bikerdude on 12/4/2013 at 13:44
Quote Posted by voodoo47
best thing would be to find a hardware junkie in the neighborhood, he would fix the card up in 3 minutes.
+1, or failing that there are plenty of guides on how to do it on youtube and the like. With respect to Voodoo, its not always that hard to replace cooler.
Here are a bunch of images of HD6850 card with score of 1-10 on how easy it is to replace the cooler, 1 being the hardest and 10 the easiest.
This would be a 10, its just a few screws and some heatsink paste.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]1650[/ATTACH]
This would be a 7, its just a few more screws and some heatsink paste.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]1648[/ATTACH]
This would be a 5, more screws and heatsink paste but the plastic cowling maybe clipped together.
[ATTACH=CONFIG]1649[/ATTACH]
voodoo47 on 12/4/2013 at 13:47
replaced a lot of heatsinks, sometimes it goes silky smooth, sometimes it doesn't - the only way of finding out is to actually try. cards with the bigger heatsinks are usually better - the small cheap ones are bad, the thermal stuff is often completely toast, forcing you to pop the heatsink off with a screwdriver or some similar tool, which increases the risk of damage exponentially.
a HD7850 is a pretty nice card, sitting in the very same niche the HD6850 used to occupy (fast, yet affordable card with decent power consumption levels). even the cost is identical - (
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161406) the cheapest 2GB model on newegg is $180. just make sure to go for the 2GB model, it's only slightly more expensive (than the 1GB one), and the extra memory is well worth it.
as for the pci-e lock, it's just a small bit of plastic that locks the L shaped thingy on the card's pci-e connector so the card won't slide out of the slot - and when removing the card, it needs to be pushed down to release the card. nothing difficult, but there were cases when (a not very smart) user forgot about it, and (after applying an unhealthy amount of brute force) ripped off the entire pci-e slot. if you google for pictures of your motherboard, you should be able to see a small tail like thing at the end of the pci-e slot, that's the lock right there.
Dia on 12/4/2013 at 14:23
Wow. The Radeon 7850 sounds fantastic. I checked on CPU Solutions' site and they're asking $219 (with $10 off) for the same card. I'm thinking that I may just order this one from newegg and be done with it. I'm really stupid about these things, but the differences in specs for the 7850 & 7750 are obvious and my only question would be whether or not my PC can handle the 7850. Apologies for my ignorance.
voodoo47 on 12/4/2013 at 14:37
the pc will handle it without problem.
Dia on 12/4/2013 at 14:58
Thanks for all the help, guys. I've decided to go with the Radeon HD7870 and it'll be here tomorrow. Thanks again.
bikerdude on 12/4/2013 at 17:00
Quote Posted by Dia
Thanks for all the help, guys. I've decided to go with the Radeon HD7870 and it'll be here tomorrow. Thanks again.
well dont bin the 6850, get the cooler/fan replaced and it will be a good backup card.
voodoo47 on 12/4/2013 at 18:40
or just sell it as working with broken fan - pretty sure someone will buy it happily and fix it when the price is right.
Dia on 12/4/2013 at 18:48
Quote Posted by bikerdude
well dont bin the 6850, get the cooler/fan replaced and it will be a good backup card.
I'd planned on gaining some experience by buying another fan & installing it (or trying to) myself. I agree, it wouldn't hurt to have a backup card.
I just wished some of you guys lived closer so you could stop by & help me or at least give me some pointers. Hell, I'd even contribute a six pack and pizza. ;)
Aja on 12/4/2013 at 18:59
Quote Posted by Dia
Thanks for all the help, guys. I've decided to go with the Radeon HD7870 and it'll be here tomorrow. Thanks again.
7870 is what I have. You won't regret it :)
Dia on 12/4/2013 at 19:03
I was originally going to go with the 7750, but they were out of stock, and after talking to the tech guy & having him read the 7870 specs to me I realized it was a deal I just couldn't pass up. I'm starting to feel like a kid on Christmas Eve; can hardly wait for the new card to be delivered tomorrow.
Besides, the grinding/squealing noises have become nearly constant and are giving me a headache & I can't wait to do away with that.
