Maximum safe temperature for ATI 4870 1GB?

[ET900]

Hey I was just wondering if anyone knows the maximum safe operating temperature for the ATI 4870 1GB? I have 2 of them in crossfire, both branded by saphire. One is the "Vapor X" edition and one is just standard. I ran GPU-Z while playing metro 2033 and checked the max temps on both the cards after. There are 4 different temperature readings in GPU-Z and 3 of them were in the region of 80-9X celcius, the other one was at 104 celcius on one of the cards!! Does that seem a little to hot!? I've searched around and can't find a proper answer for what the maximum safe temps are for these cards. I always thought it was generally around 90c for graphics cards but maybe these are an exception, or do I have something to worry about here? I've just spent £320 on upgrading my motherboard, psu and graphics on this system, I am so god damn scared to ruin it!! :/

 

[ET900]

here's a screenshot of GPU-Z after a quick sesh on metro 2033....

http://gpuz.techpowerup.com/11/10/11/ce4.png

 

[funguseater]

Ummm, your card is at 100 C, thats a little higher than it should be, have you adjusted the Automatic fan settings in Catalyst (I can see it on GPUZ but it may not be reporting the flaky fan properly.), I just set all my fans to %100 and moved my tower farther away.
Over the years people have been asking this question and it doesn't seem to have a set answer, one fellows card was well over 100 degrees and still functioning. Most people are agreeing that between 60-70 are good temps under load and everyone agrees that the automatic fan settings are BOGUS!!

Also if you are adventurous you can take apart your cooling shroud and re-apply some high quality Arctic Silver TIM. Have you ever flashed the bios? Bad Bios Flashing accounts for some peoples issues...

 

[wa1]

Those temps are a little bit high, and they're tend to be like that (I mean 48xx series), plus CF two 4870 could make the temps seriously HOT...
Setting fan at 100% can reduce the card lifespan itself.

You might want to make those cards are always stay below 90'C. My suggestion is try to open one of your side case, see whether the temps drop or not.

 

[ET900]

Ummm, your card is at 100 C, thats a little higher than it should be, have you adjusted the Automatic fan settings in Catalyst (I can see it on GPUZ but it may not be reporting the flaky fan properly.), I just set all my fans to %100 and moved my tower farther away.
Over the years people have been asking this question and it doesn't seem to have a set answer, one fellows card was well over 100 degrees and still functioning. Most people are agreeing that between 60-70 are good temps under load and everyone agrees that the automatic fan settings are BOGUS!!

Also if you are adventurous you can take apart your cooling shroud and re-apply some high quality Arctic Silver TIM. Have you ever flashed the bios? Bad Bios Flashing accounts for some peoples issues...

Yeah im just wondering if its a bogus reading. I might try reseating all the heatsinks at some point, ive never done this on a graphics card but it probably isnt any harder than on the cpu. ive been using msi afterburner to control the fan speeds. it sets them to 100% when the temp hits 75c. all programs ive used for monitoring gpu temps only display one temp which is the top one in that screen shot. its only gpu-z that shows the 3 other temps. if it wasnt for gpu-z i would think there is no problem. its why im wondering if they are bad readings. it seems to be a common thing with 4870's though from my search results. i just dont know if its a legit problem or a bogus reading :/

 

[nforce4max]

Running the fan 100% is a lot less risky than running at those temps. Most cards can run at that and hotter for short periods of time but few last in the long run. 80-90c should be the very max in unfavorable conditions should be. Even take off the side panel and run the fans at 80% will improve temps down into the 70s range. Also changing out the stock compound will help a little when done right.

 

[ET900]

i dont want to get into opening the side panel cos of the noise and dust problems that will cause. i think im gonna have to get some decent thermal paste and try reseating all the heatsinks as you guys say. i haven't flashed the bios on either card btw, never done that on a graphics card, only motherboard. for now i'll try setting the fans to kick in higher a bit earlier so i can try stop things going to much above 90c. cheers for the tips all

 

[wa1]

My suggestion to take off the side panel is just to make sure whether it will help you or not, if the temps are down then you have an airflow issue inside your case...

 

[ribald]

open up dat case and point one of dem 240mm high speed walmart fans at yo parts dawg

 

[ET900]

My suggestion to take off the side panel is just to make sure whether it will help you or not, if the temps are down then you have an airflow issue inside your case...

yeah i see your point. i didnt really consider there being an airflow problem. im gonna try that later this evening and see if i can screw down the heatsinks more. i'll report back with another gpu-z screenshot

open up dat case and point one of dem 240mm high speed walmart fans at yo parts dawg

best piece of advice i think anyones ever given me.... thanks.....

 

[ET900]

Ok i screwed down the heatsinks as tight as i could on both the cards (didnt refit them as i barely had any thermal paste left). i set the fans to kick in at 100% once 70c is reached, and kept the side panel on my case open. This is the result so far after playing metro 2033 again.

I will post again in a bit when ive measured temps with the side panel closed...

 

[ET900]

Ok and here's the results with the side panel closed...

I think the difference is negligible so obviously not an airflow problem. I didnt think there was really as i have fairly tidy wiring and a huge coolermaster cosmos case with 2 intake fans at the front, a rear extractor and 2 extractors on the top, all them always run at full speed. The cpu has a fairly good cooler on it to, never overheats.

Does anyone know anything about GPU-Z giving false readings? I don't feel I should be ruling it out at this stage...

 

[ET900]

sorry not trying to find random reasons to bump this thread or anything but can anyone recommend some good third party coolers for these cards? ive never got into doing that with graphics cards before, only cpu's. i really dont know what to look for :/

 

[wa1]

Then you might want to try re-apply the thermal compound of the card instead of using third party cooler, there's many good thermal compound out there, like these:
http://www.newegg.com/Store/SubCategory.aspx?SubCategory=85&Tpk=thermal%20compound

 

[wa1]

Oh, and make sure the card is free from dust, you can use air compressor or something like that, see if that make any change...

 

[ET900]

i usually use that arctic silver 5 for my cpu. i maybe should try this at some point when i have the money to buy some. i would've thought they'd use something real good to put the heatsinks on with originally though...