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6 pin PCI E cables - Radeon 6870 fan noise

M

mjsmke

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Mar 2, 2010
512
0
UK
Hi there!

I just picked up a second hand PowerColour 6870 for my Mac Pro 4.1. (thought it was time to upgrade the GT 120!)

I know i need 2 power cables and found a link on here to OWC:

http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Apple/9227128/

I'd prefer to get them sooner so started looking around online but can't find any anywhere. I can only find male to female extensions.

Does anyone know where to find them in the UK?
 
Last edited:
The cable you need is called mini pci-e 6pin to pci-e 6pin.
Hope this helps.
 
Thanks for all the help everyone. I now have the cables i needed and have my 6870 installed and working! :)

The card works fine but the fan isn't all that quiet. My old GT 120 was silent all the time. Is this normal? Or is there a way to lower the idle speed of the GPU fan?

P.S What a difference this card makes! I know its not one of the best cards out there but in applications like Photoshop/Lightroom/Maya and even just moving windows around the monitors feel smoother.
 
mjsmke said:
That thread seems to be about the PCI fan running fast, not the GPU fan.
Click to expand...

The fans that ATI use are generally silent but a few of them seem to fail early and become quite noisy. If this is the case with yours, you'll be able feel a little sideways play in the bearing. There should be none whatsoever. Since the fans are virtually unobtainable in the UK, these noisy cards tend to wind up on eBay.

You can either buy a new fan from the states on eBay for about £13 or fit an aftermarket cooler for upwards of £35.

I sometimes come across reference design 5870s (a better choice than the 6870, strangely enough) and fit a new fan as a matter of course before flashing them and selling them on.
 
cal6n said:
The fans that ATI use are generally silent but a few of them seem to fail early and become quite noisy. If this is the case with yours, you'll be able feel a little sideways play in the bearing. There should be none whatsoever. Since the fans are virtually unobtainable in the UK, these noisy cards tend to wind up on eBay.

You can either buy a new fan from the states on eBay for about £13 or fit an aftermarket cooler for upwards of £35.

I sometimes come across reference design 5870s (a better choice than the 6870, strangely enough) and fit a new fan as a matter of course before flashing them and selling them on.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the help. If I don't get use to the sound i'll look at getting a replacement fan.
 
6870s with 2 wire fans are much noisier than ones that come with 4 wires.

If it only has 2 wires, it has limited speed control at best, so to avoid overheating they run them faster. The card stays cool until the fan wears out prematurely.
 
MacVidCards said:
6870s with 2 wire fans are much noisier than ones that come with 4 wires.

If it only has 2 wires, it has limited speed control at best, so to avoid overheating they run them faster. The card stays cool until the fan wears out prematurely.
Click to expand...

I'll have a check tomorrow to see if its a 2 or 4 wire fan and let you know.

I remove an reinstalled it earlier but didn't think to look at the wires. I noticed when i lift the corner of the card about 2mm the noise is reduced. So ill also check the case is screwed on tight when i get a chance.
 
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