HD 7870 how much voltage is safe?

YattaRX8

January 5, 2013 12:28:41 AM

I was told that any voltage is safe (within reason) assuming I make sure the temperatures don't get too high, and that anything lower than 70C is safe. But seeing how my GPU died after ~4 months of ownership, I'm kind of skeptical and would like a second opinion. My HIS IceQ 7870 stayed under 60C while playing my most graphically intense game (Skyrim), while having the voltage set to 1.3 (1.218 stock). My core clock was 1250mhz and memory was 1450mhz and I was completely stable. I hit 70C when using Furmark, but seeing as how that doesn't really represent real usage, I mostly ignored it. I don't remember what the VRM temps were at, but I do remember them being in the supposed safe range. I had my fan set around 70-80%.

Anyways, was it coincidence that my GPU died, or was I lied to about the voltage?

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Z1NONLY

Graphics card Expert

Overclocking Authority

January 5, 2013 1:48:27 AM

You can have good temps and still have voltage that's too high.

The problem is nailing down how much is too much.

I won't go over 1v with my GTX 560's. (regardless of temps)

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YattaRX8

January 5, 2013 2:06:23 PM

Is there anywhere to find out safe voltages for GPUs? Because I can never find anything with google on the subject.

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warhead0

Graphics card Expert

January 5, 2013 2:13:22 PM

I did a little research (google) of the GPU, and the maximum safe voltage I would not cross is 1.2 Volts.

Keep in mind every GPU will vary slightly, so you may find the GPU becomes unstable at lower voltages than others.

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YattaRX8

January 5, 2013 7:25:07 PM

But the stock voltage was 1.218 :X

But all is well, apparently there's nothing wrong with my graphics card. Apparently there's a common bug with my mobo where the PCIe slot stops recognizing graphics cards, and a simple restoring of the default settings fixes it. I updated the BIOS as well, since it enables my PCIe to work as a 3.0 instead of a 2.0 as well.

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Andre Araujo

April 17, 2013 6:36:58 AM

YattaRX8 said:

But the stock voltage was 1.218 :X

But all is well, apparently there's nothing wrong with my graphics card. Apparently there's a common bug with my mobo where the PCIe slot stops recognizing graphics cards, and a simple restoring of the default settings fixes it. I updated the BIOS as well, since it enables my PCIe to work as a 3.0 instead of a 2.0 as well.

Amazinly I had the same prob, lots of people haveing this now!
Now I managed somehow to keep it like it is with the bios, after 3 weeks of despair.
Im afraid of upgrading the bios, and having all the same prob again.

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