Do I need an after-market cooler for my GTX-670?

[solman79]

Hi all,

This is my first new build that I completed 4 months ago:

CPU: AMD FX-6100
Mobo: M5A78L LE
RAM: Kingston 2 x 4GB 1333MHz DDR3
GPU: MSI GeForce GTX-670 965 Mhz (stock?)
PSU: OCZ ZS 650W 80+ Bronze
Case: Zalman Z11 with 4 + 2 fans
Display: Samsung 32" HDTV (1080p)

As you can tell, I was aiming for a budget gaming machine. I use my TV as the display and cheaped out on the CPU/Mobo/Case in order to buy a decent GPU.

My GTX-670 seems to be the stock version with one fan. I want to experiment with overclocking/over-volting it, but want to take some precautions regarding cooling.

I see overclocked GTX-670 cards in the market that have a better cooling system with twin fans and copper heat-sinks. I also saw an aftermarket cooler that's compatible with my card. However, opening up my card will definitely void the warranty. Is there any way around this, or any cooler product that I can 'attach' on the card?

Or, will improving the cooling within the case help keep the GPU cool enough for modest overclocking?

Apologies if this sounds 'basic' but it's my first new build. Any suggestions or pointers to links that I have missed would be much appreciated.

Cheers,
Sol

 

[maestro0428]

What are your temps? As long as they stay below 80C you should be fine. You won't get too much out of overclocking your gpu as its probably bottle necked by your cpu. I would overclock the cpu first (and get an aftermarket cooler for that). You can use MSI Afterburner to watch temps and control the gpu fan speed too.

 

[solman79]

What are your temps? As long as they stay below 80C you should be fine. You won't get too much out of overclocking your gpu as its probably bottle necked by your cpu. I would overclock the cpu first (and get an aftermarket cooler for that). You can use MSI Afterburner to watch temps and control the gpu fan speed too.

Thanks for your reply. Here are the temps I get:

Minimal load: Eg: Basic Internet, movies, MS Office, etc

CPU: 29 deg C
GPU: 29 - 30 deg C

Gaming Load: Eg: Deus-Ex 3 and multi-player games like MoH, CoD, Battlefield 3 (max settings)

CPU: 31 - 33 deg C
GPU: 34 - 40 deg C

The case temp never goes above 29 deg C. I measured this using the digital temp sensor that came with the case, and independently using a digital thermometer strip that I placed at random positions in the case away from the core components.

What's a healthy temp for an over-clocked GPU to show over several hours of gaming, without significantly decreasing it's life-span?