fix for 6800GT temp booby trap?

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.videocards.nvidia (More info?)

My EVGA 6800GT has this 'booby trap'. When the core
temp reaches 90C, the clock all but shuts down,
making any game playing impossible. Is there a
fix? Perhaps a BIOS flash that will disable this
trap, or at least raise the point where the card fails?
Doom 3 is unplayable till I fix this prob.

Jeff B

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.videocards.nvidia (More info?)

On Fri, 20 Aug 2004 03:55:23 GMT, Jeff B <not@this.com> wrote:

>My EVGA 6800GT has this 'booby trap'. When the core
>temp reaches 90C, the clock all but shuts down,
>making any game playing impossible. Is there a
>fix? Perhaps a BIOS flash that will disable this
>trap, or at least raise the point where the card fails?
>Doom 3 is unplayable till I fix this prob.
>
>Jeff B
>


The alternate if possible is likely to smoke your
silicon quite quickly. I suspect that the trap is built into
the GPU silicon a la Intel's slow-down safety on their
CPUs. Also, on a chip the size of the NV40, it is likely
that the timing design was based on 90 degrees C
maximum anyway. Modern commercial silicon is rated
for case temperatures of 70 degree C maximum
without Time-to-failure derating. Above 70 degrees C
the failure-rate rule of thumb is at least X2 for every
10 degrees C rise in temperature.

I am very glad to hear that nVidia has built in
such a precaution. Ati's 9800s fry quite easily since
there is zero thermal protection, dunno about X800.

Improve your cooling or cease overclocking or both.
Notice that the 6800GT has the half-size heat-sink
compared to the Ultra; one of the penalties of the
significantly lower price. Certainly do not put a PCI
card in Slot #1. You might consider install a slot-fan
in PCI Slot #1, but check which direction it blows.....
it must not oppose the air-flow from the 6800GT
built-in fan.

John Lewis

 

[rms]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.videocards.nvidia (More info?)

Good advice, but there are some simple remedies:

1) Redo the heatsinks with ArcticSilver. See my post here
http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=319681
for tips on doing this.

2) There will soon be a VGA Silencer for the 6800 series, not cheap tho at
$30.

3) There are bioses that alter the slowdown temp. See these threads
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=36541&perpage=25&pagenumber=1
http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=314079
http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?s=&threadid=17272276

4) Gigabyte has a overclocking utility for their card to turn the fan on all
the time, which may help. Look on their site.

rms

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.videocards.nvidia (More info?)

> Certainly do not put a PCI
> card in Slot #1.

As I recently mentioned in a similar thread, what's the point of a single
slot design if not to allow the next slot to be used? According to the
official BFG documentation, the first PCI slot only needs to be left open
for "some" card models -- i.e. the ones that "occupy two slots."

A lot of people need to use all their slots due to their specific needs --
it's actually not that uncommon. I specifically use single slot designs
since I need all my PCI slots. I do make sure to use a "smaller" card in
the first slot, however. In my case, I use a NIC in this slot, which is
typically less than half the height of other cards, and which only comes up
part way over one of the fans on two fan models. To simply eliminate the
first slot is just not practical for a lot of people, and it hasn't been a
problem with GF4 Ti4600's for me.

Larry

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.videocards.nvidia (More info?)

> I am very glad to hear that nVidia has built in
> such a precaution.

This "precaution" (aka "built-in failure mechanism")
protects ONLY the card vendor. The card is under warranty,
so it sure as heck doesn't protect me, the end user.
I'm stuck with a non-functional card that can't be warrantied
because it's "working" exactly as designed.

Jeff B

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.videocards.nvidia (More info?)

> Notice that the 6800GT has the half-size heat-sink
> compared to the Ultra; one of the penalties of the
> significantly lower price.

Let me see if I understand you.....because it costs *only*
$400.00, I have no right to complain that it is DESIGNED
to self destruct when used to, say, play games.
Had I paid the normal $500.00 for a different vid card,
then of course I would get a card that doesn't malfunction,
unlike this one.
So, I'm just getting the punishment I deserve for being a cheapskate.
Does that accurately summarized your viewpoint, buy the El Cheapo vid
card and expect to get screwed?

Jeff B

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.videocards.nvidia (More info?)

In what circumstances is it reaching this temp? Is this with it clocked
normally, or are you overclocking it? If you're overclocking it, how far?
I would be surprised if the stock design/settings would EVER result in this
level of heat, but you didn't give any details on this. Don't get me
wrong -- I'm not making any judgement about overclocking. I'm simply trying
to understand the whole picture here, and I'd be REAL interested to know if
it reaches these temperatures without overclocking it.

