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General Tip: MacPro Video Card Cleaning
Here’s something to keep in mind:
I finally found a solution to a problem I’d been having with my video card fan running non-stop. Turns out the standard air-can cleaning I do in my Mac isn’t good enough. You need to really take the card out and clean off the heat sync. Take a look at this photo:
https://macsaregreat.com/?p=63
That’s exactly what I had! That dust-wall there is where air is supposed to be coming out. Scary stuff.
When it’s way back inside the computer that much dust doesn’t really look like dust, but just another surface!
This is about the ATI X1900, but other cards may have similar issues. I suggest pulling yours out if you’ve never done so in the computer’s life.
Anyway, I just wanted to point it out because it took me awhile to find this info online. It doesn’t seem to be very common knowledge, so remember it and you’ll be a little less common.
Hope it helps someone!
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13 Replies
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The X1900 XT is notorious for this, simply search the Mac Pro forum on the Apple Discussions pages on Apple’s website. You’ll find plenty of complaints about this card and how it eventually cooks itself over time. Pretty poor thermal management design by ATI.
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Jeeze,
I have an X 800 XT, wonder if it does the same?
Have a wonderful day.
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I clean and reseat cards every 6 months. It’s a good habit to get into.
Kevin Monahan
http://www.fcpworld.com
Author – Motion Graphics and Effects in Final Cut Pro -
Thank for this Jeff. Good information.
Tom Meegan
Woven Pixels -
John,
I had this same exact problem. We use Cat-5 video extenders to connect the computer monitors (edit bays) to the Macs (machine room). I was getting video glitches that I assumed were the fault of the extenders. Countless hours were spent troubleshooting, and I even purchased expensive shielded Cat-6 hoping to solve the problem.
Turns out it was that layer of dust. I’ll never buy an ATI product again. The Nvidia 8800GT is cheaper and more powerful.
Sean
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[Sean ONeil] “Turns out it was that layer of dust. I’ll never buy an ATI product again. The Nvidia 8800GT is cheaper and more powerful.”
Except when it comes to Color. We run only ATI cards here in the shop because we use Color so much and even today, it runs better on an ATI card, especially the 1900 series.
Walter Biscardi, Jr.
Biscardi Creative Media
HD and SD Production for Broadcast and Independent Productions.STOP STARING AND START GRADING WITH APPLE COLOR Apple Color Training DVD available now!
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[walter biscardi] “Except when it comes to Color. We run only ATI cards here in the shop because we use Color so much and even today, it runs better on an ATI card, especially the 1900 series.”
If that’s true, then it’s a bug in Color.
https://barefeats.com/harper8.html
Sean
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[Sean ONeil] “If that’s true, then it’s a bug in Color. “
It’s not a bug, and it’s not Color’s fault. It’s Apple’s driver optimization. Apple writes its own drivers for both ATI and nVidia cards. For whatever reason, apps that leverage Core Image run faster on ATI hardware.
https://barefeats.com/harper16.html
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Wow, that’s disappointing.
Sean
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Hey thanks so much for this post. I think this will also be the answer to my problems. Fan noise has been driving me and everyone in my studio insane for the last few months. I’ve just had a look at the rear of my card and it is similarly clogged!!
I’m a little worried about removing the card to clean it since i’ve never performed the procedure. Does the power cable simply unclip at the top and pull straight out? I didn’t want to force it just in-case :/
cheers! Alex.
ribbit’
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