MSI Radeon HD 5770 suddenly very hot

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Fire Lancer

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Normally I run my 5770 Hawk at 1000MHz core clock, 1200mV core voltage and 1400MHz mem clocks, and manage keep the temps below 70C and the fan below 50%.

Today I changed my CPU heatsink, and now my GPU even at stock clocks (875MHz core, 1125mV, 12000MHz mem) jumps to over 80C near instantly, and the fan has to run at 00% to stop it getting well into the 90's, although the fan speed seems to have very little effect, a 50% fan speed only seems to make like 1C difference...its as if the heat just isnt getting from the core to the heatsink suddenly...


When I first saw this I litterally thought one of the 2 fans must have died or somthing, so open up my case again, but both fans are working, and moving a lot of rather cold air around that heatsink... Even the other side of the card near the CPU is getting a lot of cool air pulled across it due to the rear and top fans on my antec 300....


Any ideas on what I could have possibly done to it and what I can do about it?
 
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There is no visible dust, and as I said having opened the case and taken a look there is a lot of cool air being moved. The air getting blown out of the heat sink does not feel hot either... Surprisingly enough there is even a noticeable airflow across the back of the card where one would expect the CPU above it to be pulling in all the air...

The GPU temps with the side of the case on and off are identical as far as I can tell as well.

EDIT:


The heat sink itself is also cold to the touch, certainly doesn't feel like there is a core under it doing 90C...

Could I while taking the card out and putting it back again (since changing the heat sink meant taking the motherboard out of the case) have somehow broken the thermal contact between the GPU core and heat sink, since I guess as it ages it becomes more brittle and dislikes movement between the parts more? Is their any real way to check and fix this? I guess I still have a fair bit of thermal paste left over from the CPU heat sink if you think that could actually be the problem (and if doing so doesn't break the MSI warranty?)?
 
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Fire Lancer

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So ok lets say I did somhow make it so the cold air around the graphics card is somhow not touching it, should the heatsink itself not get at least a little bit warm instead then?


EDIT:

Added picture. There are fan at the front of the case, and the top / rear fans. I put arrows showing what it feels like the air is doing within the case more or less. For reference the antec tri speed fans are on their mid setting, so where the arrows are that size (width) their really is quite a breeze blowing.

Given that the CPU is above the GPU (with the GPU heat sink and fans on the bottom), I am not really sure how the CPU could make such a drastic difference, especially as I said without anything in the area feeling slightly hot. The only thing that feels warmer than the ambient temperature is actually the CPU heat sink its self after a hour of stress testing. Do it with the graphics card and I get a 90C core temp and a cold heat sink....

 
N.Broekhuijsen

N.Broekhuijsen

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What your describing, and based on the airflow im seeing there, I am 95% sure it is just contact broken between the heatsink and the GPU.

Simply take off the GPU heatsink, clean off all the paste, add new paste and reapply it. Let me see if MSI allows this in their warranty. one moment.
 
N.Broekhuijsen

N.Broekhuijsen

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Hmm, can't really find it hard-written anywhere that MSI is ok with you doing this.

I know that a number of manufacturers are fine with you applying custom coolers and servicing the cooling yourself, as long as if you send it for RMA you give it with the original cooler.

How old is your card? You could consider that it might be worth just servicing it yourself.

If you do not wish to do this, you can always just send it in for RMA, or send them an email asking about the situation and how it can be resolved.

Hope this helps,

Cheerz :sol:
 
N.Broekhuijsen

N.Broekhuijsen

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if its within a year (depending on where you live) just process the RMA via the store you bought it from. MUCH easier, and they get to deal with all the paperwork.

With a single video card at 8 months it would not even surprise me if they just exchange it for a new one.
 
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Well the reseller (morecomputers) seem to want the manufacturer to agree a part is faulty before expecting the RMA (something about they cant have technical expertise in there x thousand products and so cant determine if a problem is incorrect installation, user error, or actually faulty)...

I filled out the MSI form as best I could and hopefully they will get back with either a "go ahead and reapply thermal compound" or a "return for repair/replacement"... might try the MSI forums as well in case there is someone around their that knows more about there warranties.
 
N.Broekhuijsen

N.Broekhuijsen

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hmmm well they have a crap policy then. In the place I worked a while back over the summer if we deemed that something was not right and the customer wanted an RMA, and was not sure of it, we just sent them off to the manufacturers, and then let them figure out the problem.

This situation seems clear though what the problem is. Just by reading this if I was the one helping you in the store I would have handed you a new card and sent this one for RMA, on the store's expense.

Oh well different country different laws different attitudes.... :pfff:

Good luck filling out the MSI form!

Cheerz and good luck! :sol:
 
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Yes, but me doing a fix takes like an hour. Sending it in leaves me with no computer for however long since I dont have a spare or even an integrated GPU on this motherboard. Plus it costs postage in one direction IIRC for both morecomputers and MSI...


If MSI say I cant change the thermal myself Ill send it back as faulty, since if I leave the fans on the auto setting rather than forcing them higher it hits the 90's and then locks the computer up within 10 minutes of playing a game.
 
N.Broekhuijsen

N.Broekhuijsen

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well that alone seems like evidence enough for them to accept it as a faulty card.

I myself would reapply the thermal paste myself just like that without a doubt, but I can understand if you have a little more trouble doing that.

Good luck with the paperwork
 
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ok, got a reply back from MSI (actually quite fast, I guess so many people see that form and give up they dont actually get many support requests or something :p).

"applying thermal paste will not void the manufacturer warranty unless damaged caused by the process."

So looks like some new thermal paste it is :)
 
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Far better, under 70C now once again with my overclock on the auto fan settings (that spun up to a grand speed of 45%) :)

The old thermal paste was like slightly dry clay...peeled straight off... there was loads of it too right over the edges of the GPU chip...

EDIT: Applying the paste isn't the issue, although I was surprised by how much smaller the GPU core was over the CPU's ive done before, hardly used up any of my paste at all lol. I just didn't want to void the warranty since MSI said it is 3 years from manufacture and there is plenty to go wrong in that time.
 
N.Broekhuijsen

N.Broekhuijsen

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ahaha useful message mean nothing in the forums, nobody looks at them..

strange, normally around this point "Choose as best answer" buttons start showing up. You can't miss them.

Moderators: help :)

Otherwise, forget it.
 
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