Cooling a 9800GX2

I just check the temp on my 9800GX2, and while playing a video in Media Player the GPU temp is around 87 degrees celsius, and the PCB is around 78!

Surely that's too hot?

After playing games they both go above the 90 degree mark, even to the 100 degree - how can I cool this mammoth card down?

Some games it gets hot and the video card just shuts down and I have to reset.

I have a cooler master CM690 case, with a front intake fan (120mm), a rear exhaust fan (90mm), a side of the case fan over the CPU (120mm, exhaust), and a side of the case fan over the GFX card (120mm, intake, blows air over the gfx card).

Maybe I need to change the configuration of the fans? Or get something a hell of a lot better for them?

I regularly use a can of compressed air inside the case, and on all the fans to keep it dust free.

A picture of the side of the case:

admles said:

I just check the temp on my 9800GX2, and while playing a video in Media Player the GPU temp is around 87 degrees celsius, and the PCB is around 78!

Surely that's too hot?

After playing games they both go above the 90 degree mark, even to the 100 degree - how can I cool this mammoth card down?

Some games it gets hot and the video card just shuts down and I have to reset.

I have a cooler master CM690 case, with a front intake fan (120mm), a rear exhaust fan (90mm), a side of the case fan over the CPU (120mm, exhaust), and a side of the case fan over the GFX card (120mm, intake, blows air over the gfx card).

Maybe I need to change the configuration of the fans? Or get something a hell of a lot better for them?

I regularly use a can of compressed air inside the case, and on all the fans to keep it dust free.

A picture of the side of the case:

Click to expand...

Hi admles.....

90c + is too hot!!, these cards run hot by default but it will cut off around 100c

how long have you had this card....?? these cores (G92) have been known to fail after prolonged use.... i know b/c i just RMAed my 8800GT due to it reaching 100c & shutting off, but it had been fine for a year & then deteriorated rapidly.

i would suggest re applying TIM paste but the GX2 is a very complex design & not very easy to do.

you could try disabling the side intake or the front intake fan, it maybe creating a ''dead spot'' in the case & the GPU cant get the air it needs.

also check your cable management...... a few wires positioned near the cards intake would seriously affect temps.

SK

your exhaust fan is no where near capable enough to remove all the hot 'used' air thats in ur case. Try swapping the 120mm on the side over the cpu with the 92mm at the rear.

skunksmash said:

Hi admles.....

90c + is too hot!!, these cards run hot by default but it will cut off around 100c

how long have you had this card....?? these cores (G92) have been known to fail after prolonged use.... i know b/c i just RMAed my 8800GT due to it reaching 100c & shutting off, but it had been fine for a year & then deteriorated rapidly.

i would suggest re applying TIM paste but the GX2 is a very complex design & not very easy to do.

you could try disabling the side intake or the front intake fan, it maybe creating a ''dead spot'' in the case & the GPU cant get the air it needs.

also check your cable management...... a few wires positioned near the cards intake would seriously affect temps.

SK

Click to expand...

The wiring is quite neat and tidy; I made sure of that. I will however definitely try playing around with the fan configuration as you suggest.

fieseler said:

your exhaust fan is no where near capable enough to remove all the hot 'used' air thats in ur case. Try swapping the 120mm on the side over the cpu with the 92mm at the rear.

Click to expand...

That's what I initially thought of doing, but the larger fan won't actually fit. I'll play around with it and see what I can come up with.

Thanks for your input guys.

Well I just realised that the rear fan actually IS 120mm; doesn't look it from the outside but it is....

Maybe I should just leave the case side off and keep a desk fan blowing into it

What "brand" of card is it?

My 9800 was ideling at 47C and running up to 60C during regular gaming, but during a game like Crsis was topping 75C.

I have a Asus card and I installed Asus's smart doctor tool and set my fan to run higher.

Now I idel at 40C and crysis pushes it no higher the 48C.

These new high end cards seem to have the fans set down farther then they should be.

I just had a gaming system come across my bench that had a ATI 4870 X2 card in it. The problem was freezing games. I found the card was ideling at 90C. After installing Gainwards expert tool fan control it cooled down to 48c at idel.

You may need to find a similar tool to get control of you GPU fan and that should definitly help.

Hi admles,

You need to change the configuration of your case fans. The fan over your CPU is actually transferring air in the WRONG direction and I actually recommend that you remove this fan entirely as the fan on the main heatsink will be fighting against this. Instead, replace this fan with a duct.

Scott Mueller said:

The processor duct is essentially a tube positioned directly over the processor heatsink, allowing it to pull cool air from outside the chassis. The duct must be centered over the processor heatsink, and it must be positioned such that the end of the duct is spaced 12mm to 20mm from the top of the heatsink. This ensures that the processor heatsink ingests only cool air from outside the chassis and enables some air to spill over to cool other parts of the system.

Click to expand...

I also recommend that you remove the other side fan and allow the natural airflow within the chassis to draw in cool air in its place.
All that is happening with these two fans, with one drawing air in and the other exhausting it, is that they are creating localised airflow within your chassis, thus disturbing the natural flow of air through your case.
Your front and rear fans are OK (providing, of course, that air is flowing in the right direction i.e. IN at the front and OUT at the rear), and you will also have a fan on your PSU exhausting air from the chassis.
Many people believe that the secret to good cooling is plenty of fans, but if they are not configured correctly, they can actually make things worse. You want NEGATIVE as opposed to POSITIVE air pressure inside your case, i.e. more airflow OUT than IN. This configuration forces cooler air from outside to flow through the chassis, thus keeping things cooler.

joel406 said:

What "brand" of card is it?

Click to expand...

It's a Gigabyte.

I tried turning off the two side fans today, so I would just have a front instake and a rear exhaust, and that wasn't a smart move....... GPU overheated and couldn't use machine for 10 minutes after until it cooled right down!

I am going to take it all apart, clean everything, and redo everything; the cable job isn't as good as I realised - I have a big bunch of cables coiled below the video card!!!!! There is no air below it! That is not helping!!!!!!

UPDATE


I took the card back to the retailer, and they tested it as well and have declared it faulty, and are sending it back to the supplier to get it replaced!

Yay!

Thanks everyone for their advice