MSI afterburner temps after a waterblock install on an HD 6870

[msp23]

I just installed an EK full cover waterblock on my HD 6870 and the temps in afterburner are reading crazy high. Like idle temp 64 C and if I tab into a game for a split second it hits over 100 C. Is this a false reading caused by removing the stock cooler or whats going on? My cpu temps are fine, idling at 30 C and the water is pumping and everything, no air bubbles should be left, ran it for an hour before I powered up the motherboard.

Is it giving me false readings or whats going on?

 

[henydiah]

are you apply thermal paste is too much & thick ..?

 

[rubix_1011]

Check if the block is seated correctly. Also, how is your loop setup? Are you certain you don't have something blocking your GPU block? I'd assume not if your CPU temps are fine.

CPU temps fine; GPU is super hot...check the mounting of the GPU block on your 6870...something isn't right.

 

[msp23]

I'll check the mounting in a bit. The loop goes pump from Rasa 750 rx240 kit to the gpu block, to cpu block, to rad and back to reservoir pump combo.

 

[rubix_1011]

That loop should be fine unless there is an air bubble keeping your loop from pushing. Before your pull it apart to check the mounts, turn it on and try tilting in all directions to see if any air comes dislodged...your temps should indicate if flow returns to normal (if flow is the problem). Otherwise, move on to inspecting the card mount.

 

[msp23]

Best answer selected by msp23.

 

[msp23]

Well no airbubbles, but after taking off the water block it looked like there wasn't enough thermal paste on the gpu core. Cleaned and redid the thermal paste, remounted, and its now nice and cool

 

[rubix_1011]

I'm betting it was more the mount than the paste. True, having a good paste contact is wanted, even if you had block|GPU mount without paste, you'd still see decent temps...not overheating/crashing. There would be more than enough thermal transfer to keep it cool.

However, excellent news that you got it resolved.

 

[msp23]

But the load temps still seem high.. spiking up to high 70's on burn mode with the cpu stressed as well

 

[rubix_1011]

Watercooled GPUs shouldn't be getting that hot unless you are short on radiator space. Are you running any rad other than the RX240 for a CPU+GPU loop? That should be enough, but I wouldn't overclock on that until you get more radiators to add. Where is the rad mounted? What fans?

 

[msp23]

I just have the rx240 rad with the fans that come with the rasa 750 kit. Its a black edition card so its slightly overclocked already but shouldn't be this hot I wouldn't think. The rad is mounted on the inside of my case with fans blowing out. Its mounted on the top and I custom cut holes into my nzxt apollo case for the fans

 

[rubix_1011]

I'd think you should see lower load temps than that...thinking 50C or so at load on that GPU? Does it remain steady at 70C or does it slowly climb? How long does it take to hit 70C once you put load on it? Are you sure you don't have an obstruction somewhere?

 

[msp23]

I don't think I have an obstruction but I guess i will take it apart again in a bit. If I run furmark it hits 70 almost immediately then slowly climbs, it was up to 80 when I stopped it

 

[rubix_1011]

What CPU are you running in the loop? Do you have it overclocked?

 

[msp23]

CPU is a Phenom II 965 x4 Black Edition, non overclocked. The cpu stays nice and cold

 

[rubix_1011]

Something is definitely wrong with the GPU block, the mounting or there is a blockage. Your GPU temps should be much lower than what they are...if your CPU is idling around 30C...your GPU should also.

 

[msp23]

What should I be looking for exactly? and how can I check if there are blockages.. It's already hooked in and the tubing is a serious pain in the ass to get back off especially since its full of water

 

[rubix_1011]

It could be something as simple as a piece of plastic or paint that got lodged (which is why you should ALWAYS flush all components prior to assembly) or you could even have a tubing kink...forgot about that.

Yes, it's a PITA to drain your loop, but if it saves your video card, it's worth it. You could try pulling the block off the card to see how the paste looks and if it is seating well to the GPU...if it is, it has to be a kink or blockage...those temps don't seem right at all.

 

[msp23]

How should I go about draining it without damaging the pump?

 

[msp23]

well I re did the whole thing again. Took the block all the way off, detached hoses, flushed the block with water, cleaned and replaced all the thermal paste again. And magic happened and now I get low 50's and very slow climbing temps with gpu on burn mode

 

[rubix_1011]

Are you still seeing better temps? Did you find anything during the tear down and rebuild? Something had to happen to see a 10C+ difference in temps...

Good to hear its getting better.

 

[msp23]

I honestly didn't see anything but possibly excess thermal paste. I redid it and maybe something got flushed out when i ran a bunch of water through it but i'm not sure. I left my cpu and gpu on full burn mode last night and the temps held steady at 42 C for the cpu and 61-62 on the gpu. So I would say that sounds much more reasonable to me. The idle temps are both low 30's

 

[rubix_1011]

Yeah, that's probably about where you are going to sit on a single RX240. Still though...warm for watercooling, cooler than stock cooling. Adding another rad would improve your load temps, but I know that isn't always possible for everyone's budget.

You could run push/pull fans on your rad...that would help some.

 

[msp23]

Yeah I'm not to worried about the temps. It's cooler and quieter then air and thats what I wanted. The case I have is also tiny so the most I could do is put in another 120 rad in the back to keep it all internal. I'm not a huge fan of the look of back mounted rads. But anyway temps when gaming never get above 55 on the card so thats awesome by me. It took enough messing with the case to get the darn thing in there haha.

Anway, thanks for all the help, if I find a +1 button I will click it haha