HD 4850 @ 80 C

did u do the fan hack? ur fan probably is in automatic and bc of that is not blowing strong enough to cool ur card...

fan hack instruction:

C:\Users\(ur user here)\AppData\Local\ATI\ACE\Profiles

then u open the profile u created in CCC with wordpad, then change where it says "Automatic" change to "Manual" and in the porcentage value 2 lines below set it to 40 - 50%, save the changes and activate the profile again.
Your temps should drop to low 40's idle low 50's load.

Just to give you a reference, I, too, have a Radeon HD4850 and it runs at about 45C idle, and goes up to about 50-55C when I play games (the only game I play is Everquest 2). Heck, I even set it so that warning alarms go off at 70C.

My card is an Asus brand card, and I got the Asus PC Doctor software that monitors the GPU temp, clock settings and fan speed. Try installing it and see if it works for yours.

I just bought a VisionTek HD 4850 and it also runs at 80°c.

From what I've been able to find on the Internet, (right or wrong, Im only repeating what I've read from memory), it seems that ATi knows that their 4850's run at 80°c and have set the fan to maintain that temperature whether at idle or while under load.

However on one sites review of the card they read the temperature at only 68°c at idle but are using an external digital thermometer and reading at different places than perhaps the CCC determines the heat from, so that could be the difference.

When I use the CCC to change the fan speed and set it to 45%, the temps drop to around 61°c which still seems a bit warm to me, since my 8800's use to run at 48°c at idle however my 8800's are dual slot and exhaust at least some of the heat out the back of the case.

Turning up the fan speed above 55% lowers the temps even more however the noise is unbearable. It sounds as if the fan is about to spin out of control and like it's scuffing against something when it's not, it's just the fan moving so fast that causes this obnoxious noise.

I would take the graphics card back to the store that I bought it at except that my 8800 takes up two slots, so it takes up the slot that my tv tuner fits in, and this 4850 is only one slot so I can use my tv tuner in my computer.

I don't know, I've read that 80°c wont harm the card, and that it only limits your overclocking abilities, however even on max load my 8800's never approach 80°c and it just seems a bit odd feeling to me that this card gets such high temps at idle when not manually controlling the fan speed.

I live in the deserts of southern California where our summer temps outside get to be anywhere from 110°f to about 121°f and so the house here gets up to about 80f which I think is going to make this a very noisey video card next summer if it has to run the fan above 55% to keep it cool when gaming.

It wont hurt the card but obviously if you can run it lower its better. You shouldnt need a hack as fan speed control was added to the latest drivers. ATI Tray tools has an option for fan control as well i think.

Mactronix

Yah, I was suprised to find the fan controls in the catalyst control center as the last time I used an ATi graphics card was ages ago and it wasn't something that was in the CCC.

Well, I ended up returning the card this morning to the best buy as it was just putting out too much heat, with my computers side door off, I put my hand in the case near to the CPU fan and the heat was pretty hot in there, this was with the card running at 80c.

Turning up the fan to about 55% did cool down the card a bit, but was too loud.

There use to be a big debate on how much hot air is exhausted out the second slot on the 8800's since they have a side vent on the panel and many people felt that most of the hot air was exhausted back into the case with only a little bit making it out the back of the computer, but I think that's now solved in my mind because with the 8800 back in the computer and the side door off, there is no extra noticible heat lingering in the case.

That 4850 just won't do for our hot summers down here, even with extra case fans, it just puts off too much heat for our local temps, I'd end up having to run with the door off and a fan blowing in there come next summer to keep everything cool with that monster 4850 heating everything up, so it went back to the store and I wait until something else is available that runs a bit cooler.

@ Kuplo
To be honest if its that hot where you are then i would be looking at water cooling, failing that either a His 4850 or drop your sights and go for a 4830.

Back to the OP
@ carpenter20m,

As i already said the card will be fine at that temp but ideally lower is better, Speedfan is a free download i have used in the past that i found reliable and accurate. I did some research and apparently chips are tested up to 120 degrees so the companies could in theory run the chips faster but they would then heat up and they are wary of lawsuits from people with burnt fingers. The source wasnt one of my usual ones so im not 100% sure its reliable, sounds about right to me though.

Mactronix

I got a HD 4850 card and I run @ 80 C idle with the fanspeed set at 55%, I'm worred that my soundcard is blocking the fan a bit (about 10 cm spacing between the soundcard + graphic card)

I also have an HD4850. I've downloaded newest versions of CCC and ASUS SmartDoctor. I've set fan to 100% and I still get 85C at idle. Is there anything else I could do besides buying a 3rd party vga cooler? If so, which one should I get? Please help. Thanks.

