7970 Experiences/questions

[chipachap]

Hi all, not sure if this is being posted in the right area so please move/inform me if it is!

I have a Gigabyte 7970 reference model since about the 13th of Jan and have been impressed with it from day 1. I have it set up in 3 way landscape Eyefinity for bf3 and it's the bees knees so far!

The only thing that's bugging me is the fan noise is very loud when at ~85%, I have it this high for the 1125/1575 OC, in constant 15 min explosions it reached 83 degrees at 80% fan which i thought is fairly high! It usually wouldn't go above ~70 degrees in normal mulitiplayer gameplay.

I am just wondering what are every-ones experiences with reference model/coolers? Are your temps close to mine? I'd nearly consider selling at a small loss for an aftermarket 7970 or 7990 when it comes out!

Does disassembling the card and putting a basic watercooler like the http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=HS-005-AN void warranty? Or is a proper wc kit with pump needed?

Thanks for your input!

 

[chipachap]

also at the 1125/1575 Oc my 3dmark11 benchmark performance score is P8803

 

[hapkido]

If it's getting too hot, turn down your overclock and/or improve your case cooling. 83 C is "safe", but it's still high for a new card running at 80% fan. I'd hate to see those numbers after 6 months when the card is full of dust.

Unfortunately I can't recommend good aftermarket cooling. In my experience GPUs come with adequate stock cooling (much better then CPUs do). As long as you give them pretty of cool air to use, are getting hot air out of the case, and aren't over-volting a lot, you really shouldn't have any problems.

 

[patapat]

83C at 80% fan is too high. hapkido is right. While 83C is technically safe that's alarmingly high for 80% fan. Tone down your OC like he suggested or you could try this aftermarket cooler.

http://www.arctic.ac/en/p/detail/index/sArticle/502/sCategory/2182

I haven't had any first-hand experience with artic accelero products, but i've heard great things about them. It's a bit pricey at $94, but if you've got the extra cash it seems like a worthwhile investment.

 

[chipachap]

Wow is it really that bad? Did an hour of 1920X1080 furmark and it didn't go past 80 degrees on 85% fan speed at that overclock, granted theres only 2 actual case fans installed and I've a pci network card covering half the GPU.

I'm actually just about to order the watercooler i have in the OP for my cpu as this helps cool down the case, I'm also going to get a 140mm fan for the case and remove the network card and see what my temps are like then! I'll post back with findings! Ty for your help!

 

[bystander]

The temp isn't bad, but it does not leave you a lot of room for increased heat.

What is your case and cable management like? A good case can help a lot in keeping things cool.

 

[chipachap]

Sorry I thought i replied to this already! Case is airy enough, CPU cooler and fan should be here monday so hopefully it'll all cool down a notch!

 

[monsta]

The pci network card thats covering half your GPU sounds like your culprit, I'm sure when you remove it you will find your card having better temps/fan speed noise.

 

[chipachap]

Yeah it's actually down to 80-81 max instead of 86-87. That's at 1175/1625 and 90% fan, not the coolest card ever though!

 

[hapkido]

Yeah it's actually down to 80-81 max instead of 86-87. That's at 1175/1625 and 90% fan, not the coolest card ever though!

You're going to burn this card out. You have about 19 C before it's start being immediately dangerous (as in burn out while you're using it), but you're also giving yourself no leeway with fan speed, dust, or summer temperatures. If you can't keep it cool (and you're not), dial back your overclock.