How to improve thermals in my PC

Toggle sidebar Toggle sidebar
B

Blootle456

Commendable
Sep 27, 2016
8
0
1,510
Hi! I've noticed recently that my graphics card is being put under quite a bit of strain when playing games such as Hitman (the new one) or Tomb Raider 2013. It has been starting to hit 80 degrees Celsius and it's been scaring me so I've changed the fan speed curve to reduce it to about 75 instead of 80 when under load.
I was simply wondering if there are any effective ways to cool my GPU that may be feasible. I own a GTX 970 from Zotac, so it's a custom card, and I already have three 120mm fans inside my case but I don't know how intake and exhaust work so if someone could explain and give me some tips then that would be great. I have room for 4 120mm fans but there are only 3 fan headers on my motherboard.
Once again, any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks :)
 
Sort by date Sort by votes
C

CapyWarrior

Commendable
May 23, 2016
158
0
1,760
Fans usually have arrows on them indicating the direction of airflow. If only your gpu is the only thing getting hot your problem is probably not a case airflow problem. Try downloading speedfan and creating a custom fan curve to get that temp a little lower. You can find toutorials online.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
B

Blootle456

Commendable
Sep 27, 2016
8
0
1,510


Hmm okay. I shall check the case fans to see what's going on with them but I understand that that may not be the problem. How do I know when to choose intake and when to choose exhaust?
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
C

CapyWarrior

Commendable
May 23, 2016
158
0
1,760


Heat rises. You generally want to intake through the front and bottom and output through the top. Err on the side of more intake to create positive pressure and cut down on dust. If you don't have enough headers you can buy very cheap splitters.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
B

Blootle456

Commendable
Sep 27, 2016
8
0
1,510




Great, thank you very much!
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
C

CapyWarrior

Commendable
May 23, 2016
158
0
1,760


Anytime
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
coozie7

coozie7

Champion
Jun 2, 2007
10,015
10
59,215
Which case do you have?

As a general guideline: Front and bottom IN, top and rear OUT.
Case fans are often of poor quality, adding better fans from Phanteks, Corsair, Noctua, Scythe or BeQuiet! can not only improve airflow but reduce noise.
You can use a 'Y' splitter: https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=fan+y+splitter&view=detailv2&qpvt=fan+y+splitter&id=CA93B91C25B3AF97F81759A44FE726D0587D4B33&selectedIndex=5&ccid=9kRi3jQO&simid=608037022340350296&thid=OIP.Mf64462de340ec79ff0c18e3051b2d533o0&ajaxhist=0 to run two fans off one header they're widely available and cost very little.

It is possible the card needs a clean out, dust and pet fur can quickly clog the small fins of the heatsink and accumulate on the fan blades but we need to know exactly which card you have to help with disassembly/cleaning. Check carefully, removing the entire heatsink can invalidate the warranty, if removing the entire assembly will invalidate the warranty in your country, I'll advise against it.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
B

Blootle456

Commendable
Sep 27, 2016
8
0
1,510


Sorry for the late reply, but here it is anyway.

I bought two extra case fans from Cooler Master, and have one installed on top and one on the back. There is also the one that came with the case with at the front. Any improvement suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

I have a Zotac GTX 970 (https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/81PmudH9FCL._SL1500_.jpg). My warranty is still valid as far as I know so I'm not sure how I'd feel about disassembly.

Thanks!
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Moderators online

Share this page

COMPANY
RESOURCES
FOLLOW
Top Bottom