Modding MSI Frozr II

mac_mogul

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Ok so I bought an MSI GTX460 with the Twin Frozr II heatsink and dual fans from a member on here a while back and recently (actually like two months ago) one of the fans quit and its been growling like the belly of a beast who lives under my desk ever since.

Performance has not really been affected, its probably running a bit warmer than it should but the other fan is working fine and idle temps stay around 40c which is acceptable to me since I just can't be bothered at this point.

What I'm wanting to know is.... since I've never done anything like this on a computer before... Can I just buy/procure a fan of the same size (I think its 80mm?) and splice it into the wiring? I think I'd probably have to use adhesive to mount it on the heatsink, but would that work? And more importantly, would the fan still be controlled by the card if I did that?

I don't "do" overclocking and modding so any ideas or suggestions you all might have would be fantastic and much appreciated. I'm not a complete idiot so I'm pretty confident that I could do just about anything given the right tools and info.

I'm going to be upgrading my CPU heatsink and case fans as well so if I can I'd really like to fix the GPU at the same time.
 
First I'd check to see if it is still under warranty, think MSI does a 3yr.
Easiest would be just to have them repair/replace, though you'd be w/o a GPU for a bit.

If you want to do it yourself, I have no idea if GPU fans are replaceable and what it entails.
I do know you can just buy an aftermarket cooler, if you want to drop $60 for one.
Newegg.com - ARCTIC Accelero Twin Turbo II VGA Cooler
 
It's possible. The only thing you have to do is figure out if the fans run 12v or 5v and figure out how to mount them to the heatsink without the plastic border.
 
First I'd check to see if it is still under warranty, think MSI does a 3yr.
Easiest would be just to have them repair/replace, though you'd be w/o a GPU for a bit.

If you want to do it yourself, I have no idea if GPU fans are replaceable and what it entails.
I do know you can just buy an aftermarket cooler, if you want to drop $60 for one.
Newegg.com - ARCTIC Accelero Twin Turbo II VGA Cooler
I've actually got a 9800GTX I could revert back to if need be... From what I've read its gonna cost about the same to fix the card as it is to buy a new cooler so I will consider both options. Thanks!

It's possible. The only thing you have to do is figure out if the fans run 12v or 5v and figure out how to mount them to the heatsink without the plastic border.
Is this information something that would be on the back of the fan? I've already taken it off to look at it and already completely forgotten what all it said on the back sticker so I'd have to look again to be sure.
 
Possibly, depends on the fan. I haven't had one of these cards in my hands in a long time so I couldn't tell you.

I would really consider trying to just RMA it before hacking it up since you have a spare card to use.
 
Alright I did some checking into it and the arctic VGA cooler from newegg is my best option, unfortunately using that cooler turns a 2 bay card into a 3 bay card and lucky me, the SATA connectors are in the way on the mobo so I could never use this option.

Now I could send it to MSI and for $55 (plus shipping) they'll fix it but it's actually just a replacement card that was someone else's problem.

There's a seller on eBay selling JUST the heatsink and fans for $40 shipped which is tempting, but what if I get another dud fan... (because it seems to be a common issue)

So I found This and it looks easy enough. I might not use zip ties and just mount the fans with adhesive for a cleaner install.

Thoughts?
 
Well, yeah i guess hahaha

What I would do though instead of trying to control the fans with the card is that I've decided to just get a front mounted fan controller. I've got two 120mm case fans and then I would have these two new fans along with them. Seems straightforward enough.

I guess if I screw it up I'll be back here...
 
That guide seems simple enough, It may be worth trying with zip ties first though. Suppose that you do not get the results that you want, adhesive would not be fun in that situation, also, the fan may go out and need to be replaced at some point. You could use iron wire for a slightly cleaner, but likely stronger install as opposed to zip ties.
Edit: Also, I'm not sure how plastic zip ties would hold up to repeated heating and cooling. I'm guessing that they will become brittle and break at some point.
 
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