New Graphics Card

[b0bm4n]

So my current graphics card is overheating like crazy, decided to get a new one. I'm not 100% sure on my budget, i'd like it to be under £150 though I may be able to go slightly over if needed. I'd also like it to be able to last quite a while, which is why I'm willing to go over my budget if required. Not too sure what my overheating problem is, so one with a decent fan would be nice, might also buy an extra case fan if anyone wants to suggest one to get.

Here's my current specs:

Case COOLERMASTER HAF 922 MID TOWER GAMING CASE
CPU Intel® Core™i7 Quad Core Processor i7-950 (3.06GHz) 4.8GTs/8MB Cache
Motherboard ASUS® P6X58D PREMIUM: DDR3, USB 3.0 & SATA 6.0GB/s, 3-Way SLI
Memory 6GB KINGSTON HYPER-X T1 TRI-DDR3 2000MHz, X.M.P
Graphics Card 2GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX460 GDDR5 PCI EXPRESS - DirectX® 11
2nd Graphics Card 2GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX460 GDDR5 PCI EXPRESS - DirectX® 11
1st Hard Disk 40GB Intel® X25-V 2.5" SSD (34nm / upto 170MB/sR | 35MB/sW)
2nd Hard Disk 1TB WD CAVIAR GREEN WD10EARS, SATA 3 Gb/s, 64MB CACHE
Power Supply CORSAIR 850W PSU (TX850) 80+ ULTRA QUIET
Operating System Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit

I've looked at a few myself, not too sure which to get. I'm deciding between:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-156-OK - Cheap, but i'm not sure how good OcUK is.
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-156-EA&groupid=701&catid=1914&subcat= - Pretty expensive for me, though it seems to me like the best performance of the 3
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-132-MS&groupid=701&catid=1914&subcat= - Same price as above, but less performance from what I can tell.. The only reason I like this one is because it's MSI + dual fans, so seems like it would be the lowest temp.

Pretty sure I included everything.. Let me know if I didn't, just copy/pasted from the site I got it from. I included my ideas but I'm sure you guys know more than me, and I don't want to buy a useless card. Thanks =)

 

[purple stain]

Either the 6870 or the GTX560 is probably the best bang for your buck based on your budget.They both perform right around the same area.

Out of those I would say this one is the best.MSI makes some of the best cooling on the market.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-132-MS&groupid=701&catid=1914&subcat=

 

[b0bm4n]

Either the 6870 or the GTX560 is probably the best bang for your buck based on your budget.They both perform right around the same area.

Out of those I would say this one is the best.MSI makes some of the best cooling on the market.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=GX-132-MS&groupid=701&catid=1914&subcat=

Thanks, anyone else got any other suggestions? Gonna be buying this probably in about a week, wanna make sure I get a good one

 

[purple stain]

Do you know why your GTX460 overheated?

 

[b0bm4n]

Do you know why your GTX460 overheated?

Nope. It didn't overheat, it just gets insanely hot in games, even old games. It gets to about ~82*c in Oblivion with low graphics. Seeing as Skyrim is coming out soon, I would assume it to go above 90*c easily on that game. I've never actually done anything inside the PC myself.. Someone else suggested putting some arctic silver on it, but i'd have to buy that and then pay an extra ~£20 for someone to apply it for me. That's why I was considering getting a case fan, and why I preferred the MSI graphics card.

 

[ilysaml]

what resolution will you be gaming at ? will you use CF/SLI?

 

[b0bm4n]

what resolution will you be gaming at ? will you use CF/SLI?

1920x1080 - Using 2 monitors atm, other res is 1440 x 900. I'd like to keep my 2nd monitor, though if I can get a good, cool graphics card then I wouldn't mind disabling it.

I guess I don't mind using CF/SLI, i'm using SLI atm but it's the first time i've used it and the first time i've had major temperature problems, so I don't really like the idea of it too much.

 

[ilysaml]

you really have a nice rig, so complete this nice rig with a nice GPU
HD 6870 or GTX 550 ti would disappoint you in 1080P resolution, and you'll find a significant drop in FPS while playing all the upcoming games on that resolution
also i wouldn't recommend HD 6870s in CF, these cards are the worst ever in CF and Microstuttering explained recently by Tomshardware
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-geforce-stutter-crossfire,2995.html
so your best option is to get a strong GPU like HD 6970 or GTX 570 and enjoy gaming at 1080P

 

[purple stain]

Those temps are normal for a GTX460.They have a max temp at around 100c.If your using them in SLI then the higher temp you see is probably from the top card since heat rise's.Since it still works I would suggest going with an Nvdida card so you can use PhysX with it.Should get a nice boost using it.

