n3wblog tech commentary and observations from the early 21st century

Mac Pro Video Card Noise

In Computing on 12 February 2009 tagged Apple, ati, computers, dust, mac, noise, Video with 1 comment

I’ve noticed that my Mac Pro has gotten progressively noisier over the past year or so. I thought it was due to firmware updates bundled along with OS X 10.5 version bumps. I’ve been through a similar experience with my PowerMac Dual G5 which had wildly-different fan characteristics with odd versions of Tiger.

Finally, I broke down and decided to do some research. First hit revealed, this entry on Macs Are Great. Sounded plausible and matched what I was hearing so I opened up my machine and removed the video card.

Gross. Also, checkout the rad decal on my card. Totally makes it faster.

Update: How did I clean this? I used a Q-tip and a bit of isopropyl alcohol. I meant to take an after-photo, but forgot. You’ll have to take my word that it cleaned right up. My machine’s invisibly quiet now, except for the hard-drives.

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