8800GT v. OMG LOUD

I recently purchased an XFX 8000GT "Alpha Dog Edition". It performs lovely and I can't think of much else wrong with it. Except for the fact it is shockingly loud. Am used to loud computers as the last case I had contained 5 38cfm fans inside it. However one of the reasons for upgrading was to get something quieter. This seems a little bit silly for the amount of noise coming from one video card.

All my gear is contained inside a Lian Li case with 2 front 80mm fans, 1 rear 80mm and 1 top 80mm. Together with the stock Intel HS/F the thing is nearly silent. However the video card cooler seems to run at max speed constantly. Is this normal for this card? My old XFX 7600GT was quiet, my friend's 8800GTS 640 makes almost no noise and some other folks I know with 8800GT's from different brands report no undue noise. Is it possible the XFX is just a noisy card? Is there something I need to monkey with on the card to make it quiet down? I've tried using the nTune fan adjuster to no avail. Baring something that I forgot to do, what are the odds NewEgg would take this back and allow me to swap up for a bigger, faster, and most of all QUIETER 8800GTS?

Edit: FWIW the card runs at a balmy 50c on idle, and after 2 hours of playing BF2142 (with the graphics CRANKED finally) it boosted all the way to 58c. Is that normal operating temp for this card? I remember with my 7600GT if it reached the 50c mark, something was seriously wrong.

I'm pretty sure Newegg will take the card back if you want to return it. Or you could put a different heatsink on the card. Can you link to a page that has your exact model?

50C idle and under 60C load is pretty much ideal for an 8800GT. Seriously. Some of them idle at 60C and load at 80C+.

Newegg will let you swap for the 8800GTS, sure, and yes it will be quieter. If you use their messaging system and ask they may even agree to waive the 15% restocking fee, provided you tell them you'll be buying a replacement for the card through them.

Vola said:

I'm pretty sure Newegg will take the card back if you want to return it. Or you could put a different heatsink on the card. Can you link to a page that has your exact model?

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Well, I'm a little hesitant to do any hardware "modifications". Ever since I chipped the core on my old Thunderbird 1200 I've been a little wary of heat sinks . Also if it's going to cost me $30-40 to slap a new cooler on my GT, I might as well just shell out the few more bucks to get the better GTS.

For reference this XFX 8800GT is the card I bought. None of the reviews seem to mention anything about it being so damn loud however.

Actually, this is not how the card is supposed to perform. There's been a rash of XFX cards showing up with this lately.

See here, the XFX rep says you can RMA the card:

http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1270044

Let us know if they actually let you RMA the card. I know that if they don't fix this crap, I'm never going to buy an XFX card again; quality control like this should never be so poor.

Unfortunately, you didn't put the term XFX in the title, so I'm not sure if the rep will see your thread.

I'd still swap it out for a GTS. The coolers on the 8800GTs just flat out suck.

defaultluser said:

Actually, this is not how the card is supposed to perform. There's been a rash of XFX cards showing up with this lately.

See here, the XFX rep says you can RMA the card:

http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1270044

Let us know if they actually let you RMA the card. I know that if they don't fix this crap, I'm never going to buy an XFX card again; quality control like this should never be so poor.

Unfortunately, you didn't put the term XFX in the title, so I'm not sure if the rep will see your thread.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the heads up. I am thinking if it's possible I might fix this myself. While I might enjoy the extra quiet and power of the GTS. I am not thrilled with the idea of sending my card away for who knows long and waiting for one to return to me.