Hello,

I have no old computer (5 years) and I needed a USB 2.0 card in order to uplink to my wife's Ipod. I had only one slot left, just below my overly large Geforce FX graphics card. Everything was fine for a few days, except now I hear a buzzing sound coming from the video card that I beleive to be the fans.

Before I go out and buy a new fan (the video card is too expensive to replace), is there a chance this problem is caused by not enough space between the two cards(ie having trouble cooling)? Or is there a method to vid card fans so they clean better?

Let me know if there's anything else I should try first. Thanks. Try the steps detailed here to clan out your PC and fans.
If that doesn't help, try taking the USB card out - is the noise still there?Is that video card in an AGP slot or PCI slot? How many PCI slots do you have? Could you rearrange cards in a way that might allow better airflow around the video card? Could you replace that video card with a fan-less one, maybe a used one from EBAY?

Does your USB card extend out so far that it COVERS most the the video card, including the fan? I have a USB card in a PCI slot. It only has two USB ports on back, so it's not very wide.SO, I take the USB card out, and the sound goes away.


I have an old dell, with one AGP and 4 PCI ports.

IN the AGP I have a GeForce FX 5950 Ultra (which is just massive, and 'hangs' low)

In the 4 PCI ports I have:
1) wireless connection to my router
2) sound card
3) ethernet card (2 + 3 connected by powercord)
4) My USB card

The USB card is about the smallest card there, so mixing and matching isn't going to change much. I'm also starting to wonder if the Geforce card is 'leaning' on the highest card when it's in, which creates the problem.

Any thoughts?Never mind, check that.

Ran the computer for an hour without the USB card and the noise has started up again. IT's only one of two fans on the video card, but I guess I should just go buy a new fan tonight.

Well, let us know how it goes when you replace the fan.

By the way, what's "ethernet card (2 + 3 connected by powercord)" mean? Why do you need both this and the wireless card?

Did you clean out your PC yet as suggested?1) yes I did clean out the card. Very dusty. Was a little quiet intially, but as the machine heats up it continues to get louder and louder (even without another card nearby). If you stop that one fan, noise stops.

2) Yes, for some reason there is a cord connecting the sound card and ethernet card. It seemed weird to me, but I'm a novice at this stuff. I guess I should get rid of that card....

I've purchased a Zalman VF700 copper fan, it seemed to have reliable reviews on ordering websites. It should be in town monday. Yeh, I think I'd remove the ethernet card; I see no need for it, since you're not using it for your Internet connection. Removing it may allow a little better air circulation. Carefully remove the cord connecting it to your sound card and remember how it's connected, in case you need to reinstall it. If your computer mis-behaves without it, you can put it back in. Update: I removed the ethernet card without any problems.

I got the fan in, but have realized that NONE of my screwdrivers quite fit the screws in the GPU. Rather than force anything, I think I'm going to wait until I make a small move next week, where I have an uncle who work in computer tech and loves to put things together in his free time.

I'm currently keeping an active watch of the temperature of my GPU. With a few basic programs open it's running at 46C. As long as I keep use to basic programs, and I'm around to make sure the temperature stays low, is it dangerous to keep using a noisy fan for the enxt week? (ie will the fan die or cause damage to another part of the vidcard)?

If nobody responds tonight, I'll start a new post.As long as you can MONITOR it fairly close, and it seems you can, you should be OK until you meet with your uncle.What model is this Dell and is it the original power supply?