Used GeForce 9800GT 1GB overheats -- should I buy it?

[Dalton]

I am thinking of buying a used video card and it is a GeForce 9800GT 1gb card and it is actually really cheap. The thing is though the guy said it sometimes overheats and could be the fan. Is it possible it would only be the fan in this case or would it ever be in the circuitry?

 

[fimbles]

Only way to be sure really is to replace the thermal compound, check the fans are spinning ok, and see if the overheating stops.

As a cash deal I would not touch it unless it was under 10 sheckles

 

[Jad Chaar]

How much was it? You may be able to get a modern card for the same price.

 

[Dalton]

Yea I forgot about the thermal, maybe put some new paste. I just bought it and it was only $20 from a computer place so guess that's not to bad lol. He said a guy kept bringing it in to get cleaned and it was overheating. The fan is making awful grinding noises and it seems a bit stiff so maybe it really is from the fan. Temps are ok right now, at about 61c practically steady and the 9800gt card I had before was always around that, maybe a bit cooler. Probably cheap to replace the fan I imagine though?

 

[cliffordcooley]

I don't know the details on your fan but here is a search on eBay. They cost about $10 minimum.

9800GT fan from eBay

 

[Dalton]

That's cheap, thanks for the link and the help guys!

 

[St1ckM4n]

$30 total for an unknown card is risky.

 

[Jad Chaar]

$30 total for an unknown card is risky.

Yeah but considering that it has a 256 bit memory interface is fantastic. Heck it has little cuda cores compared to cards nowadays but a $50 GT610 only has a 64 bit interface and like x (double digit) cuda cores.

 

[St1ckM4n]

Yeah but considering that it has a 256 bit memory interface is fantastic. Heck it has little cuda cores compared to cards nowadays but a $50 GT610 only has a 64 bit interface and like x (double digit) cuda cores.

Yeah, it's still a great card to run older DX9/10 titles on lower monitors. Just saying, once you start spending near $50 on older obsolete stuff, you get dimishing returns!

 

[Jad Chaar]

Yeah, it's still a great card to run older DX9/10 titles on lower monitors. Just saying, once you start spending near $50 on older obsolete stuff, you get dimishing returns!

True that man.

 

[dividebyzero]

I am thinking of buying a used video card and it is a GeForce 9800GT 1gb card and it is actually really cheap. The thing is though the guy said it sometimes overheats and could be the fan

Remember that 8800GT/9800GT's are prone to issues with high-lead solder used in the underfill of the GPU. Nvidia didn't transition to eutectic solder until mid-2008. Early 9800GT's are essentially rebranded 8800GT's on TSMC's 65nm process- later 9800GT use the 55nm process. If the card is single slot, a relatively easy way to tell (if you don't have a GPU-Z screenshot) is that early 8800GT's and some early 9800GT's have a seven bladed blower fan ( later revisions have a nine bladed fan and cooling slots in the shroud). Most 9800GT's shouldn't be affected, but I have seen some OEM boards and some from smaller Chinese companies that seem to be rebranded old stock 8800GT's.

 

[Jad Chaar]

Wow Zero you are good .

 

[St1ckM4n]

Wow Zero you are good .

Of course he is, he wrote the two GPU history articles that were on the TS news.

 

[fimbles]

Bear in mind you can probably pick up and old GTX 260 for around 30 dollars too.

 

[Jad Chaar]

Of course he is, he wrote the two GPU history articles that were on the TS news.

That wouldn't surprise me if I didnt know haha.

 

[Dalton]

Well I plan on getting a really good card when I can which might be a while so this will have to do for now. Would really like to get a gtx560 or gtx660, something like that. Dreams, all dreams lol.

 

[Jad Chaar]

What games do you play?

 

[Dalton]

Lots of different ones, like Dead Space 1-3 , Far Cry 1 & 3, RE5 & RE6, Max Payne 3, F.E.A.R 1-3., COD Ops 1 & 2 , BF3, Alan Wake, Crysis 1 & 2, just a short list lol. I played all those except Ops 1 & 2, RE6 and Crysis 2 with a 9800gt 512mb card I had before so I guess I am one step up with the 1gb card now, a small step lol. All I really need now is a good video card and of course a good PSU. I wanna play the modern games without lag at at least high settings so I imagine a gtx560 or a gtx 660 should do well, if not then I guess I need a Titan and I guess I will get that when I win the lottery lol.

 

[LinkedKube]

Hell ill sell you an aftermarket cooler( thermalright hr something), I'll have to go look for the specs. I have a few laying around that I know fit the old 7xxx though 9xxx cards. Had two of them on 7950's.

The thing is super beefy, and fanless. Gonna go find a pic

I'll check back,


Actually u can have the thing if you want to pay for the shipping. I recently moved so I need to find it.

 

[Jad Chaar]

Fanless coolers are pretty useless if your case doesnt have good air circulation.

 

[Dalton]

Well everything seems to be ok so far but I will keep that in mind, Thanks!