For those Who dont want to bore themselves reading all this, a brief resume of my problem: I have an Ati X1900XT, started giving me artifacts, I checked temperatures they where way high (80C!176F!), I used atitool and gave me artifacts, I upped fan speed, could play COD4 with no artifacts, and Ati tool test ran stable for 15 minutes, and now temperatures are higher and Im scared that permanent damage could be done to card, problem showed up when playing assasins creed, already check fan and no dust, Im worried about the problem and would like any advice on what I should do (After market heatsink, replace card?)
 
Hi, I own a system that has a Sapphire Ati X1900XT which I bought a year and a half ago. I almost never turn the system off, not even at night, so the system is always on and working. But recently I started having problems with the card, first while playing Call of Duty 4, I started getting some artifacts and I noted the card's temperature was really high, dont think I havent googled this problem, and the temperatures I was getting were way high! (almost up to 90C, 194F while doing Atitool artifact scan, and 80C-85C, 176F-185F when in COD)
 
I first decided to open up the system and check if the card had any dust or any obstacle that was preventing the fan from doing its work, and I found out the fan was very clean, although I did not check if the heatsink was broke or loose, Im doing that today although I dont think that is the problem (how could the heatsink get loose, if it was working perfectly before)
 
I also downloaded atitool, to check artifact scan, and started getting tons of artifacts after a while in the test, when the card started to heat up. Therefore I decided to check for fan speeds to see if I could manage something in those settings to help up the dissipation of heat from the card, so I decided to choose a fan speed of 100% if the cards temperature surpassed 80C 176F, at last I could play COD 4 without problems, and the atitool artifact scan lasted for at least 15 minutes, with a stable temperature all the time, although I cant deny it was really high for this card (83C 181F throughout the whole test)
 
So really my point in coming here and asking for your help, is to find out what the culprit of such high temperatures could be: I think it may be the fan that is failing due to the high use throughout the whole year, or may it be the thermal paste in the heatsink?  
 
Also what are the possibilities of permanent damage to the card?, yesterday when I started playing Assasins creed the PC restarted itself 2 times, and I noticed once I entered atitool test it had tons of artifacts, although today I turned on the computer and ran ati test for some minutes and no artifacts appeared, although I stopped it because temperatures where getting to the boiling point of water! also I have to note that the fan started sounding like it was loose, Im going to check that today also. Any help its appreciated.
 
What course of action should I take?
 
Should I buy an aftermarket heatsink? or send the card to replace for a new one?
 
Edit: I forgot to say the card is not overclocked and idling at 65C 149F

have you tried cleaning the dust out? if you have had it for a while it may be getting "clogged up"

Those temps are actually normal for that card. I had a x1900xtx before my current card and before I put on the Thermalright HR03 cooler with stock cooling it hit 90C all the time while gaming. Idle I think it was 55Cish.    The Idle temp seems a little high, but that is all dependent on your ambient temps.    

Is the card under warranty? if so contact the company first.Is it an ATI brand card or just ATI GPU card that maybe Sapphire or someone else manufactured?  Don't try to patch up the issue by installing a new cooler. There is an issue with your card.  Artifacts point to a memory issue.

The fan may look clean but there may be dust in the heat sink.  Try a can of compressed air, first blow into the exhaust until no dust comes out then blow in the direction the fan sends air until you see no dust.  Repeat until you can't see any more dust.

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Canned air is for whimps and the geek squad. You need an air compressor. I tell you what, I used a can on my PC and then my dad said to bring it over and use his compressor. MAN I kicked out twice as much with that thing.

True,
 
air compressor performance > can o' air performance
 
Can o' air price $3.99 < air compressor price $99.99 (cheapie)
 
simple math is what drives us to use can o' air  
 

I just got rid of my x1950 pro not too long ago.  Worked great in all games except COD4 in which I got artifacts after a few moments or just randomly.  Everything else was fine just COD4.  Several friends with ATI x1900 series are having this artifact problems in COD4 for some reason.

 
I have the same problem with my X1950 XTX in COD4 except it seems like it's only on the map Crossfire I get weird black flashes in a diagonal line all over.
 
As far as the X1900 XT just use the can of air idea, I did that to mine and WOW did it help.. It no longer kicks the fan on to 100% when I just load a game. As far as damage, I'm not sure..I worry about it the same as you are.

You never want to use a compressor on a computer system to clean it. Moving air creates static electricity, thats why they add compounds to the canned air made to use in cleaning computers, to eliminate static buildup. Not to mention that a compressor emits oil into the air as well.  
 
As far as artifacts and the 1900 series card, I haven't had this issue with COD4 and I've been playing it since it came out. Sometimes for hours on end.

 
What drivers are you using? I figured that might be the problem with the artifacts maybe?

 
And moisture if you don't have a moisture trap.
 
To each their own, but I would advise canned over compressed air.
 
Although the static issue wouldn't matter too much if short bursts on a device that's turned off. Especially if grounded and undable to buld up much charge.
 
But the compressor oil and moisture would be potential issues I'd want to be sure are taken care of (can be done with proper eqp).
 
PS, as mentioned, 80C really isn't all that hot, now above 100C that would be of concern for damage. The X1900 was made to handle those temps.
However best thing to do if you think it's a cooling issue, clean HSF, increase ventilation (blow a fan directly on the area) and see what happens with the issues.

My X1900XT collected a lot of dust, however instead of taking a can 'o air, I used a tweaser to pull the layer of dust from the exposed side of the heatsink.

Walking around on shag carpet in a forced air heated house in a dry winter does to! but I still touch my PC. haha. I'm not to concerned about it. I have never seen static kill anything with a PC as of yet.

Honestly I only use the compressor to clean out the whole case of dust bunnies, just a card a can of air will probably be fine. Heck if you can blow hard it would do. With so many people full of hot air these days, im sure you could have one of them assist.

Hi, thankyou for all your help, sorry for taking to long to respond but lamentably email notification did not work. I will check today for any dust in the card and try to blow it out, also I will try to use the card while the case is open and blow a fan into it. Ambient temps are really high where I live almost 26C-32C all year long.  
 
Im already in the process of contacting sapphire, but before I send my card to warranty Im going to do whatever I can (without violating the warranty) to see if my cards temp go down.  
 
I think it may the fan or dust that is making the card fail, because Ive used the card before and the card did not come even close to those temperatures. Still thanks for your helps and I will post any updates.
 
About the COD issues, the issues corrected after I decided to upper the fan speeds while playing, so it is probbably a thermal issue that was giving these symptoms.

Sapphire has a lifetime warranty I believe. They may possibly replace your card with a "similar model" if they no longer have your card in stock.  I've heard of people sending in their 7900GT in to be fixed and they get an 8800GT in return as a replacement.  It's possible if it is defective that you can come out of the deal ahead. So don't mess with the card.  Take the card out and make sure its clean on the inside of the cooler. If you have at least moderate case airflow it shouldn't do that.