MSI R9 290 Graphics Card Running Very Hot And 100% Fan Under Load?

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deanop91

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Nov 9, 2014
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Hi guys,

I have built myself a gaming pc about a month ago and am having some issues with the temperature of the graphics card as it is running up to about 90 degrees when running games such as Shadow of Mordor.

The main parts of my build if it helps:

Case: NZXT Phantom 240
The case has the 1 intake 120mm fan and 1 exhaust 120mm fan.

Graphics: MSI R9 290 GAMING 4G

RAM: 8gb HyperX White DDR3 1600

CPU: Intel i5-4590
Stock intel cooler

Motherboard: MSI Z97 PC MATE

PSU: XFX 650W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply
Graphics card is being powered by a single cable with an 8 pin and 6 pin splitter. I believe that this is the intended use for the cable? rather than 2 separate cables.

So when the pc is first booted up and is used just for browsing these forums for example, the graphics card is running at around 45 degrees give or take a few. That already seems way too hot to me as this review http://www.guru3d.com/articles-pages/msi-radeon-r9-290x-gaming-oc-review,10.html stated that the MSI cooled card was idling at 29 degrees!? This isn't exactly the major issue as that temperature is never going to cause damage and the fans are on auto and operating at 18% for this temp range.

The real issue is when demanding games are played for about an hour the card got up to 94 degrees yesterday which seems a bit dangerous if I was going to have a longer gaming session? Also the major annoyance is that the fans are running at 100% trying to cool the card, so it is like playing in a wind tunnel. Again referring back to that review, under a load test the card should apparently be peaking at 73 degrees. At the moment I am about 20 degrees hotter!!
Then when I close the games and continue with less demanding tasks like browsing the card doesn't cool below about 54 degrees.

So do I have a card with a faulty heatsink or is something else causing this?
I have thought about adding more case fans but I can't see that dropping 20 degrees of heat.
The main thing for me is that I didn't think I would have to have the fans running at 100% while gaming since it is so noisy, but with those kind of temps I have literally no choice.

Would adding more case fans give me the required cooling?

I also thought about trying one of those PCI slot coolers, would this make any noticeable difference? See below for an example:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835888112

If anyone has any thoughts or has better suggestions as to what I should do with this please feel free to comment and it would be very much appreciated. If any more information is required I will happily provide it.






 
Solution
mrgnex
Yeah the r9 290 is capable of doing 94 degrees but its the max meaning it will thermal throttle.. If it gets send back you should check for dust or dried thermal paste.. If no one replys or something, feel free to pm me
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Alex Kelly

Alex Kelly

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I had an MSI 290 too, same issue. It hit around 90C and the fan noise was unbearable. I couldn't do much but sell it. :(
You could look into water cooling the card, but I would suggest trying to sell it for a decent price if you can't stand it.
 
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El Tigre

El Tigre

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Jul 10, 2012
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It could be the fan of your card is failing and a combination of your case not having adequate airflow as it only has 2 fans total moving any air. Try removing the side panel of your case and see what happens then. Also, I would add more fans to cool your PC better. The R9 290 cards do run hot though from the factory.

My rig is air cooled and my SLI GTX 970's don't ever go above 70c when under load as my PC has 3 intake and 3 exhaust fans that move air good and also if you have messy wire management, that's another issue that can cause airflow to be disrupted. Tuck your wires behind the mobo tray or use zip ties to tie them together to free up as much space as possible for better airflow.

You would be surprised at how simple changes like this do make a difference.
 
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deanop91

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Thanks, but I have seen other people that have this card running properly as that review would suggest.
 
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deanop91

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Hey, I took note of tucking the cables behind the case with cable ties when I built it for that reason, and also as the case has a glass window so it looks neat.

I will have to try with the side off. Do your fans run at 100% when you run games? I was expecting more like 75% fans.
 
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wss_003

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i would agree with El Tigre remove the side panel and see if your temps go down if you have a hot card (and the 290 is) trying to cool itself with hot air trapped in your case its a losing battle you should not need to water cool it though as i have 2 280x in crossfire in a build that are air cooled the trick is to give them room temp air to cool with and get the hot air out of the case quickly another tip and its just my opinion is to keep more intake air than exhaust (an extra intake fan) this helps keep your case and components cleaner
 
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El Tigre

El Tigre

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The way I have my fan curve set up, I would say they average about 65% during heavy gaming such as playing Dragon Age Inquisition on nearly all Ultra at 4K. It could also be that my oc'ed RAM has it's own fan cooler that came with the kit. I also have 2 small mobo cooling fans that came with my mobo (ASUS Z97 Sabertooth Mark 1) cooling the mobo. So that would mean my PC running really cool for an air rig as the major components are cooled by their own fans.

Having many fans cools a PC better along with tinkering with the fan curve and lastly, making sure you have proper airflow such as me having 2 exhaust fans blowing air out on top as thermodynamics dictates, heat rises up ;)

Try putting 1 to 2 exhaust fans on top if you can and put an intake fan on the side window if you don't already. If you don't already, I would put another intake fan at the front of the case, usually at the bottom in front of the HDD cage for most PC's. Then finally, you would already most likely have a rear exhaust fan. I would also use all 120 mm fans and buy quality ones too, they are worth the investment.
 
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deanop91

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Hmm okay so I have played since your last reply with the side off and it is averaging about 86 degrees which is still kinda high imo. I set a custom cooling curve for that as well as follows:

60 degrees 50% fan
80 degrees 80% fan
90 degrees 100% fan

Also I am only playing this at 1080 not even 4k :( and SLI is obviously normally hotter than a single Graphics card?!

Is having intake and exhaust fans going to generate a cooler environment than having the side off?

Also do you think it's worth buying the slot cooler that blows the air directly onto the Graphics card? The air it's blowing is obviously only the air that is already inside the case though so not sure how much change that makes.

The case restrictions would mean that I am able to have the following cooling fans:

2 x 120mm intake
2x 140mm exhaust on top
1 x 120mm exhaust on back
1 x slot cooler fan just for graphics card

What do you think, is that going to be cooler than the side off?

Also what case fans do you reccomend?
 
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Alex Kelly

Alex Kelly

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Usually in reviews, they test on either a test bench or with an open case. When I took my side panel off the temps never went over 81C, however with the panel on the temps went up to a max of 91C after about half an hour of heavy gaming.
 
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mrgnex

mrgnex

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Okay I have read the thread and I can't figure out what causes those temps. The MSI cooler is a very good cooler. I had a R9 280X Gaming and it was cool, the R9 290 is very hot, yes, but still.. I build a rig in the same case as you have and it is a good air cooled case.. Have you tried replacing the thermal paste of the gpu or cleaning out the dust? Yes you will void your warranty by removing the screw but maybe you can pry it off and put it back on afterwards.
 
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deanop91

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I spoke to Ebuyer about getting a replacement card and they advised me that they will take it and test it but it is very likely that they will not find any problem with it. The manager of the technical team has advised him that 94 degrees is perfectly normal for todays higher end graphics cards.

....To me that is complete s**t, excuse the language. No-one else is experiencing the same temperatures with this card which they will be aware of.

Wondering if it is worth sending the card in and not having it for 2 weeks only to have it come back saying no problem found.
 
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mrgnex

mrgnex

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Yeah the r9 290 is capable of doing 94 degrees but its the max meaning it will thermal throttle.. If it gets send back you should check for dust or dried thermal paste.. If no one replys or something, feel free to pm me
 
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deanop91

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cheers will bear that in mind.

 
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