SvanteH, if possible, move the sound card to a lower slot. If not, see below:

SvanteH and burnik: You can try opening the case and using a house fan to blow directly onto the card to see if that lowers the temps. If so, what you have is a dead zone, or swirling air pocket, inside your case that never vents. Instead, the air just recirculates in and out of the card, heating up each pass and never cooling it. Installing a side-fan on the case cover should alleviate the problem.

If using a house fan has no effect, contact the manufacturer and explain the situation to them. Most are well aware of such issues and should be able to help you make any necessary changes to your specific card to reduce the temperatures, or troubleshoot things further. Different manufacturers will give you different instructions based on their stance regarding modifying items in relation to their warranty.

It's possible both of you have cards in which the cooler is not making full and/or proper contact with the GPU chip. The really unfortunate thing you may both run into is the manufacturer stating that such temps are within the "acceptable range" for that particular GPU. It is indeed unfortunate, but also the sad truth - 4850's are hot. In such a case, aftermarket coolers may be your salvation, despite them voiding many warranties. Arctic Cooling makes some excellent VGA coolers, as does Zalman.

I opened the case and used a house fan and still get the same result.

burnik, to you I can only suggest contacting ASUS, if indeed that is who made the card. Their warranty policy is a little different depending upon your location. Where is it you live, North America, South America, Europe, Asia, south Pacific?

I live in California. I will contact ASUS. Thanks RazBeryBandit, I really appreciate your help.

I have an ATI HD 4850 and running Vista on Boot Camp on a Mac.

I go to C:\Users\(ur user here)\AppData\Local\
Then I can't see ATI\ACE\Profiles

Any other ways of changing the fan speed?

Any help would be appreciated cuz when I play GRID it starts lagging after like 5 minutes and my iMac gets really hot.

I don't use a Mac, so I don't know if it'll work, but if that setup fully supports all programs designed for Windows, you could try installing RivaTuner from Guru3D.com. It has fan control support.

If you need an aftermarket cooler for a 4850, I'd highly recommend the Akasa Vortexx cooler if you have one of the original single slot ones. I just installed one on mine, and idle temps dropped from 42-46C to 33-36C and max temps from 70-100C to 45-55C. It takes up two slots, but is very lightweight, effective, and not too expensive. I plan to do a photo review of it in a day or two if I get a chance.

A few problems with recommending an aftermarket cooler, and specifically an Akasa product:
1. Akasa products have extremely limited availability in North America.
2. As an aftermarket cooler, installing it may void the manufacturer's warranty.
3. Cost - You have to actually buy the item, whereas the use of free software that can override and control the speed of the stock cooling fan may bring the temps down to an acceptable level.
4. If you're not "good with your hands" you may have some difficulty installing any aftermarket cooling solution, not to mention results will always vary based on the thermal compound used and how well (read as, properly) it's applied.

Yes, true. However I live in North America (USA, to be specific) and you can get it from Performance PC pretty cheap.
I also agree, it is definitely not for everyone. I was an advocate of just upping the fan speed for a while, but then it kept getting less effective, and once temps got over 100C, I decided I had to do something.

I know some of the things I had to do many others would not be comfortable with, just something to do as a last resort if the setting changes don't work.

And for not knowing how, that is a very valid point. Many have seen how to install CPU coolers, but GPU stuff is much rarer. That's why I will really try to post my review/instructions for others (since there are probably many with the stock 4850/3850 cooler getting alarming temps now).

And for the warranty, again I agree. I only did it because my card is coming up on a year old now, so I feel I got my money's worth out of it if I killed it.

Your suggestions are definitely the best to try first.

I should say it wasn't my intention to invalidate your suggestion, EXT64. I just felt it necessary to point out the risks involved with making a move to an aftermarket GPU cooling solution. Sometimes an aftermarket solution is indeed the way to go.

In many heat-related cases, the manufacturers themselves can often be of great help in alleviating the problem, either through the use of their own software or 3rd-party software. If software solutions don't provide a cure, sometimes they'll deem a card defective and replace it. They're well aware of the many factors that can contribute to excessive heat build-up within their products, and any one of these factors would indeed be a defect in materials and workmanship, which requires them to cover the item under their warranty terms. Of course, the support one gets all depends on the manufacturer in question, as some offer far superior support than others.

The concerns you raised are very valid and like I said, those suggestions should definitely be tried first. The stock single slot cooler worked fine for me for quite a while. In fact, I think it finally getting too hot had more to do with dust buildup in te cooler than anything else.