Certainly sounds as if the fan is on the way out, which will pretty much kill the card. I wonder if the fan can be replaced. Tough break.

Like I always say, google is my friend, I did a search and found a do-it-yourself guide

http://www.heatsink-guide.com/gfxself.htm

That should help alot, if not, too bad, I'm going to bed.

The card is probably fine and they do make replacement sinks and fans...just make sure your card has the pin holddowns.....
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproductdesc.asp?description=35-116-009&DEPA=0

There are others around, just look at different stores.. You really don''''t need one this big....as a matter of fact, you could probably get away with just a good heat sink on a G4...









[Message Edited]

But now I am running out of excuses on why I need to get a better one.

Repairing the old card is much too perilous! (How's that?)

I like that line of thinking Koasati.

White_Moth...I will take a look at that on mine, I thought about pulling the fan off of it, just wasn't sure whether I should.

Having recently gone through a nightmare experience with installing an ATI Radeon 9600SE, my advice would be to do as much research as you can and to know your system hardware well before you buy. You need to know the following at minimum:

The manufacturer and model of your motherboard.
Does the motherboard have an onboard graphics controller?
If it has an onboard graphics controller, what type, make, and manufacturer?
What chipset is being used? (Intel/Non-Intel, manufacturer, model)
Do you have an available AGP slot?
What is the date and version of your AGP drivers?

You may have to do some digging to find those answers, including visiting the websites of the various manufacturers. After you find all the information, then do some research at the websites for the graphics cards you are considering buying and look through their support and FAQ areas to see if there are any known issues regarding compatibility with your hardware. If there are known issues, do they have a fix posted?

As I said, I had a nightmare experience with my card and ended up spending a lot of time and some money I need not have spent if I had done more research up front. Having a bunch of people tell you how great a card is, even if they are experts or tech reviews from a well known site won't do you a lot of good if the card won't work with your hardware. I found out the hard way. Hopefully someone can benefit from my mistake. Good luck.

oh sure rub it in why don't ya..

Thanks for the tips Shameless Designs, I had planned on doing a little research before I buy one. I have already got most of what you listed, but there was a couple I didn't think of. Was just kinda wondering what everyones opinion might be on which were consider better. With so many out there, ATI, Nvidia and such it sometimes helps to get some views from others. Of course I wouldn't buy one on that alone, but any info is good.

Crissy - if you don't know what MoBo you have, just tell me what processor you have...

That's a VIA board...here...rock out and save some money: http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=14-122-192&depa=0

Thanks yrag, I am just getting ready to leave but I will take a look at that link later tonight.

Thanks again and again. You have always helped when needed.

I have to say I like that one yrag and the price isn't bad either. That's always a good thing.

No more noise, all better...Ok, now it's to quiet.
I ended up going with a PNY GeForce FX 5900 SE 128MB AGP Video Card. Thanks for your suggestions, helped point me in a direction.