Need advice for my 8800GTX

[animy]

Hey,

I've recently upgraded my computer. I purchased the i7 920 CPU and a Asus P6T Deluxe motherboard.
(before that, I had a Asus A8N-E motherboard.)

Now, as I was installing my EVGA 8800GTX card which takes 2 slots with its stock fan, I realized that I can't insert the X-Fi fatality card into the PCI slot, because the 8800 takes up all the space.

I had to put the 8800GTX into the 2nd PCI-E slot, but now that the 8800 is placed on top of the 2nd and 3rd PCI-E slots it's way too close to the bottom of the tower. its fan doesn't have much room for ventilation. As a result, the GPU diode gets as high as 106 degrees Celsius (max) and 101 on average when fully used! 70-75 when idle.

If I remove the X-Fi sound card completely and place the 8800 in the first PCI-E slot, it gets to 86 degrees only (73 idle). Which is high too, but much better. (I'm gonna have to do some more tests, it could actually be higher.)

It can't be possible that a motherboard such as the P6T deluxe is not designed for installing a graphics card and a sound card at the same time, right?
So what am I doing wrong?

I consider buying a heatsink for the 8800, such as the Thermalight H3, but that takes a couple of slots too, doesn't it?

I'd appreciate your advice on this matter,
big thanks!

 

[customisbetter]

can't you just ramp up the fan speed a bit using Rivatuner? I know that the old G80s used to run really hot.

 

[animy]

I have Rivatuner and I set the fan to 100% (it was 60% before)
but now that you've told me, there are 2 fan controls there and the other one for some reason was on 60%. I switched to manual and the idle temps went down by 20 degrees! I'm gonna test the temps and post results tomorrow.
But it's possible that the fan switches to 100% automatically when in full, 3d mode.

Also, what do you mean old G80s? You mean if I bought it in 2007 it was designed to be real hot?
(it's EVGA 8800GTX Superclocked. Running at 621MHZ ROP Core, 1458MHZ Core Shader, 1000MHZ Memory.)

 

[coozie7]

@ animy; Basically, yes, the G80 series of chips were (are) known to both produce quite a lot of heat and also to run hot, it`s just in the nature of the beast. Overclocking can push the heat output up by quite a bit, thus driving up the temperatures.

 

[frozenlead]

Also, what do you mean old G80s? You mean if I bought it in 2007 it was designed to be real hot?

You bought it in 07, but the card was first released much before that. I think they were released in 06 - which one year is an eternity in computing.

Also, the card wasn't designed to be hot...it just turned out that way. All in all, your temps for the first PCI-e slot are typical.

 

[animy]

coozie7, yeah, I'm aware of that, but isn't 100 degrees a little too much? I've heard people complain about 80 degrees and others say they have theirs 20 degrees lower.

Thank you very much for all the replies!

I did some testing with all the fans set to 100% and here's the results:
When placed in the first slot (without the sound card on the MB) Idle - 63 degrees, Load - 92 degrees max.

When in the second PCI-E slot - Idle - 69 degrees. Load - 99 degrees max.

Games seem to glitch sometimes, could it be that it overheats and downclocks?
Or are the temperatures normal?

 

[animy]

hey, I just noticed a couple of posts regarding 8800 temps and the replies were the opposite - they say the temps are too high, that 105 is max for 8800GTX?! then my card does slow down...

if I buy a good heatsink for it, will I be able to install it alongside my sound card (and not instead of it) on P6T deluxe?

 

[jay2tall]

I have a few comments.

Yes 105C is really high for the 8800GTX. I'd suggest better case airflow. Is your case at least a midsize? Are your case fans blowing the hot air out fast enough? You will be surprised what a top blowhole fan will do to all your temps.

Also, Doesn't EVGA has a lifetime warrant? so if it fries... you get it replaced.

I have an X-Fi XtremeGamer card that I would hate to not install into my next system, whenever that comes about.

 

[animy]

Hey jay2tall, thanks for your comments!

I have a Thermaltake Shark case which is either a midsize or a little bit bigger.
Are the fans blowing the hot air out fast enough? I wouldn't exactly know how to measure that. I have 2 case fans - the front and the back. I even keep the side panel open, although that doesn't change much.

I bought the EVGA card from a store, but on eBay and I'm not in the US, but it's not the warranty I'm worried about. I'm more worried about its performance during high temps. I wouldn't want it to slow down.

As for the X-fi XtremeGamer card, it's a funny thing. If you buy a new motherboard, it's a good idea to check if the different slots are correctly aligned.

When I put the sound card with the graphics card, the 8800 goes up 5-6 degrees.

By the way, is X-fi much better than the onboard card? I mean, they were designed in 2003 or so and these new onboard cards support HD sound and EAX 4?

 

[jay2tall]

^
You can always try and get some nice paste, remove the cooler, and repaste it. I've done this in the past for older cards and it does marvels. I like the Artic Silver Ceramique stuff. You have to rub it into the cooler with a towels (just read directions), but is lastest longer than the arctic silver or that factory crap that is something like resin/wax based.

I love my x-fi card, its way better than onboard. I can hear people sneaking up on me in 1st person shooters much easier. Trust me its worth it.

So what size rear fan do you have and at what RPM?
the intake fans have been proven really not to do much, but cool the hard drives if this is where they are situated. Sometimes they do blow across the the video card or stir up pockets of hot air under cards.

You want to blow enough air out of the case so that it creates a negative pressure in return sucking air through the case.