GPU overheats, causing game lag

London Smith · Aug 31, 2013

Very suddenly, within the last month, my games have started lagging pretty badly, which is a problem I've never had before. Wanting to figure out what the problem was, I got into AMD Catalyst control (I have an AMD Radeon hd 6700 series) to see if it could tell me anything. While my GPU's idle temp run from high 30s to low 50s, when I begin playing a game that is even remotely graphics intensive (Anywhere from Skyrim to MLB 2k11 to Medal of Honor) it starts lagging after not much time, and the temp skyrockets from idle temp to around 100C, which, as I understand, is really freaking bad.

So I cleaned out my case pretty well, made sure the fans weren't blocked up and such, and tried again with no change in results. I have yet to use compressed air on it, which I will do fairly soon, but I have strong suspicions that my problem is a bit bigger than dust.

In Catalyst I then raised fan speed to 100% (4700 RPM), and again, yielded no positive results. I tried using it with the case open to help airflow, but a friend told me that actually makes things worse, so I put it back on. Through all of this, it has been mid-high 90's outside, so I don't know if that plays any part in all of this. (I've been through hot days in years past without having this issue).

I have updated all drivers, still no success.

Thanks for your help!

Deemo13 · Aug 31, 2013

Can you feel the heatsink getting hot? (Like very hot) If it is just warm, then it may be that you should reapply the thermal paste to the graphics card.

You should also try MSI Afterburner to create a fan profile. With that, you can set the fan to increase with temperature of the card.

London Smith · Aug 31, 2013

Deemo13 :

I have felt in there before and it seems to be pretty hot, but I couldn't say "Well, this feels like x degrees Celsius" with any kind of certainty. What I do know is that when Catalyst says the temperature goes up, I get lag. I'm going to get some thermal paste in a day or so to see if that helps.
Also, I already have the fan running at 4700 RPM according to Speedfan, which I believe is capacity. I have it set to 100% in Catalyst, too. Would using Afterburner even help after doing both of those things?

Deemo13 · Aug 31, 2013

Well, if its 100C, the heatsink should be very very very hot to the touch.

I just recommend Afterburner because it is a more reliable program, and it can have the fan speed move up with the temperature of the card, so you dont have to do it manually.

London Smith · Aug 31, 2013

It was hot enough that I didn't enjoy touching it, haha. I didn't get burned but would have had I left my hand there. And I'll get it and see what it can do for me. Will update.

London Smith · Aug 31, 2013

Can you walk me through doing what I need to do on Afterburner?

Deemo13 · Aug 31, 2013

Basically, you go to settings, and click the tab that says fan. Also, make sure Afterburner is set up to open on the startup of the computer.

Then you go to the fan tab and click "enable user something something" Then you can set a curve so that the fan on the GPU goes up with the temperature.

Thus, the fan is quiet when you are doing nothing, and noisier when need be.

London Smith · Aug 31, 2013

So check "Force fan update on each period" ?

Deemo13 · Aug 31, 2013

I dont have that checked, you can if you like.

London Smith · Sep 2, 2013

Afterburner didn't really change anything, but it's a good set up to have either way. Gonna do some thermal pasting and air can cleaning tonight and will report results.

London Smith · Sep 4, 2013

Okay, big update. The GPU fan starts and stops. It'll run for a bit, making an irritating noise, then kinda grind to a halt and start again. I thought the fan was fine because I would see it running, but I think the fan is my problem. Do I just need to get a new fan or is there another issue possibly occurring?

Deemo13 · Sep 4, 2013

Replacing the fan on a heatsink is not an easy task depending on the heatsink. Usually its a custom fan shroud. MAke sure the fan is plugged into the card all the way.

London Smith · Sep 4, 2013

Forgive my ignorance, but I don't know how it can be more connected. It's attached to the bottom.

Deemo13 · Sep 4, 2013

There are aftermarket heatsinks that you can install if you like. Some of them are not too expensive, and generally fit well.

Is there ever a point where the fan is always on? Or is it always stopping?

London Smith · Sep 4, 2013

I can't find any difference between when it's working and when it's not. It's fairly consistently stopping, but there will be periods where it doesn't for a few minutes. Either way, this causes it to idle at around 60. I have the side panel open and I have a fan there, which is giving me an idle than ranges from 30-40.

Deemo13 · Sep 4, 2013

Well, if that works for you, it works.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835186053

Something like that would be a solution for you. You could either get this or save up for a new card. I have a different version of this cooler on a Radeon HD6950 and my GTX460, and both cards dont see temperatures above 50C.

London Smith · Sep 4, 2013

I want to do a few tests and have a friend come look at it before I get a new card or cooler. I definitely don't see the floor fan as a long-term option haha.
And that cooler will hook up to any AMD?

Deemo13 · Sep 4, 2013

http://www.arctic.ac/en/p/cooling/vga/425/accelero-l2-plus.html

They say that it will only hook up to the reference cooler versions, so you have to do some measurements and research to see if it will fit.

London Smith · Sep 4, 2013

Gotcha. Thanks!

GPU overheats, causing game lag

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