this fan
>unattached?
>
>I can't find a replacement fan, and am unable to remove the whole thing as
>it's stuck fast - that's if it can be removed, of course?
>
>Thanks. Sorry if they're dumb questions, but I'm just starting out :-)

1) The fan is (from memory, and a quick glance at the board) on the
Northbridge (part of the Via Chipset). The other chips don't get warm
enough to need special cooling.

2) You need this chip to work, no matter what else you have plugged in
via PCI slots.

3) The good news is that, unless you are overclocking, or have the PC in
a really hot place, or a really small case, then it'll likely work just
fine with no fan (as you may have discovered, if the fan has been not
starting sometimes).  Ideally =remove= the fan (leave the HS, which is
stuck down to the top of the chip). If everything is stable, quit
worrying. If you get crashes and lockups, fit a new fan (or a better HS
which doesn't need one).

Next time try to buy a board with passive Northbridge cooling .. these
ratty little 40 or 50mm fans =always= fail, and even before that they
always make a miserable amount of noise for the feeble amount of air
they shift.

HTH

--
GSV   Three Minds in a Can
Outgoing Msgs are Turing Tested,and indistinguishable from human typing.

GSV Three Minds in a Can wrote:

> 3) The good news is that, unless you are overclocking, or have the PC in
> a really hot place, or a really small case, then it'll likely work just
> fine with no fan (as you may have discovered, if the fan has been not
> starting sometimes).  Ideally =remove= the fan (leave the HS, which is
> stuck down to the top of the chip). If everything is stable, quit
> worrying. If you get crashes and lockups, fit a new fan (or a better HS
> which doesn't need one).

Also, if you're able to get the heatsink off without damaging it,
carefully scrape off the naff thermal pad that is between the heatsink
and northbridge chip, clean it up (I used white spirit on a bit of
tissue paper but I don't know how safe that is!) and put some thermal
paste on it as you would with a CPU. That should bring your temperatures
down a few vital degrees.

> Next time try to buy a board with passive Northbridge cooling .. these
> ratty little 40 or 50mm fans =always= fail, and even before that they
> always make a miserable amount of noise for the feeble amount of air
> they shift.

Tell me about it! I've got one of those hard drive coolers that screw
onto the bottom of a hard drive and have 2 fans. I've only had it a bit
over a year and the 40mm fans are already knackered! I fixed it by
squirting a generous amount of synthetic lubricant (again, I don't know
how safe, or rather, risky!!) inside it, but that lasted about a day!

"GSV Three Minds in a Can" <GSV@quik.clara.co.uk> wrote in message
news:dbMQ0TDTkgNAFAgi@from.is.invalid...
> Bitstring <c14vrp$dto$1@titan.btinternet.com>, from the wonderful person
> Cyber J <sorry@munged.com> said
> >Hi from a noob :-)
> >
> >Is anyone familiar with this motherboard? -
> >http://makeashorterlink.com/?K5C324877 - Gigabyte/Es GA-7VAXP.
> >
> >I have one of these and the fan on the onboard Realtek ALC650 sound
chipset
> >has developed a fault - sometimes it doesn't start up, but when it does,
> >there's a really annoying droning sound coming from it.
> >
> >As I have a Nvidia GeForce graphics card installed, my questions are -
> >
> >Does the Nvidia card override the Realtek chip, rendering the Realtek
> >superfluous?  Whether or not, is it safe to use the computer with this
fan
> >unattached?
> >
> >I can't find a replacement fan, and am unable to remove the whole thing
as
> >it's stuck fast - that's if it can be removed, of course?
> >
> >Thanks. Sorry if they're dumb questions, but I'm just starting out :-)
>
> 1) The fan is (from memory, and a quick glance at the board) on the
> Northbridge (part of the Via Chipset). The other chips don't get warm
> enough to need special cooling.
>
> 2) You need this chip to work, no matter what else you have plugged in
> via PCI slots.
>
> 3) The good news is that, unless you are overclocking, or have the PC in
> a really hot place, or a really small case, then it'll likely work just
> fine with no fan (as you may have discovered, if the fan has been not
> starting sometimes).  Ideally =remove= the fan (leave the HS, which is
> stuck down to the top of the chip). If everything is stable, quit
> worrying. If you get crashes and lockups, fit a new fan (or a better HS
> which doesn't need one).
>
> Next time try to buy a board with passive Northbridge cooling .. these
> ratty little 40 or 50mm fans =always= fail, and even before that they
> always make a miserable amount of noise for the feeble amount of air
> they shift.
>
> HTH
>
> --
> GSV   Three Minds in a Can
> Outgoing Msgs are Turing Tested,and indistinguishable from human typing.

Hi GSV,

Thank you very much for your informative reply.

I bought a new 50mm fan for the HS and would you believe the damned thing
won't work. What are my chances of getting another faulty fan??!

I'm not overclocking, and the case is a Global Win GAT001.

I'll give it a go without the fan and hope for the best.

Thanks again.