4870 x2 Heat Issue Questions

I recently bought 2 sapphire 4870 x2s with my new computer system. I am currently in the process of checking all the new components to make sure they are functional, and I have a heat question about the 4870 x2s. I have noticed that when connected in Crossfire, and just running though the BIOS specs, that the card connected directly to monitor gets quite hot but the other one does not. Is this normal? Also, how hot is too hot for a 4870 x2? I can only hold my hand on the exhaust port for a few seconds before it gets too hot and I have to pull away. Is this a possible RMA? Thanks.

is there a side fan in your case?when running more then 1 cards its recommended have a side fan blowing right into them.

it could also be driver related as the crossfire drivers would not have loaded up yet, i noticed something like it with my 2 x1900's.

one cards fan would run at max for a few seconds later than the other till windows started loading and in linux it would not slow down at all as their was no crossfire drivers.

no, 35-40 is fine for games, i have it at 40% all the time and if i tabb out of games it is never higher than 75.

also this thread is not about temps, it is about behaviour at startup, learn to read.

you misunderstand, re-read what i typed.

I'm assuming you don't own a 4870X2, because setting the fan speed anywhere past 60-70% is obnoxiously loud, and 100% makes it sound like the fan is going to shatter from all the G-force. My previous card, the GX2 had a much less powerful fan (or Nvidia did not allow insane RPMS like ATI does) So, I used to run it 100% for games which kept it very cool. Just so you know, the GX2 at 100% fan speed is about equal to the noise produced by the 4870X2 at 40-50% fan speed, please make informed posts.

fast enough to make my comp start edging along the desk.

Heat and noise levels:
http://www.guru3d.com/article/rade [...] rossfire/6

Noise isn't too bad. Keep in mind though, they measured noise level it at 75 centimeters away, which is further than most people set to their computer. If you set closer, it'll be louder.

What they say about it heating up a small room is absolutely true. I can feel the difference in ambient air temp when my graphics card is on. I think I'll get a thermometer later just to see how much of a difference it makes.

I'm gonna move my PC down on the floor by my feet.... it'll keep them nice and warm.

I just wish I knew why one GPU is 30 degrees hotter than the other

I am running vista 64 bit edition and currently, ATITOOL is not compatible with this os. I was wondering if there was any other way to adjust the 4870 X2's fan speed. Any suggestions guys?

Expertool (version 4.0) for ATI possibily can help.

http://www.geeks3d.com/wp-content/ [...] .php?id=15

you can use the ati display driver software that comes with the hd4870 x2 or download the latest driver from the ati website. use the ati overdrive function from the catylist software and manually set the fan speed to your desired speed