Current card running super HOT!!

Brando_ie

My current rig is:
Cooler Master HAF 922 Midi Tower Black
Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD3R, X58,
Corsair Dominator DHX+ DDR3 1600MHz 6GB
Corsair HX 650W PSU
Intel Core™ i7 Quad Processor i7-920
Noctua NH-U12P SE2 CPU Cooler
Corsair SSD Performance P64 2,5" 64GB
Samsung SpinPoint F3 1TB SATA2
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit
Sapphire Radeon HD 5770 1GB GDDR5

I run 2 No 23" LG LCD's (2 x DVI) and an occasional Samsung 32" LCD TV (HDMI) but in recent times I have noticed that the card is running at Ca 90+ Degrees C when just idling on extended desktop across 2 screens. It typically runs at 58-65C on idle for single screen (58C ATM). I've had a few force shut-downs when the card just maxed out on heat (100+C) earlier this year when running graphics heavy apps across 2 monitors and have learned to limit the load but yesterday I had a 4 hour outage after a session on Borderlands 2 due to an overheat so now time is right for an upgrade.

Funds are super low at the moment so can I get a few suggestions from the fine folks here for a suitable card which would represent a decent value upgrade but not cutting edge (but I will go the extra mile if it represents super great value).

Usage: FPS Gaming, After Effects, Adobe CS, Dual display (preferably permanently rather than having to juggle due to overheating)

I'll buy online over bricks & mortar as I'm in the Midlands (rig was via Komplett)

Thanks folks

EDIT: I have about €50 Amazon.co.uk credit hanging around if it took the edge of an Amazon recommendation?

ED E

How is the fan being controlled? Are you OCing?

Have you cleaned recently?


It should idle at 50*C or lower, my 5770 does with a worse cooler and similar enough display setup.

The card should do you fine. Even with borderlands2( I play and get 40+ with medium settings at 1080p). You need to fix your cooling. It'll be either dust, bad fan settings, bad air flow or dried out thermal compound, or a combination of all.

Torqay

Open the case and check if the fan is blocked with dust/fluff. Blow it out if necessary.

Brando_ie

ED E wrote: »

How is the fan being controlled? Are you OCing?

Have you cleaned recently?


It should idle at 50*C or lower, my 5770 does with a worse cooler and similar enough display setup.

The card should do you fine. Even with borderlands2( I play and get 40+ with medium settings at 1080p). You need to fix your cooling. It'll be either dust, bad fan settings, bad air flow or dried out thermal compound, or a combination of all.

I clean the rig every five or six months (usually takes a degree or so off card temp) and did a full breakdown within the last six months. Its using the stock onboard fan, no OCing on any components at all.

The Cooler Master HAF 922 case has three fans all functioning, great cable management and airflow, yet the card boils!! In fairness it idles in the 50's on one monitor (157/300mhz @ x16) but that jumps to 80+C when on dual monitor (300/1200mhz @ 16)

Frankly I think the card is just faulty as it simply should not be performing like that in a well maintained, non OC'd rig and rather than try to get to the bottom of it I think I should just write it off and upgrade (its been nearly 2 years at this stage)

Thanks for your reply.

ED E

What was I doing with the extra large font earlier....too much caffeine, sorry.


If you have thermal paste to hand I'd give it a shot just to see, but that does sound like a fault alright. Running dual(using HDMI and DVI) or single(HDMI) temps dont even change much(max 2 degrees) so I dont know why you're going up so much.

Wonder could something be forcing it to 3D mode, maybe try booting a live CD and see if you get the same under a clean install?

If you wanted a minimal spend 6770 is essentially a tweaked 5770, and is Crossfire compatible with a 5770 if you have the slot, so you could split the load. If you wanted to upgrade though maybe a 6850 or grab a 66Ti for a bit more power but not as good value. There's others on here that could better advise though.

marco_polo

Taking off the cooler and re-applying some thermal paste would be the cheapest option as that is probably all thats wrong with it.

Upgrade wise your best value option would probably be a 1GB HD7850. You ought to be able to pick one up for about 150-160. (2GB one would be ideal but it at least an extra 30 quid)

Brando_ie

ED E wrote: »

What was I doing with the extra large font earlier....too much caffeine, sorry.


If you have thermal paste to hand I'd give it a shot just to see, but that does sound like a fault alright. Running dual(using HDMI and DVI) or single(HDMI) temps dont even change much(max 2 degrees) so I dont know why you're going up so much.

Wonder could something be forcing it to 3D mode, maybe try booting a live CD and see if you get the same under a clean install?

If you wanted a minimal spend 6770 is essentially a tweaked 5770, and is Crossfire compatible with a 5770 if you have the slot, so you could split the load. If you wanted to upgrade though maybe a 6850 or grab a 66Ti for a bit more power but not as good value. There's others on here that could better advise though.

marco_polo wrote: »

Taking off the cooler and re-applying some thermal paste would be the cheapest option as that is probably all thats wrong with it.

Upgrade wise your best value option would probably be a 1GB HD7850. You ought to be able to pick one up for about 150-160. (2GB one would be ideal but it at least an extra 30 quid)

WOW just WOW!!!.....

Now lets be clear here, I do not live in a dive!!!.... I have a wife for the cleaning and everything :P but on advice here I dismantled my graphics card, thermal paste in hand and decided that while I was at it I should take off the heat sink to 'clean the fan fins' or so I thought.

Presented with this!!





It was packed in there to tight that it effectively rendered the cooling on card moot. It really makes you think just how easy it is for some components to capture the grunge.

Thanks for the tips folks.

Result:
Idle 1 monitor - 33-35C Fan 35%
Idle 2 monitors - 38-40c Fan 35%

SPOT ON!!!!

marco_polo

Don't doubt you've a clean house , although looking at those pics the graphics card probably deserves most of the credit rather than the missus

You could probably could use some filters on the Haf it really doesn't have much dust protection.

Torqay

Brando_ie wrote: »

I clean the rig every five or six months

Brando_ie wrote: »

WOW just WOW!!!.....

I have a wife for the cleaning and everything

ED E

PCs tend to be charged, so they attract every microbe of dust, unfortunately. A clean every 6 months but I'm paranoid and OCD so I get the airgun out every 1-2 months for a quick spray and then hoover the entire room. Over the top, but never have heat problems.

Glad you got it sorted. 5770s arent bad cards, even if just a tad old.