Thanks for any further details,

Larry

"Jeff B" <not@this.com> wrote in message
news:3GAVc.46403$mD.35846@attbi_s02...
>
> > Notice that the 6800GT has the half-size heat-sink
> > compared to the Ultra; one of the penalties of the
> > significantly lower price.
>
> Let me see if I understand you.....because it costs *only*
> $400.00, I have no right to complain that it is DESIGNED
> to self destruct when used to, say, play games.
> Had I paid the normal $500.00 for a different vid card,
> then of course I would get a card that doesn't malfunction,
> unlike this one.
> So, I'm just getting the punishment I deserve for being a cheapskate.
> Does that accurately summarized your viewpoint, buy the El Cheapo vid
> card and expect to get screwed?
>
> Jeff B
>
>

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.videocards.nvidia (More info?)

On Sat, 21 Aug 2004 05:00:47 GMT, Jeff B <not@this.com> wrote:

>
>> Notice that the 6800GT has the half-size heat-sink
>> compared to the Ultra; one of the penalties of the
>> significantly lower price.
>
>Let me see if I understand you.....because it costs *only*
>$400.00, I have no right to complain that it is DESIGNED
>to self destruct when used to, say, play games.

Ah, but as you found out it DOES NOT self-destruct.

>Had I paid the normal $500.00 for a different vid card,
>then of course I would get a card that doesn't malfunction,
>unlike this one.
>So, I'm just getting the punishment I deserve for being a cheapskate.
>Does that accurately summarized your viewpoint, buy the El Cheapo vid
>card and expect to get screwed?

No, just provide some additional external cooling ( much cheaper
than buying an Ultra ) and all will be well. I will be buying a 6800GT
myself ( when the price gets to a certain target ), but I will
certainly ensure that it has adequate adjacent airflow.

John Lewis


>Jeff B
>
>

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.videocards.nvidia (More info?)

>
> Ah, but as you found out it DOES NOT self-destruct.

LOL! No, I found the opposite...it *does* self destruct,
the whole point of my post.

>
>
>>Had I paid the normal $500.00 for a different vid card,
>>then of course I would get a card that doesn't malfunction,
>>unlike this one.
>>So, I'm just getting the punishment I deserve for being a cheapskate.
>>Does that accurately summarized your viewpoint, buy the El Cheapo vid
>>card and expect to get screwed?
>
>
> No, just provide some additional external cooling ( much cheaper
> than buying an Ultra ) and all will be well.

I shouldn't have to buy extra cooling, plus be subjected
to all that extra noise. The card should just work as
advertized. The vendor shouldn't be crippling the card just
so he doesn't ever have to have even the possibility
of a warranty claim.



Jeff B

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.videocards.nvidia (More info?)

Larry L. wrote:

> In what circumstances is it reaching this temp? Is this with it clocked
> normally, or are you overclocking it? If you're overclocking it, how far?
> I would be surprised if the stock design/settings would EVER result in this
> level of heat, but you didn't give any details on this. Don't get me
> wrong -- I'm not making any judgement about overclocking. I'm simply trying
> to understand the whole picture here, and I'd be REAL interested to know if
> it reaches these temperatures without overclocking it.

I has reached 92C with no ocing. I'm still experimenting,
but it looks as though the failure is a result of some amount
of OCing, plus reaching a temp threshold of around 90C. One or the other
won't cause shutdown. In any event, 90C is a ridiculous
value to be shutting down the card. OTOH, if 90C is
a legitimate value, then the manuacturer should design
the card in such a way that it doesn't reach this temp.

Jeff B

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.videocards.nvidia (More info?)

> > In what circumstances is it reaching this temp? Is this with it clocked
> > normally, or are you overclocking it? If you're overclocking it, how
far?
> > I would be surprised if the stock design/settings would EVER result in
this
> > level of heat, but you didn't give any details on this. Don't get me
> > wrong -- I'm not making any judgement about overclocking. I'm simply
trying
> > to understand the whole picture here, and I'd be REAL interested to know
if
> > it reaches these temperatures without overclocking it.
>
> I has reached 92C with no ocing. I'm still experimenting,
> but it looks as though the failure is a result of some amount
> of OCing, plus reaching a temp threshold of around 90C. One or the other
> won't cause shutdown. In any event, 90C is a ridiculous
> value to be shutting down the card. OTOH, if 90C is
> a legitimate value, then the manuacturer should design
> the card in such a way that it doesn't reach this temp.
>

Just to clarify, are you saying it reached 92C without overclocking, but it
did not slow down unless you overclocked it? My main question is if it EVER
slowed down without overclocking it.

