video card fan problem

[Max Kaznady]

Hi guys,

The cooling fan on my video card Sapphire Radeon 9000pro had failed, and
I was wondering if it's possible at all to get a new fan. Canada
Computers told me that they doubt it, but they are trying to contact the
Sapphire office for me to get the replacement part.

So I was wondering if someone by any chance has a broken Radeon 9000pro
card with a functional fan (what are the odds), or if not, then are
there any stores that sell salvaged parts like that (Above All
electronics is one place I know)?

Thanks,
Max
P.S. For curious ones, the ceramic bearing inside the fan had cracked
causing a jam - I couldn't figure out what was wrong with my Debian
install either - the computer would work fine for some time, after which
point the screen and the keyboard would freeze, but the mouse was still
working. I was pretty sure that Linux systems don't freeze randomly like
that, but since I could move the mouse pointer across the screen the
video card was the last place I checked.

[Petrov Andrey]

The cooling fan on my video card Sapphire Radeon 9000pro had failed, and I
was wondering if it's possible at all to get a new fan. Canada Computers told
me that they doubt it, but they are trying to contact the Sapphire office for
me to get the replacement part.

If I were you, I'd just find out what size the fan is (most likely 60mm or
something), and get a fan of the same size, and mount it on in its place.
It really shouldn't make a (noticeable) difference.

Another alternative is to get one of the (many) Artic Cooling Video Card
fan attachments in its stead (probably would be much quiter and better --
though more expensive than a generic 60mm fan).
Browse here: http://www.arctic-cooling.com/vga1.php

So I was wondering if someone by any chance has a broken Radeon 9000pro card
with a functional fan (what are the odds), or if not, then are there any
stores that sell salvaged parts like that (Above All electronics is one place
I know)?

If you're really determined to getting a fan made just for your card, for
some religious reason, you could try CraigsList
(http://toronto.craigslist.org/) or
eBay, or something.

Thanks,
Max
P.S. For curious ones, the ceramic bearing inside the fan had cracked causing
a jam - I couldn't figure out what was wrong with my Debian install either -
the computer would work fine for some time, after which point the screen and
the keyboard would freeze, but the mouse was still working. I was pretty sure
that Linux systems don't freeze randomly like that, but since I could move
the mouse pointer across the screen the video card was the last place I
checked.

The only time I had Linux randomly crash/freeze/misbehave on me is when I
was having hardware problems that I wasn't aware of (faulty videocard,
overheating CPU, overloaded PSU). Fix your videocard and see if it stops.