[Solved] Hot graphics card

Forum Graphics & Displays : AMD Radeon [Solved] Hot graphics card

Have purchased a Sapphire Radeon HD 6950 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814102914 and have unlocked it, but the only thing is that sucker gets pretty hot which is to be expected. Idle is around 42 C and running with graphics up pretty high it will reach 90 C or a tad higher pretty quick. My question is is that acceptable temps and will it hurt it running that high for long periods at time, and is there a good air/water cooling system i can get for this card that people have had great experiences with? I use the HAF932 case. And have the Z68X-UD4-B3 mobo from Gigabyte. And final question is if i get another 6950 to run in xfire would it help with graphics temps since both will be sharing the load? Thx guys/gals for the help!

Message edited by drouze041 on 06-21-2011 at 12:44:07 AM

Reply to drouze041

Best answer

1) Graphics cards run hot, but they are built to do so. If they get too hot, they will slow down or shut off to protect themselves. Worry of it gets to 100c.

2) There are utilities that can control the fan speed on your card. You might want to try a more aggressive speed, at the expense of more noise.

3) Take the side cover off of your case and direct a house fan at the innards. If your temperatures drop significantly, then concentrate on improving case cooling.

4) A second card can only compound your cooling problem. The second card will increase your fps as much as possible, increasing the heat output. At least your motherboard has some separation of pci-e slots. Without that gap, the top card would run even hotter.

5) Liquid cooling can help, but by the time you add up the expense, you would be better off with a single GTX590 or 6990.

Reply to geofelt

I don't know if those temps can hurt it but it looks like they're normal:

http://www.techpowerup.com/article [...] idcard/159

Up until a few years ago, every graphics cards maxed out in the 90s C, so I'm thinking you'll not have a problem.

I can't comment on aftermarket coolers since I have no knowledge in that area. If you Crossfire 2 unlocked 6950s and then VSYNC everything you should see the temps drop a little bit, especially since you have a triple-spaced board. (With a standard spaced board temps would almost certainly rise) Another option for cooling your top card would be replacing your 200mm side fan with a couple 120mm fans, though I don't know how that would affect airflow in general in your case.

Reply to cuecuemore

with AMD HD6XXX technology, if it reach 100c degree, it will automatically underclock the power which will slowdown your card.

Reply to sHuib86

Best answer selected by drouze041.

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