Thanks,

Larry

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.videocards.nvidia (More info?)

>
> Just to clarify, are you saying it reached 92C without overclocking, but it
> did not slow down unless you overclocked it?

correct.

> My main question is if it EVER
> slowed down without overclocking it.

Never. Now I'm having trouble recreating the slowdown prob.
It consistently slowed at 416+ Mhz at a temp of 88C. I declocked to
350, no slowdown (94C). I'm up to 401 now with no slowdown at 94C.
I'll keep going up to see what happens. The limit seems to be
433 for this particular card.

Jeff B




>
> Thanks,
>
> Larry
>
>

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.videocards.nvidia (More info?)

> My 6800gt idles at 64 at maxes out at 78

Which means nothing.

It's clock speed that counts, man......

Jeff B

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.videocards.nvidia (More info?)

Jeff B <not@this.com> wrote in message news:<vRUVc.165740$8_6.96327@attbi_s04>...
> > My 6800gt idles at 64 at maxes out at 78
>
> Which means nothing.
>
> It's clock speed that counts, man......
>
> Jeff B

Well, mines at Ultra speeds 400/1.1G sporto...

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.videocards.nvidia (More info?)

MXC rules! wrote:
> Jeff B <not@this.com> wrote in message news:<vRUVc.165740$8_6.96327@attbi_s04>...
>
>>>My 6800gt idles at 64 at maxes out at 78
>>
>>Which means nothing.
>>
>>It's clock speed that counts, man......
>>
>>Jeff B
>
>
> Well, mines at Ultra speeds 400/1.1G sporto...

Mine does about 430/1.01 tops. Mine also
"maxes out " at 78C depending on the app. While playing
Doom 3, what does your temp go to? Since all GT's are the same,
there should be no difference between yours and mine in terms of temp.
68 at idle is about what I get too.

Jeff B

 

[NaDa]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.videocards.nvidia (More info?)

Jeff B <not@this.com> wrote:
> Larry L. wrote:
>
> > In what circumstances is it reaching this temp? Is this with it clocked
> > normally, or are you overclocking it? If you're overclocking it, how far?
> > I would be surprised if the stock design/settings would EVER result in this
> > level of heat, but you didn't give any details on this. Don't get me
> > wrong -- I'm not making any judgement about overclocking. I'm simply trying
> > to understand the whole picture here, and I'd be REAL interested to know if
> > it reaches these temperatures without overclocking it.
>
> I has reached 92C with no ocing. I'm still experimenting,
> but it looks as though the failure is a result of some amount
> of OCing, plus reaching a temp threshold of around 90C. One or the other
> won't cause shutdown. In any event, 90C is a ridiculous
> value to be shutting down the card. OTOH, if 90C is
> a legitimate value, then the manuacturer should design
> the card in such a way that it doesn't reach this temp.
>
> Jeff B

I don't know if it's ridiculous. 85 Celsius is already a bit too much
for normal clock rates, at least from my perspective. Some newer
games do stress the graphics cards into the point of exhaustion, but I
still find it odd that your card reaches the 90C+ level. Good grief,
do you have Doom 3 cacodemons puffing heat inside your case? I have
no other suggestions than to check the ventilation in your case. The
power supply might create a lot of heat together with the CPU, and
this may cause the air stand still like a fart in windless Sahara. I
personally recommend getting round cables for the IDE drives, perhaps
getting a system fan blowing air outside right next to the CPU if your
already don't have one. The hight temperature on your card may not be
indication of a fan failure, it could also be part of an overall weak
airflow in your case.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.videocards.nvidia (More info?)

Jeff B <not@this.com> wrote in message news:<Lo3Wc.300205$%_6.213618@attbi_s01>...
> MXC rules! wrote:
> > Jeff B <not@this.com> wrote in message news:<vRUVc.165740$8_6.96327@attbi_s04>...
> >
> >>>My 6800gt idles at 64 at maxes out at 78
> >>
> >>Which means nothing.
> >>
> >>It's clock speed that counts, man......
> >>
> >>Jeff B
> >
> >
> > Well, mines at Ultra speeds 400/1.1G sporto...
>
> Mine does about 430/1.01 tops. Mine also
> "maxes out " at 78C depending on the app. While playing
> Doom 3, what does your temp go to? Since all GT's are the same,
> there should be no difference between yours and mine in terms of temp.
> 68 at idle is about what I get too.
>
> Jeff B


You've been babbling for 20 posts about 92C and your card shutting
down, now you say 78C is the max so which is it? 78 max or 92 max?
Are you saying only Doom causes your wildly overclocked card to
overheat? Get it straight moron!

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.videocards.nvidia (More info?)

