- Aug 5, 2011
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Hi Guys. It's been a while since I've posted here. More significantly, life got busy and it's been a few years since I've actively kept up with recent developments in hardware.
These days, the only game I play is Skyrim. I recently had some incidents of my computer shutting down in the middle of a game. (I don't mean a CTD; the computer would completely shut down.) It got a little worse and I eventually figured out that the graphics card was overheating. My card is a MSI Twin Frozr II HD 6950 (I use the heat sink that came with it and I don't overclock it). I checked it out an noticed that the fans on the card were not spinning. After trying a few things, I found that if I manually turn the fans a little bit with my finger then they will start spinning normally. Now, whenever I turn my computer on I use some canned air to give them a jump start and they work. As long as the fans are spinning. my computer does not crash while I play Skyrim.
However, the GPU still seems to get pretty hot. I use TechPowerUp GPU-Z to monitor my card. There are four different "temperature" readings. Here are the temps that I notice for those four readings:
GPU Temp. #1: Around 55C at idle and between 65C and 70C during Skyrim.
GPU Temp. #2: Around 60C at idle and between 70C and 75C during Skyrim.
GPU Temp. #3: Around 65C at idle and between 75C and 80C during Skyrim.
GPU Temperature: This usually sticks pretty closely to GPU Temp #1.
Here are my questions:
1) Is this actually hot? I've never actively monitored my temperatures. It seems hot to me but I'm not sure.
2) If it is hot, then is there something I can do to help? My case is full of fans and I've been pretty careful to make sure that the fans are pointed properly to optimize airflow. If it were a CPU I would try removing the heat sink, cleaning the old thermal paste, and applying new paste but I've never tried that with a GPU before. Is that something I could/should try?
3) My card is old and it might just be on its last leg. If you think I need a new card, what are your recommendations? I don't want to spend a lot of money on a powerful card. I only really want something that can reach the performance levels of my current card. Skyrim is definitely the most intense thing that I do these days. I guess it would be nice to be able to run the next Elder Scrolls game (and not necessarily and really high settings or anything), but I don't have a lot of money to spend on a card. I don't want to give a definite price range, but I don't think I can afford more than $100.
Other Notes:
>>I built my computer in the summer of 2011 and I got the card for Christmas in 2011. Here are the specs:
i5-2500K (not currently overclocked) with a Xigmatek Loki HSF
ASUS P8Z68-V Pro
MSI Twin Frozr II HD 6950
G.Skill Ripjaw 16GB
Seagate HDD (my SSD failed a couple of years ago)
Corsair HX650
Zalman Z9 Mid-Tower
>>I do use a few mods with Skyrim but nothing which significantly enhances the graphics. I don't use an ENB or any mod which increases resolutions or overhauls the visuals. (Making games as beautiful as possible generally isn't my priority.)
>>I would prefer to buy from either Amazon or Newegg but I am open to other suggestions. I live in the United States.
Thanks for your help!
These days, the only game I play is Skyrim. I recently had some incidents of my computer shutting down in the middle of a game. (I don't mean a CTD; the computer would completely shut down.) It got a little worse and I eventually figured out that the graphics card was overheating. My card is a MSI Twin Frozr II HD 6950 (I use the heat sink that came with it and I don't overclock it). I checked it out an noticed that the fans on the card were not spinning. After trying a few things, I found that if I manually turn the fans a little bit with my finger then they will start spinning normally. Now, whenever I turn my computer on I use some canned air to give them a jump start and they work. As long as the fans are spinning. my computer does not crash while I play Skyrim.
However, the GPU still seems to get pretty hot. I use TechPowerUp GPU-Z to monitor my card. There are four different "temperature" readings. Here are the temps that I notice for those four readings:
GPU Temp. #1: Around 55C at idle and between 65C and 70C during Skyrim.
GPU Temp. #2: Around 60C at idle and between 70C and 75C during Skyrim.
GPU Temp. #3: Around 65C at idle and between 75C and 80C during Skyrim.
GPU Temperature: This usually sticks pretty closely to GPU Temp #1.
Here are my questions:
1) Is this actually hot? I've never actively monitored my temperatures. It seems hot to me but I'm not sure.
2) If it is hot, then is there something I can do to help? My case is full of fans and I've been pretty careful to make sure that the fans are pointed properly to optimize airflow. If it were a CPU I would try removing the heat sink, cleaning the old thermal paste, and applying new paste but I've never tried that with a GPU before. Is that something I could/should try?
3) My card is old and it might just be on its last leg. If you think I need a new card, what are your recommendations? I don't want to spend a lot of money on a powerful card. I only really want something that can reach the performance levels of my current card. Skyrim is definitely the most intense thing that I do these days. I guess it would be nice to be able to run the next Elder Scrolls game (and not necessarily and really high settings or anything), but I don't have a lot of money to spend on a card. I don't want to give a definite price range, but I don't think I can afford more than $100.
Other Notes:
>>I built my computer in the summer of 2011 and I got the card for Christmas in 2011. Here are the specs:
i5-2500K (not currently overclocked) with a Xigmatek Loki HSF
ASUS P8Z68-V Pro
MSI Twin Frozr II HD 6950
G.Skill Ripjaw 16GB
Seagate HDD (my SSD failed a couple of years ago)
Corsair HX650
Zalman Z9 Mid-Tower
>>I do use a few mods with Skyrim but nothing which significantly enhances the graphics. I don't use an ENB or any mod which increases resolutions or overhauls the visuals. (Making games as beautiful as possible generally isn't my priority.)
>>I would prefer to buy from either Amazon or Newegg but I am open to other suggestions. I live in the United States.
Thanks for your help!
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