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WOWzers - MSI GeForce GTX 980 fan stopped spinning all of a sudden!

3K views 21 replies 6 participants last post by  901-Memphis 
#1 ·
I used the same exact OC since I got my GTX 980, which was about the time they just came out. My temps never went above 67C no matter what and both fans were always spinning. I also updated to the latest BIOS for my exact card (MSI had 4 BIOS versions, depending on the serial number and I made sure to flash the right BIOS).

Today I suddenly got crazy artifacts in Witcher 3, so I check at my temps and OMZFGNMGHG - 80C!!! Then I look at the card and the main fan isn't spinning! So far I cannot get t to spin. What do I do? RMA? Add some oil? I use MSI Afterburner and I tried both - automatic AND manual fan speed adjustments, but neither made the fan spin!!!
 
#2 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by MonarchX View Post

I used the same exact OC since I got my GTX 980, which was about the time they just came out. My temps never went above 67C no matter what and both fans were always spinning. I also updated to the latest BIOS for my exact card (MSI had 4 BIOS versions, depending on the serial number and I made sure to flash the right BIOS).

Today I suddenly got crazy artifacts in Witcher 3, so I check at my temps and OMZFGNMGHG - 80C!!! Then I look at the card and the main fan isn't spinning! So far I cannot get t to spin. What do I do? RMA? Add some oil? I use MSI Afterburner and I tried both - automatic AND manual fan speed adjustments, but neither made the fan spin!!!
Sounds like a faulty card. You can try oiling it but it's usually a temporary fix. Have you tried the card in a different slot? Might be a power delivery issue. Also are all your PCI cables attached properly?
 
#4 ·
Thanks for replies!

The card is not faulty. It was working 100% fine for almost a year now and nothing changed since the day I put it in. What changed is the fan bearing, I think. I took the card out and noticed that the fan that would not spin was more resistant to spinning when I tried to make it spin with my hands. The other fan, the one that worked fine, was very easy to spin with my hands. I have an air compressor and my PC + components are always clean, without dust. Still, I dusted the card anyway and now both fans spin, but it is obvious I need a new cooling solution soon!

My cooler is the TwinFrozr or whatever.
 
#7 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by JTHMfreak View Post

What about an rma?
I will ask them for new fans, lol. I don't want to wait 2 weeks without a videocard for a brand new card. All I need are 2 new fans for this specific cooler. They are already sold on eBay for $20. The BEST solution would be for me to put some machine oil on the bearing, but I don't know how to get to that exact place...
 
#8 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by MonarchX View Post

I will ask them for new fans, lol. I don't want to wait 2 weeks without a videocard for a brand new card. All I need are 2 new fans for this specific cooler. They are already sold on eBay for $20. The BEST solution would be for me to put some machine oil on the bearing, but I don't know how to get to that exact place...
I understand the not wanting to wait for a new card, but it would suck for something else to go wrong and then reattach all the original stuff, and find out you voided your warranty, in the event you do need an rma at some point.
I don't know how lenient MSI is with swapping parts, I know EVGA is fine as long as when you send the card in if it had everything add original they could care less.
Hope you get it sorted out though, being without a fully working pc is no bueno
 
#9 ·
I think I can detach the fans without voiding any warranty at all. I also want this specific card because of its good overclock... I tried several other MSI GTX 980 cards and never got anywhere as close as I got this one - 1550/8000Mhz, which is not amazing, but really good none-the-less.
 
#10 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by MonarchX View Post

I think I can detach the fans without voiding any warranty at all. I also want this specific card because of its good overclock... I tried several other MSI GTX 980 cards and never got anywhere as close as I got this one - 1550/8000Mhz, which is not amazing, but really good none-the-less.
most likely you can take them off without dismantling the card.

i replaced a set on a 290x just by pulling the shroud off and they worked perfect.
 
#12 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by 901-Memphis View Post

I would certainly reduce the overclocking until you get it sorted out.

Also I'm surprised that it artifacts at only 80C which is within its thermal limits.

