HELP! Video card is reaching 100C in idle!

[Chakan923]

My situation is really dire, I'm really worried that my video card is on the verge of breaking down. Earlier, it reached 100 degrees C in idle under ten minutes! In desperation, I closed all unnecessary programs running in the background and switched to the Windows Classic theme (I have Windows 7 Ultimate, 64bit) I have never had this problem before. I shut down my computer and took the card out. OUCH was it hot, I thought maybe it became seated improperly. So I put it back in. I started up the computer, and the card temp rose from 45 to 70 with almost NOTHING running in the background and Windows Classic theme.

I usually overclock my card a little bit (I have a GeForce 9500 GT, GPU Clock 550MHz, Memory Clock 400MHz, Has a small fan) to about 750MHz GPU Clock and 550 Memory Clock to play more graphic intensive games using the PrecisionX overclock tool.

I now have the side off on my computer and have a small fan pointed on it. As I type, it's at 82 degrees C. It usually doesn't even reach that when I'm playing a video game! I am VERY concerned. I cannot afford a new video card, if this one dies, I'm screwed. Please, someone, tell me this is something I can fix!

 

[Chakan923]

The fan I have pointed on it seems to be helping out a little bit, it has dropped down to 77 degrees C. But a fan running in the middle of winter is a bit odd, I'm freezing here at my desk. I don't think it's good to leave the side off either.

 

[hubbardt]

Is the fan on the video card working? Have you tried clearing any dust from the fan?

 

[Chakan923]

I cannot confirm if the fan is working. I have to place it upside down so that it will fit on the motherboard, so the fan is facing down in a way I can't tell. When I removed the card earlier, I made sure to dust the fan and the card. Dust shouldn't be the issue.

 

[zpwslayer]

You can just feel the fan on the video card to see if its working or not. Just lightly touch it to make sure its moving.

 

[XngXtuHl]

Did you try overclock to default stable values?

 

[Chakan923]

Actually... No. The fan is NOT spinning. Odd...

And yes, I have it on default stable values. I only overclock when I play games. I leave it on stock values when doing anything else.

 

[bak0n]

If you are overclocking it to that level you need a custom cooling solution. At that point spend $100.00 and pick up a new video card.

It's also good to know that that card is rated to run up to 105. http://www.geforce.com/hardware/desktop-gpus/geforce-9500-gt/specifications

 

[zpwslayer]

It could be your fan took a dump, maybe its time to find a new gpu?

 

[Chakan923]

I can't afford any new stuff. I guess I'm just plain screwed.

 

[coozie7]

@Chakan923: Not totally, mate.
You can use a case fan (of suitable size), simply stick it over the aperture of the existing fan and plug it into either a spare motherboard connector or a molex plug from the powersupply.
If you want to be a little more daring you can try to remove the existing, dead fan first leaving just an opening in the cards' cover for the new fan to blow into.

 

[Chakan923]

The fan is spinning again, I just checked. Perhaps it only comes on during certain intervals?

 

[zpwslayer]

I would imagine that it should stay on no matter what, but im not 100% sure about that. Coozie has a good idea with the case fan.

 

[coozie7]

Do n't have an Nvidia card, but I'll guess there's a setting in the drivers that will allow you to change the fan speed manually, try setting it to a high speed-loud enough to hear if it stops and see what happens.
I suspect the fan is on its last legs, though, they only have a limited life.
How old is the card? Is there any warranty left? Maybe it's time to get digging in that box of bills and papers you have on your desk to find out .

 

[Chakan923]

Well, I had a warranty on the card. My first one went dead and they sent me another one. It's a little over a year old. I know for sure the warranty is up and over. I can't change the speed of the fan, which is weird.

EVGA Precision doesn't allow me to change fan speeds, it's grayed out.

 

[coozie7]

Pop the card out and look at the fan, it'll be connected to the board with either 3 wires, in which case its a variable speed fan or 2, in which case its a fixed speed device, quite a few lower end cards use fixed speed fans.
With the card out, try turning the fan, it should spin freely with only slight resitance from the motor magnets, any roughness, noise or side-to-side play indicates a worn bearing, in which case you'll have no option but to replace the fan.

 

[s3anister]

I would imagine that it should stay on no matter what, but im not 100% sure about that. Coozie has a good idea with the case fan.

The fan should be on at all times. As far as I know there are zero graphics cards that use a fan that comes to a complete stop; they just spin down to a low RPM. There are however, GPUs without fans and only a heatsink but those are ultra low end or mid-range cards that use excessively large heat-sinks.

Well, I had a warranty on the card. My first one went dead and they sent me another one. It's a little over a year old. I know for sure the warranty is up and over. I can't change the speed of the fan, which is weird.

EVGA Precision doesn't allow me to change fan speeds, it's grayed out.

Is your GPU an EVGA brand card? If so you might not be out of luck.

From EVGA's website:

EVGA offers various limited warranty terms from the date of purchase to the original owner with a valid invoice. For original owners without a valid invoice and users that have not purchased the product from an authorized reseller, the warranty period is 3 years from the date that the product was shipped from EVGA's warehouse. Registration is recommended by EVGA, but not required on the following:

Limited 3 Year Suffixes: -KR, -K1, -K2, -KB, -KA, -KF, -KM
Limited 5 Year Suffixes: -GR, -SR
Limited 10 Year Suffix: -XR

Link to EVGA's warranty information: http://www.evga.com/support/warranty/