is my gtx 690 ready to retire?

RobCherry · Apr 19, 2016

hey so ive noticed in the last two days ive had some serious fps drops in games....for example i can play bioshock infinate at ultra and get between 140-220fps @ 1080p when suddenly im dropping to around 5-30fps for periods then boosting back up after 30seconds or so. i instantly turned all applications and the games off when this happened and checked the temps on my parts - cpu under full load was around 55c, ram/mb/hdd everything fine....then get to my gpu and gpu-1 is at 89c and gpu-2 is at 93c now i know these cards can run hot but this has got to be too hot...right? im sure the cards cut out at mid 90's to stop damage??
its around 2 years old now is the cards so im guessing it could be on the way out....any ideas as to why the cards are overheating so much?

Rogue Leader · Apr 19, 2016

That is overheating and thermal throttling yes.

Did you try removing the card and clearing it of any dust? As well as your case and case fans? Has anything changed in your setup?

RobCherry · Apr 19, 2016

Rogue Leader :

To be honest I could do with giving my system a good clean as I haven't got round to that in a while so maybe some dust may be on the gpu, there hasn't been any changes to my system I a while, I've noticed my second gpu topped out at 97c which I believe is the thermal cut out point for it which would explain my fps drop when the second gpu cuts out. Also one gpu sits at 37c idle and the second gpu sits at 58c idle which is very hot..! My case does not have very good air flow at all which I always knew about but before hand I ran a r9 290 in it and never had any issues and those cards run super hot

Rogue Leader · Apr 19, 2016

Sounds like 1 card is running ok and 1 overheating. Definitely clean everything thoroughly first then see how it works. Admittedly it would have to be really caked with dust. But again also if you have bad/no airflow that won't help.

Jayhawker32 · Apr 19, 2016

RobCherry :

Might not be a terrible idea to really clean the cards and apply new thermal paste to both of the GPUs if you feel comfortable doing so. Worst case scenario it doesn't make a difference and it's time to retire it.

RobCherry · Apr 20, 2016

so i have cleaned my whole case out today and there wasn't too much dust. i have left the side window off my case to try keep the temp down inside my case and it has helped a little but not massively. ive just played some bioshock for around 35mins and checked the temps and the highest it reached was 88c so its a little lower. i have never taken a gpu apart before and i wouldn't like to try it...but on the other hand i could buy myself a new gpu then give it a go with my 690 as in effect i wouldn't be needing it anymore.
any ideas what gpu to go for.....im open to amd or nvidia...need something pretty decent tho

Rogue Leader · Apr 20, 2016

As I suspected, it would really need a lot of dust to have problems.

It is not common for cards to fail after only 2 years, however you said they are GTX 690's? Did you get them new, because 2 years ago they were already 2 years old (based on release). Either way they should not be failing like that so quickly.

However other than the airflow suddenly being blocked or the fans failing there are few reasons for them to overheat other than the card going bad. Its possible the mounting of the cooler has failed and hence you would need to re-mount it and re-do the thermal paste. You won't hurt anything, just follow this guide:

https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/10418-how-to-change-your-gpus-thermal-paste-with-pictures/

Its still a powerful card and this will only cost you $6-$10 for some new thermal paste, so if it fixes it, its worth it. If not then it may be time to consider a new card.

RobCherry · Apr 20, 2016

no i purchased the gtx 690 2 years ago from a good friend and he had it just over 18months so in fact the card is 3 and a half years old.
ok so if im going to attempt to re-apply some new thermal paste what paste should i look to use....? im from the uk and will use this store as its within driving distance www.cclonline.com cheers

Rogue Leader · Apr 20, 2016

RobCherry :

I use this on everything:

http://www.cclonline.com/product/5679/AS5/Thermal-Compounds/Arctic-Silver-5-High-Performance-Thermal-Compound/CLR9007/

RobCherry · Apr 20, 2016

ok great thanks....any idea were i could get any rubbing alcohol from??

RobCherry · Apr 20, 2016

oh and after looking through the link you sent me do you think my gpu will have two seperate cores to cover in tim?

Rogue Leader · Apr 20, 2016

RobCherry :

Any drug store or supermarket should have rubbing alcohol.

RobCherry :

I'm not sure of the layout of the 690, however it will be very clear when you take it apart where you need to cover. just make sure its all clean.

RobCherry · Apr 20, 2016

ive found on the same website this.... http://www.cclonline.com/product/5674/AK-TC/Thermal-Compounds/Akasa-CPU-and-Heatsink-Cleaner/CLR9002/

its akasa cpu and heat-sink cleaner im guessing this is the stuff i'm after

Rogue Leader · Apr 20, 2016

RobCherry :

You could buy that.... but Rubbing alcohol from the local drug store works just as well, is probably 1/4 the price, and has many other uses than just cleaning TIM off a processor. You aren't going to need much.

RobCherry · Apr 20, 2016

its only £4.68 and with the paste at £7.21 its only going to cost me £11.89 which is a dam site cheaper than buying a new gpu
i will go out and buy some either later today or tomorrow and give it a go

Rogue Leader · Apr 20, 2016

RobCherry :

This is true. Post an update here with what happens.

RobCherry · Apr 20, 2016

yeah thanks for the help i will let you know the results

Jayhawker32 · Apr 20, 2016

RobCherry :

This isn't exactly what you're doing but the video will show you where you need to apply thermal paste.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42HMH9erHi0

RobCherry · Apr 21, 2016

ok so i have now changed the old thermal paste to new ''Arctic Silver 5 High Performance Thermal Compound'' and everything seemed to go great. apart from my 690 having around 1million screws to take out before hand haha. everything has booted up fine.....i was going to run heaven benchmarking to put my gpu under some stress and load...how long should i do do this for...a good hour or so to test it out??

Rogue Leader · Apr 21, 2016

RobCherry :

YEah at least.

RobCherry · Apr 21, 2016

ok so ive ran heaven benchmarking for 2hrs 15mins now and my temps seem to be a lot better so far.... gpu 1 - max 81c gpu 2 - max 77c

this seems to be a lot better to me rather than the high 80's on one gpu and high 90's on the other gpu

Rogue Leader · Apr 21, 2016

RobCherry :

There you go, and in real life it should be normally lower. 81 is just touching the edge of getting too hot.

I think you've fixed your problem.

RobCherry · Apr 21, 2016

Yeah I think I may of fixed it....thanks for your help and patience ...! Much appreciated

is my gtx 690 ready to retire?

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