Bought a 6970 yesterday...

[hazedontblaze]

I had a sapphire 5850. It was a good card, was getting idle in low 40s and under load 60-65c.

This new xfx 6970 I just picked up is a beast of a card, but man does it run hot. I'm getting 60-65 idle and 80-85 under load. I'm running it in a Antec 1200 full tower gaming case too. 3 fans in the front, big bertha on the top, 2 in the back. LOTS of air flow.
And no, nothing is overclocked, I don't mess with that crap.

So, why do these cards run so hot? Should I get a gpu cooler? AND, is it safe to game with a card running in the 80-85c range or will something blow up eventually? Thanks.

Michael.

 

[neonneophyte]

set up a fan profile. im running an unlocked overclocked overvolted 6950 and i dont go over 55 degrees when gaming, 40 degrees idle

 

[cloonso]

somethings not right. I run a 6970 and I idle in the upper 30s and never go above 65 at full load. I would down load MSI Afterburner and set up a fan profile and see if that helps if not I would return the card for another one as temps in the 80s are not only unacceptable but hazardos to the health of the card.

 

[jeffredo]

In that large of a case with that many fans you should not be idling that hot, regardless how powerful the card is. They all downclock in 2D mode these days and if its idling in the 65C range something is wrong. I'd send it back.

 

[hazedontblaze]

I downloaded msi afterburner. I've made a fan profile along the lines of 30c/30% 50/50 65/65 80/80 90/90. It seems to have helped it out quite a bit with the tests I've ran so far. It's now showing a low of 42c and a high of 59c. The fan noise is a little louder, but bearable in my books.

If you guys have any suggestions as to what my fan profile should look like, please let me know. I apologize for my newbish post, but thanks in advance.

M

 

[iam2thecrowe]

I suggest if your noticing any stuttering, set the profile so you have one idle fan speed, and one gaming fan speed so that its not changing all the time. Ive heard of reports that constant changes in fan speed can cause stuttering. I would say it unusual for the card to idle that high at stock with all that airflow, maybe the bios on that card doesnt ramp up the fan speed aggressively until it gets really hot.

 

[rwayne]

Personally I would not be comfortable with a load temp of 85c long term. It sounds like the heatsink is not making full contact. If it were my card I think I would take the heatsink off and replace the thermal paste with arctic silver or purchase an aftermarket heatsink. However realize doing either (or even checking under the hood [so to speak]) will most likely void your warranty on a very expensive card.

I think if I were you I would contact XFX and ask them what they think / suggest and what they believe the average operating temperature should be. That is the best way to protect your investment. With an Antec 1200 I don't see external airflow as being a problem.

Be sure to register your card with XFX if you have not ready done so. Their warranty program is one of the best out there.

 

[hazedontblaze]

Best answer selected by hazedontblaze.

 

[Mousemonkey]

This topic has been closed by Mousemonkey