R9 280x Getting too hot + Crossfire question

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Jesse Sanders

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May 13, 2013
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I just got a Sapphire Radeon R9 280X Dual-X OC Version and it's running a little hot for my liking. My previous card Gigabyte AMD Radeon HD 7950 was a lot cooler in this same setup. The 7950 would sit around 41c idle, and at full load the highest it would reach is around 75c. The 280x idles around 53c and is reaching 80-81c at full load. So my question is how hot is too hot for this card, and how can I get this temp down.

I also have another question concerning crossfire. When I initially got the new card, the 280x I planned to use it in a crossfire configuration with the 7950. However I just couldn't seem to get this working right. The crossfire was registering and both cards were being used, but it just wasn't working in the games I tried it with. My benchmark score went up a good bit, however performance in the games I tried out actually was worse. In FFXIV in a non populated area with just the 280x I was getting between 100-130 fps never dropping below 100. With crossfire I was getting between 80-120 fps. In a populated area the single card was between 45-70fps while crossfire was 20-70 fps. The other game I tried was watchdogs. Single card on ultra at 2560x1440p 45fps and 30-40 while driving around in a car. Crossfire on high struggled while in a vehicle running between 20-30fps.

Thanks in advance, any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
 
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GreekDude97

GreekDude97

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Feb 27, 2013
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Can you please post the rest of your rig? How big is your case? If it's not big enough or you don't have enough fans operating, then it's the case airflow that's causing these high temps. 51 degrees at idle and 80 degrees at full load is pretty high. The Dual-X cooling system is a great system, I have a 7970 with the Dual-X cooler myself and it runs at 70 degrees max at full load. But I have one 120mm high RPM fan at the front of the case, one 140mm at the top and one 120mm exhaust. It's summertime now, so the ambient temperature rises and so does the case temperature. Consider buying quality fans for your case.

About your CF question: Your framerate is low, because the 7950 can't keep up with the 280x. Also, CF doesn't offer a huge performance boost for all games. Some are compatible, some are not.
 
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Jesse Sanders

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NZXT Phantom 410 Mid Tower
http://

I have a 140 fan up top and two 120's in the front of the case

I did some inspecting and found out my two fans in the front of the case were not working. Guess I loosened the connection when putting the new card in. Now it's sitting at 46c idle and 75c full load. Still a little higher than I like but it's somewhat better.
 
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BleedingEdgeTek

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You have to make sure the game actually supports Crossfire. If it doesn't you're liable to get no improvement, and also worse performance.

As for the temperatures, the R9 series, AMD set temp targets for the Boost clocks to 85, meaning it won't cut back until then. Running at 80 is fine with these.
 
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GreekDude97

GreekDude97

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The two 120's in front will bring fresh cool air into the case and also cool your drives. The 140mm fan up top works as an exhaust, but you will also need an exhaust at the back of the case. This one is really important. Your 280x exhausts most of the heat from the back of the card (where the monitor ports of the card are located), but some heat can be trapped inside your case. As BleedingEdgeTek said, your card can reach 85 degrees before slowing the clocks down. I'm just saying that the Dual-X cooler is a quality cooling solution and should offer better performance than this. On Amazon it says that your case included the 120mm rear exhaust. What's up with that?
 
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Jesse Sanders

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Corsair H60. I'm using it as an exhaust but it pulling from the radiator. One of the two fans I have in the front of the case is a fan that came with the case and not very good. I could switch that one out. The rig is also sitting close to a AC unit and in a room I keep very cool. Now that those two front fans are operating I'm getting better Temps. Still not as good as the other card though. About the only other thing I know to do is mount a fan on the side case panel pointed directly at the card. It would just be kind of inconvenient to have to unplug the fan everytime I want to get inside the case. Unless I get a USB fan and mount it on the outside.
 
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GreekDude97

GreekDude97

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You don't have to switch the front fan out, it wouldn't make a huge difference, if not any difference at all. Now that you got your fans working and your temperatures decreased, you shouldn't worry about it. 75c at full load is a perfectly safe temperature. But, if you are still not happy with the temperature of your GPU, you can put a fan on the side of the case. And, I don't think it is THAT inconvenient to mount a fan there. You shouldn't open up the case frequently, unless there is actually a problem.
 
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