Adding a case fan is really simple.A lot more simple than adding Arctic Silver to a GPU.If you still have the stock fans for the HAF 922 I would suggest getting a couple more 120mm fans.I have the HAF 922 myself and the 200mm fans are good but that rear 120mm fan isn't so good.

 

[b0bm4n]

Those temps are normal for a GTX460.They have a max temp at around 100c.If your using them in SLI then the higher temp you see is probably from the top card since heat rise's.Since it still works I would suggest going with an Nvdida card so you can use PhysX with it.Should get a nice boost using it.

Adding a case fan is really simple.A lot more simple than adding Arctic Silver to a GPU.If you still have the stock fans for the HAF 922 I would suggest getting a couple more 120mm fans.I have the HAF 922 myself and the 200mm fans are good but that rear 120mm fan isn't so good.

Seeing as it gets 82*c on a 4 year old game, I would assume it's sequel (releasing in Nov 2011) would raise that by quite a lot, wouldn't it? If not all the way to 100*c?

Any links to an actual fan to buy? No idea how much they are, or what fan I would get.

you really have a nice rig, so complete this nice rig with a nice GPU
HD 6870 or GTX 550 ti would disappoint you in 1080P resolution, and you'll find a significant drop in FPS while playing all the upcoming games on that resolution
also i wouldn't recommend HD 6870s in CF, these cards are the worst ever in CF and Microstuttering explained recently by Tomshardware
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/radeon-geforce-stutter-crossfire,2995.html
so your best option is to get a strong GPU like HD 6970 or GTX 570 and enjoy gaming at 1080P

I can't really afford anything higher than £150 atm. Maybe if I waited until christmas for some sales.. Any idea which card(s) I should get, then? Edit - Nvm, just noticed you suggested some, thanks!

 

[purple stain]

The GTX560 will be fine for 1080p.And the GTX460 as a PhysX card will give a nice boost if you choose to use it.

I myself have a couple LED fans which you can see in my avatar.Which kind of fans would you be interested in,theirs so many to choose from.

LED fans
Quiet fans
High airflow fans

 

[ilysaml]

Those temps are normal for a GTX460.They have a max temp at around 100c.If your using them in SLI then the higher temp you see is probably from the top card since heat rise's.Since it still works I would suggest going with an Nvdida card so you can use PhysX with it.Should get a nice boost using it.

Adding a case fan is really simple.A lot more simple than adding Arctic Silver to a GPU.If you still have the stock fans for the HAF 922 I would suggest getting a couple more 120mm fans.I have the HAF 922 myself and the 200mm fans are good but that rear 120mm fan isn't so good.

what is the definition of a max temp " the maximum temperature that that card will work under without getting fired out "
that doesn't mean a 80C at IDLE mode is fine or normal, there might be an issue like the space between cards, room ambient, leak of air flow.......
the minimum allowed temp for IDLE GPU shouldn't exceed 50s

 

[b0bm4n]

I myself have a couple LED fans which you can see in my avatar.Which kind of fans would you be interested in,theirs so many to choose from.

LED fans
Quiet fans
High airflow fans

Well i've been running my GPU fans at 100% while gaming (still getting 82*c) so noise really doesn't bother me. Whichever fans you think would cool my GPU / rest of my system the most. Either LED fans or High airflow fans. - Keep in mind I don't have.. too much to spend. I could maybe get £300 at most if I waited until Christmas. Which also needs to pay for the graphics card I may or may not get.

what is the definition of a max temp " the maximum temperature that that card will work under without getting fired out "
that doesn't mean a 80C at IDLE mode is fine or normal, there might be an issue like the space between cards, room ambient, leak of air flow.......
the minimum allowed temp for IDLE GPU shouldn't exceed 50s

I'm getting 38*c / 40*c while idle (Well, watching vids, but basically idle) - The cards are VERY close. I couldn't get my finger between them, not even close. They're not touching, but they might aswell be. Although I get 82*c with 100% fan speeds on Oblivion.


- Thanks a lot for the replies so far guys! Really appreciate it.

 

[ilysaml]

@ Op
if i were you, i would stay at my place and run the 2 GTX cards until Xmas, where the 7K series will rise up, the are equipped with XDR2 rambus memory which is said to be twice faster than GDDR5 plus 28 nm tech, 1 GHz GPU frequency, ..............