Doesn't MSI offer any form of cross shipping or advanced rma like EVGA does?
There is no thermal limit for artifacts due to OC. A card with very high and unstable OC can artifacts at 30C. This does it at 80C, which was a temp I never reached before.

Anyway, thanks for all the help - I can sort it out on my own now.
 
#13 ·
Buuut nobody answered this - could machine oil on the bearing help? Do I just drop it in the only opening on the fan, from which the fan spins? Would oil make it to the bearing?

Since the fans blow from underneath - could oil leak out, get sprinkled all over hardware, and kill any components? I would add only a BIT of oil...
 
#14 ·
Could someone direct me to a forum where people know much about PC hardware, repair, and troubleshooting then?

My videocard's BIOS shows 2300rpm as the very max RPM for my fans. Is 2300rpm each fan or both fans? MSI AB / GPU-Z detected 1360rpm as the highest when the temperature was 70 when I set fan speed to 100%. Now it should be at 2300rpm @ 100% then, right? However, one of the fans only starts spinning when temperature goes over 50C or something.

All in all, I do not know whether the fan is not reaching 2300fps due to the way the cooling system works or due to the fan being a bit messed up..? It cannot be due to it being messed up because in that case the fan rpm would be stuck at 1360 or whichever highest rpm it can do @ 100% fan speed? It is always set to 100% fan speed and yet it goes up to 1360 ONLY if the temperature goes up and then goes back down to 1000rpm when the temperature drops. All that @ 100% fan speed...
 
#15 ·
You've received all sorts of advice.

Oiling the fans yourself could potentially damage other components, or the card itself. If you oil up the fans and the problem gets worse, and you kill your card, that may void your warranty. Why not contact MSI and see what they say? If you don't care about the warranty at all, then by all means, disassemble the fan and oil it up. I'd suggest using the oil extremely sparingly, so the fan doesn't just hose down your other components.
 
#16 ·
Actually, there are NO Twin Frozr V fans anywhere for sale. I already contacted MSI and they will neither sell me Twin Frozr V fans, nor will they let me RMA the card. I explained to I know how these cards shut down one of the fans if the temperature is low enough and how my problem is NOT the same thing... I heard MSI support was awful and it is.

It is hard to believe that on this site, where people de-lid their CPU's, do all kinds of voltage mods, custom cooling and custom case building, nobody even knows about the right way of putting oil on the fan bearing and whether there were any cases where doing so destroyed the videocard or any other components. Does machine oil conduct electricity well? If a tiny drop would fall in a motherboard - is it very likely to short anything out? Any answers based on experience or evidence?

Also, I do not think there is a way to fully dis-assemble these fans. I think you can only remove it from the outer cooler casing/bezel and that is it. There is only one opening on the small cylinder on which the fan sits, but I don't know whether dropping oil there is where I should drop it. I don't know whether the oil will reach the actual bearing.
 
#17 ·
Ok, well it didn't hurt to try, did it? You've been kinda spewing some venom here, so I'm not real surprised that the responses have fallen off. To be honest, if you spew any more in my direction, I'll be gone too.
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Getting back to the issue at hand: since no one is providing you with instructions on what the process is, it looks like you get to blaze your own trail.
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So the way to know for sure how the fans come apart would be to remove the shroud and inspect the fans yourself. Everything that was assembled can come apart again, you just need to see how - keep this in mind. Since you're the one with the fans in your possession and not me, you'll need to post pics if you'd like some help figuring it out.

I'll help out in any way that I can, just chill a bit with the 'tude, ok?
biggrin.gif
 
#21 ·
Holy hell, I don't know whether this card actually could do all 2300rpm when I just purchased it because now I can clock it even higher than I used to and get better temps!

EDIT: Actually no... Why is it that I get almost identical max temps @ 1360rpm and @ 2300rpm when taxing the card at high OC in Witcher 3? At 1360rpm, I get a temp of 70 or so, but @ 2300rpm, I get a temp of 68-69C. Not much difference there...
 
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