105c idle XFX HD 5970

Shantanu Malhotra

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Apr 14, 2013
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Hey.. I am facing an extreme issue with my 5970. I got a 5970 & 5870 in crossfire. the 5970 has been overclocked to 850/1200 through a BIOS I created two years ago. The ambient Temp of my room maybe 30c-34c in summers. since lat two years the cards idled at 49c (5870) & 55c/59c (5970). while playing in Eyefinity they maxed out at 77c(5870) & 84c/87c. though these temps are high, but considering ambient temps, they are pretty decent. In winters they go down to 34c, 41c/44c & maxed out on an average at 73c.

But this summer, for some reason, my 5970 seems to be having an issue maintaining idle temp. It starts at 89c/91c & while playing, even in one monitor, goes to 101c/105c. I thought it was possible dust issue, so I stripped down my computer, cleaned everything & put it back. that seems to have worsened the issue. now it goes upto 105c/109c & computer black screens. I tried changing the BIOS to other version hoping to get it down, but no luck. the voltage supplied in this card is 1.0625v. It HAS been stable for past two years. what do you guys this is the issue? Any suggestions are welcome.
 
Either the fan is n't working or you have dislodged the card cooler or you have not reassembled it correctly.
Take a side panel off, start the computer and look to see if the fan is turning, if it is, take one end off a cotton bud and GENTLY use it to try and stop the fan turning, it should be a little difficult and the fan should return to its normal speed quickly and smoothly.
If the fan is OK you should remove the card, strip it down to completely remove the heatsink, renew the thermal grease and carefully reassemble.
 

Shantanu Malhotra

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Apr 14, 2013
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Fan is spinning, stays at 100 though.


[/quote]
You have got to be kidding.

If the fan is working, then you most likely need to reseat the heatsink.[/quotemsg]


Thats what I was hoping to avoid. What i fail to understand is, the 5870 was bought before the 5970, & that is still performing the same.
 
Odd things happen with computers, well they happen with mine anyway ;).
If the fan is running at 100% all the time it should be LOUD, but monitoring software reads the electric pulses going to the fan AFAIK not the actual RPM so it's possible the card is demanding 100% from the fan but it's not delivering. We have had posts here where GPUZ is showing the fan is running at 100% when it's barely turning.
Otherwise it's time to get the Phillips screwdriver out and strip that card down.
 

chromic

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Jan 6, 2013
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Thats what I was hoping to avoid. What i fail to understand is, the 5870 was bought before the 5970, & that is still performing the same.[/quotemsg]

i replaced thermal grease on 5850 and it didnt took longer than 5-10 mins and the pc was back on and working.
 

Shantanu Malhotra

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Apr 14, 2013
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Indeed.. now since you mention it, I am hearing fan noise from the computer with only 5870. But it wasnt this loud with 5970 in there. So I will strip down the card then, clean it up, change the thermal paste. For both of them while i am at it. But if it is the fan not spinning as desired, will stripping down the card fix that? It could also be an issue with the card BIOS then, couldnt it?
 

Kari

Splendid


not really, if softwares read it at 100% then it means the card really is trying to push the fan hard. More likely the bearings on the fan have nearly jammed so it is barely turning even with full voltage. Depending on the bearing type it might be possible to oil it up (old fashioned ball bearings), but those fans tend to have sleeve bearings which can't really be oiled and a replacement is needed
 
+1 Kari.
It's unlikely to be a software (or firmware) issue, I've had that same card and at full speed the fan was REALLY obvious.
Try this:
In the CCC (catalyst Control Centre), click on the 'performance' tab then select 'overdrive'. Depending on which driver you have installed either click on the padlock icon to unlock the overdrive option or the 'enable graphics overdrive' box to enable this feature.
For your card select 'enable manual fan control'.
Set it to minimum through the slider, then click on 'accept'.
Listen to the sound, it should be very quiet.
Reset the speed to maximum and 'accept'' It should now sound very loud, if not you've either got the wrong card or the fan is n't working properly.
It might be easier to use just the 5970 on its own rather than troubleshooting with a Crossfire configuration.
 

Kari

Splendid

I would strongly advise against thermal glue, when that stuff sets it's going to be pretty permanent assembly... Use paste/grease instead. Arctic cooling mx-4 or something with a brand name on it, if it is just some grey goo in a plain tube dont buy it ;P

and if you need to replace those pads make sure the new ones are the same thickness
 

Shantanu Malhotra

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Apr 14, 2013
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Problem in India is, 'good stuff' isnt available. Though I am sure i will get cooler master thermal paste. Also, I was thinking about changing the heat sink on both cards while i am at it. but again, i am sure it wont be available here.
 

Shantanu Malhotra

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Apr 14, 2013
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So, I changed the grease. The problem seems to be different. I use the MSI afterburner to control fan speed & its set to spin at 100% when temp goes above 80c. When I am playing a game & close it to check afterburner, I see that the temp is at 96c-98c, but fan speed was between 50%-60%. Its only when the game is closed, does the fan starts to spin at 100%. what could it be? Driver? OS? BIOS?