Sapphire 5850 uncontrollable 100% fan all the time

[Lalalaprout]

Hi everybody
I have a Sapphire HD 5850 Xtreme 1gb and the gpu fan is constantly running at ~4100 rpm which is very loud and annoying. Every single "monitoring" tool including catalyst control center tells me it's running at 21% and when I am offering an option to manually control the fan speed it has no effect, the fan still runs at ~4100 rpm and makes a lot of noise.
I'm starting to think that my gpu is malfuntionning and I should return it...
Any clue on the matter ?
Here is the rest of the computer :
MB: MSI H67-35(B3)
CPU: Intel SandyBridge i3 2100
RAM: 8 gb DDR3 Gskill
HDD: WD 1 To Sata II
PSU: Enermax 450W 80+
Thanks a lot

[OnePostWonder]

Have you ever set up a custom profile or anything in RivaTuner or something of that sort?

[Lalalaprout]

RivaTurner is indeed one of the softwares I have tried in order control my gpu's fan, but the problem existed before I installed it. And I'm quite sure I didn't mess with custom profiles or anything, in any of the softwares I tried, I just played a little with the fan control features when available, and uninstalled them when it was obviously not working.

[Widjaja]

Does your card get stuck on full speed while in BIOS settings?

If so I believe your card is malfunctioning.

[spixel]

Try the Sapphire Trixx utility.

[Lalalaprout]

Widjaja : it does
spixel : Trixx didn't work, shows "21%" in the automatic fan control mode, and when I try to speed or slow the fan in either of the two other modes it does nothing. I get 4100 RPM whatever the % of fan speed indicated by such tools.

I have submitted a support ticket to Sapphire, I'm going to wait for their response a few days before returning the card. But do not hesitate to propose any solution that comes to your mind, thank you for your responses so far.

[spixel]

How long have you had the card and was it always like this? If you've had it a while when did it start happening?

Is it a reference cooler or custom sapphire one.

Make sure the fans 3 pin connector is connected properly to the card, or try connecting it to one of the motherboards.

[Lalalaprout]

I bought all components back in May 2011 and put them together myself. Since the first boot of my pc the GPU fan did this but back then I wasn't worried, it was the first time I had a desktop rig with some big guns in it and I expected some more noise than with my laptop so I wasn't concerned at first. I went to see a friend this week and saw his own computer, which was so silent compared to mine, though he had a comparable rig... So I checked and indeed the noise wasn't normal.

I believe it is the reference cooler. It's not a vapor-x thing.
When you talk about the 3-pin connector of the "fans", do you mean a connector from the PSU ? or something inside the GPU ?

[spixel]

Originally Posted by Lalalaprout

I bought all components back in May 2011 and put them together myself. Since the first boot of my pc the GPU fan did this but back then I wasn't worried, it was the first time I had a desktop rig with some big guns in it and I expected some more noise than with my laptop so I wasn't concerned at first. I went to see a friend this week and saw his own computer, which was so silent compared to mine, though he had a comparable rig... So I checked and indeed the noise wasn't normal.

I believe it is the reference cooler. It's not a vapor-x thing.
When you talk about the 3-pin connector of the "fans", do you mean a connector from the PSU ? or something inside the GPU ?

On all graphics cards the fan is connected onto the actual card. Its the same as the one from your cpu cooler that you plug into motherboard. Nothing to do with the power supply. If its the reference cooler it might be more difficult to get at it though

Heres just a random picture of a card

http://benchmarkreviews.com/images/r..._PWR_34_01.jpg

The connector im talking about is on the bottom left of it right beside where it says 'benchmark reviews'. That leads to the fan. One of the wires in it controls fan speed ( I think ) so if its not pushed in properly this might be the reason.

Does gpu-z report 4000rpm? If you put the card underload with furmark does the fan speed increase? Maybe your cpu cooler is making the noise or other fans in your case?

[Lalalaprout]

I've tried to remove the graphic card to be sure it's what is so loud and it indeed is the graphic card. Without it the second most loud sound is the hard drive disk ^^
gpu-z and other tools does report ~4100 rpm at all time
I've already tried to stress my card, in games (up to 80% load with modded skyrim) the fan does not speed up, and the card remains at 40°C even under prolonged full load which indicates some powerful fan cooling i think, coherent with a "full speed fan" scenario.

I'm going to open my case and have a look at these pins

[Frogger]

this pic http://www.overclockersclub.com/revi.../images/19.htm show the 4 pin on your card the Blue wire is fan control check to see if it is loose inside the white plug

[spixel]

Originally Posted by Frogger

this pic http://www.overclockersclub.com/revi.../images/19.htm show the 4 pin on your card the Blue wire is fan control check to see if it is loose inside the white plug

he said he has a reference card so its going to be like this

http://www.ixbt.com/video3/images/cy...5850-front.jpg

he will probably have to take off the cooler casing to get at the fan.

[Frogger]

^^Sapphire HD 5850 Xtreme 1gb

[spixel]

Originally Posted by Frogger

^^Sapphire HD 5850 Xtreme 1gb

I'm blind

[Lalalaprout]

So i just opened my case and looked at this connector.
Nothing looked loose to me :s



sorry for the blurry pics

[Frogger]

you could remove the cooler & test the wire @ the fan header ,from pin plug to header, to see if the wire is bad ....but not likely best option http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...82E16835118061 I use it on the card in my internet rig can't even hear it

[MT Alex]

I'd RMA it. You may end up getting a 6950 back, you never know.

[Lalalaprout]

Originally Posted by Frogger

you could remove the cooler & test the wire @ the fan header ,from pin plug to header, to see if the wire is bad

Sounds too complicated for me ^^
I think i'm just going to return the card. Anyway thanks guys for the help !

[Frogger]

FYI
Note that, Sapphire is not a Canadian company and their head office is in Asia (Hong Kong). Sapphire warranty covers free parts/labor only. Therefore, for any RMA claims against Sapphire, we have to send the card back and forth to Asia, and back to you afterwards, so there will be costs involved (Administration and Freight). Cost of each card is ranging from CAD$25-CAD$45 depending on your location/province (this does not include the transportation cost from you sending the defective card to us).

last time i did one

[jsfitz54]

As a last resort, you could try unplugging the 4pin wire and try reseating it.

This may prove to be a waste of time. I make the suggestion because I have had 2pin jumpers crack inside and not make proper contact.

When you pull it, DO NOT pull the wire portion but rather use your fingernails on either side of the white connector...(fin like in appearance)

It could also be the wire is broken inside its jacket or broken off at the solder end at the fan circuit board. It would require you taking apart the fan and doing a visual inspection and continuity test of the blue wire.

[Lalalaprout]

Ok, I'm trying to send it back to the retailer not Sapphire, we'll see what happens. I live in France, I hope it won't cost me 25/45 € to return the card...

[robal]

By the looks of the connector, this card should support fan control.
If you tried flashing a stock BIOS to it, and the issue is still there, I say: RMA it.


I used to have a Gigabyte's custom-PCB HD4870, which had Zalman cooling with 2pin connector, running always at 100%. OMG.

[Lalalaprout]

Originally Posted by robal

If you tried flashing a stock BIOS to it

I don't know what it means, i'll assume I havn't ^^

[Bo$$]

return it, you'll get a nice replacement.... Will save you the hassle

[m1dg3t]

Had a similar issue once on an older card, pulled the card out and yanked the cooler off. I cleaned and reapplied t-paste popped it back in and all was good! If that doesn't work maybe try a BIOS flash, just a straight flash no fancy stuff to keep it simple?

If the card display's fine and doesn't overheat it's prolly just something minor?

Good luck