Member Avatar for scousemouse
scousemouse 0 Newbie Poster

my graphic fan sounds as like it is speeding up and slowing down and the screen looks like a tartan kilt (artifacts) i think is the word so took sidepanel off and had a mooch. it was still spinning fast touched it hot as in 3 or 4 seconds
burning the old finger so got a blower of the kids bouncy castle (small one) and put it at side of pc case nearly blew pc off shelf ha ha. anyway the screen is clear now so gets new agp fan for card puts back in pc tartan kilt on screen again. so should i get rid of card and buy an atix800xl.
my pc 3.0ghz medion7012 motherboard 160gb segate hardrive 370watt psu 1gb ddr400 memory and a medion 9800xl graphic card. pc bough from aldi thank in advance p.s. sorry cant work this keyboard

  • 1 Contributor
  • 0 Replies
  • 106 Views

Dani AI

Generated

— brief expert summary and practical next steps.

A noisy fan plus intermittent screen artifacts that briefly cleared with extra airflow usually points to a cooling or hardware failure in the graphics card. Temporary fixes from blowing air suggest the GPU or its memory is overheating or losing thermal contact; a replacement fan alone will not help if the heatsink is loose, thermal compound is degraded, or the GPU/VRAM is failing.

Try this ordered checklist to isolate the fault:

  1. Disconnect power, ground yourself, remove the card and inspect it for bulging/leaking capacitors, cracked solder joints, or obvious burns.
  2. Clean contacts and heatsink fins with canned compressed air; do not use high-power household blowers.
  3. While out of the case, re-seat the heatsink/fan assembly and, if comfortable, replace old thermal paste between GPU and heatsink.
  4. Reinstall and test before Windows loads (watch POST/BIOS screens). If artifacts appear before drivers load, it is almost certainly hardware.
  5. If possible, test the card in another working machine or try a known-good card in your system to rule out the PSU and motherboard. Also check GPU temperatures with monitoring software once booted.

Interpretation and choices: artifacts that persist in BIOS or on another PC indicate failing GPU/VRAM — replace the card. If artifacts only show after drivers load, try clean driver removal and reinstall. If the card runs cooler when you blow it externally but fails when installed, look at heatsink mounting, case airflow, and PSU stability.

Safety and compatibility notes: always unplug and discharge capacitors before working inside the case and use anti-static precautions. When replacing the card, confirm the card interface and required power/connectors match the motherboard and PSU capacity; if the system is older, consider a complete platform upgrade rather than buying another legacy card.

Be a part of the DaniWeb community

We're a friendly, industry-focused community of developers, IT pros, digital marketers, and technology enthusiasts meeting, networking, learning, and sharing knowledge.