 

[b0bm4n]

@ Op
if i were you, i would stay at my place and run the 2 GTX cards until Xmas, where the 7K series will rise up, the are equipped with XDR2 rambus memory which is said to be twice faster than GDDR5 plus 28 nm tech, 1 GHz GPU frequency, ..............

Yeah i've heard that from someone else. Though i'd have at most a £300 budget by xmas, I would assume the 7K series to cost more? The 6990 is over £300 already.

 

[ilysaml]

a high end GPU 7950 equipped with 2 GB of XDR2 is said to be close to a HD 6950 in performance, but these high end GPUs HD 7950 / HD 7990 is said to be Q1 2012

 

[purple stain]

By max temp I mean cease to function/cause damage.The GTX460 max temp is 108c.

Well 82c with the fans at 100% does seem kinda high.Try taking one card out and see what the temps are like then.

These fans are good.They come in Red,Blue and Green that I know of.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Cooler-Master-12cm-SickleFlow-System/dp/B0026ZPFCK/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1316659629&sr=8-2

They are High CFM and LED.

 

[b0bm4n]

By max temp I mean cease to function/cause damage.The GTX460 max temp is 108c.

Well 82c with the fans at 100% does seem kinda high.Try taking one card out and see what the temps are like then.

These fans are good.They come in Red,Blue and Green that I know of.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Cooler-Master-12cm-SickleFlow-System/dp/B0026ZPFCK/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1316659629&sr=8-2

They are High CFM and LED.

Wow they're pretty cheap. Would they be to replace one of my current case fans, or to add a new one? I'm pretty terrible when it comes to hardware. Also, how many / where should I put them?

 

[ilysaml]

i don't understand the case fan scenario, how many fans do you have and where are their position ?

 

[b0bm4n]

i don't understand the case fan scenario, how many fans do you have and where are their position ?

I currently have.. 3? I think. One at the front of my case, one at the back and one at the top. http://www.internetct.co.uk/listings/imgs/HAF912-web-feature-02-600.jpg That pic explains it. I have the 1, 2 and 4. Though I didn't know there were 2 fans.. Pretty sure it was just 1 per location.

 

[ilysaml]

that's a HAF 912... not a HAF 922 you need a side 200MM fan, and a 120MM bottom fan

 

[b0bm4n]

The GTX560 will be fine for 1080p.And the GTX460 as a PhysX card will give a nice boost if you choose to use it.

I myself have a couple LED fans which you can see in my avatar.Which kind of fans would you be interested in,theirs so many to choose from.

LED fans
Quiet fans
High airflow fans

So i've thought about it some, and think the GTX 570 would be in my price range + a good choice. (Thanks for the suggestion ilysaml)

So I can use one of my GTX 460's as a PhysX only card, and my GTX 570 as my other card? Would I put the 460 on top, so that the 570 is cooler? Is that possible? - Really hoping to get this in the next few weeks really, maybe a month at most for when Skyrim comes out.

that's a HAF 912... not a HAF 922 you need a side 200MM fan, and a 120MM bottom fan

I was just showing you the general idea of where they are, didn't even realize it was a different case. Will any 200MM fan do or is there a special HAF one? Also, if I get a 200MM side fan, would there be any space for the 12cm fan that purple stank suggested?

Edit- I realize this might be a crazy amount of fans, but temp is basically my only problem right now. No games really lag at all, never have, my GPU just gets way too hot.

 

[ilysaml]

just a 200mm fan on side panel, and 1 120mm on bottom and you do have the other 3 fans... cooler master's or any would fit, but stick with cooler masters they are great and quite

 

[b0bm4n]

So the only thing left that I need an answer to is -

So i've thought about it some, and think the GTX 570 would be in my price range + a good choice. (Thanks for the suggestion ilysaml)


So I can use one of my GTX 460's as a PhysX only card, and my GTX 570 as my other card? Would I put the 460 on top, so that the 570 is cooler? Is that possible? - Really hoping to get this in the next few weeks really, maybe a month at most for when Skyrim comes out.


Thanks for all of the help so far guys =)

 

[purple stain]

Actually the 200mm fan on the side isn't a good idea.It works but it seems to get in the way if you have a aftermarket CPU cooler.I would suggest just getting x2 120mm fans.One to replace the rear fan and 1 to put on the side blowing on the GPU's.

Yes a GTX570 is a good idea.Depending on which one you get I would put the GTX460 on the bottom.If it's getting that hot you don't want it getting any hotter because it will make it's life span shorter.I suspect that theirs something wrong with the heatsink or it just isn't good.And yes you can use the GTX460 as a PhysX card with the GTX570.