"Jeff B" <not@this.com> wrote in message
news:LCeVc.41669$mD.41555@attbi_s02...
> My EVGA 6800GT has this 'booby trap'. When the core
> temp reaches 90C, the clock all but shuts down,
> making any game playing impossible. Is there a
> fix? Perhaps a BIOS flash that will disable this
> trap, or at least raise the point where the card fails?
> Doom 3 is unplayable till I fix this prob.
>
> Jeff B
>

I'm running a 6800 ultra with drivers from Nvidia.
There is a setting to change the core slow down
temp thresh hold. On mine it defaults to 135 C.
My core temp never goes above 80C when playing
doom 3 when I've checked. But I guess it depends on the
ambient temp of the room your computer is in.

Jim M

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.videocards.nvidia (More info?)

Jeff B <not@this.com> wrote in message news:<z2CVc.200752$eM2.157844@attbi_s51>...
> Larry L. wrote:
>
> > In what circumstances is it reaching this temp? Is this with it clocked
> > normally, or are you overclocking it? If you're overclocking it, how far?
> > I would be surprised if the stock design/settings would EVER result in this
> > level of heat, but you didn't give any details on this. Don't get me
> > wrong -- I'm not making any judgement about overclocking. I'm simply trying
> > to understand the whole picture here, and I'd be REAL interested to know if
> > it reaches these temperatures without overclocking it.
>
> I has reached 92C with no ocing. I'm still experimenting,
> but it looks as though the failure is a result of some amount
> of OCing, plus reaching a temp threshold of around 90C. One or the other
> won't cause shutdown. In any event, 90C is a ridiculous
> value to be shutting down the card. OTOH, if 90C is
> a legitimate value, then the manuacturer should design
> the card in such a way that it doesn't reach this temp.
>
> Jeff B


Under no circumstances should a healthy stock 6800/GT/Ultra be running
at 90C. My guess is the HS is not touching the GPU all the way. I
know at least one person who had their card fry immediately because of
a bad HS. The maximum it should be running under load in a hot room
is in the 70's. That is about what I get even when I'm running at
Ultra clocks. In a room thats about 85F+ I get upper 50's to lower
60's idle and in the lower to mid 70's under full load.

Eric

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.videocards.nvidia (More info?)

Jeff B wrote:

>
>>
>> Just to clarify, are you saying it reached 92C without overclocking, but
>> it did not slow down unless you overclocked it?
>
> correct.
>
>> My main question is if it EVER
>> slowed down without overclocking it.
>
> Never. Now I'm having trouble recreating the slowdown prob.
> It consistently slowed at 416+ Mhz at a temp of 88C. I declocked to
> 350, no slowdown (94C). I'm up to 401 now with no slowdown at 94C.
> I'll keep going up to see what happens. The limit seems to be
> 433 for this particular card.

I have a stupid question to ask you. What is the temperature inside the
case of the machine?

> Jeff B
>
>
>
>
>>
>> Thanks,
>>
>> Larry
>>
>>

--
--John
Reply to jclarke at ae tee tee global dot net
(was jclarke at eye bee em dot net)

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.videocards.nvidia (More info?)

I have never really thought about the temps on my OC'ed 6800GT.
Currently running at 404MHz and 1100 MHz. Normally I run high 50's to
low 60's at idle and high 60's to low 70's after a couple of hours of
Star Wars Battlefront. However, I was playing Riddick and noticed
after a half hour of playing, the temps were high 70's to low 80's. Is
this normal or should I scale the card back. I have a Verto board.
And my shutoff temp defaulted to 120ºC. And is there a better cooling
solution. I have never really played with the cooling system on a
video card. Always a bit paranoid about doing it.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.periphs.videocards.nvidia (More info?)

Dont post start of threads with RE: in the subject, thats just confusing..
80s is a bit too high, especially because its going to be pushing your case
temps up as well. Your best bet if you must overclock (god knows why the
6800GT will play anything you throw at it at stock), then get an arctic
cooler. They are silent too

<tballfst@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1106295840.211048.321980@c13g2000cwb.googlegroups.com...
I have never really thought about the temps on my OC'ed 6800GT.
Currently running at 404MHz and 1100 MHz. Normally I run high 50's to
low 60's at idle and high 60's to low 70's after a couple of hours of
Star Wars Battlefront. However, I was playing Riddick and noticed
after a half hour of playing, the temps were high 70's to low 80's. Is
this normal or should I scale the card back. I have a Verto board.
And my shutoff temp defaulted to 120ºC. And is there a better cooling
solution. I have never really played with the cooling system on a
video card. Always a bit paranoid about doing it.