[rescue] OT: Linux and USB on Intel

[Jeffrey Nonken]

On Mon, 21 Apr 2003 11:58:43 +0200, Frank Van Damme
<frank.vandamme at student.kuleuven.ac.be> wrote:

> Djeezus, what do you do to them? Except for nicotining. I have frankly never
> heard of anyone ruining his/her video card, except when using physical
> violence.

I can't answer for him, but I did once fry a video card due to heat
problems.

It's a Voodoo3 3000 AGP. Processor has a heat sink. I was not overclocking
the card. Case had proper ventilation. I didn't crowd it with cables or
anything. I was quite upset when the card died, but didn't know what
happened until I replaced it and happened to touch the heat sink on the new
one.

After looking over the situation I came to these conclusions:

1) The heatsink really wasn't really adequate. It would work in ideal
conditions -- and even then would still be running pretty hot.

2) The thing was designed so it would fit ideally in a desktop; the fins of
the heatsink would be vertical, and the heat would convect properly.
However, put it into a tower (which I did) and the heat would tend to pool
UNDER the heatsink, which was now oriented horizontally UNDER THE CARD.

So I wasn't actually abusing the card, it was merely designed badly.

First, I left the case off and hung a fan next to the thing to keep it from
burning out before I found a superior solution. (Though it did take several
months for the other to burn out.)

Second, I went to Radio Shack and picked up a 12v blower. I mounted wooden
clothespins to it so I could just clip it onto the edge of the board. Its
power connector was a 2-pin version of the 3-pin mobo/CPU-type fan
connection, so I was able to plug it in to a aux fan connection with only a
minor modification.

Third, I found a place that sold a fan/heatsink combo that was a direct
replacement for the Voodoo heatsink. It worked, but not as well as I'd have
liked.


In the long run, I've kept both the blower and the replacement
fan/heatsink. If I had to do it again, I'd skip the latter, but since I
have it, I might as well use it. :) Between them I'm able to keep the card
cool enough that I'm actually safer running the card overclocked to its
maximum working setting than I would be running it normally without the
extra cooling. (Come to think of it, that has been demonstrated
empirically.) The card has been with me for about three years now. I've
been happily playing Quake on it the whole time.

Once in a while I open the case and blow all the dust out.

---
To function efficiently, any group of people or employees must have faith in
their leader. -Capt. Bligh (ret.)