OT: Graphics Card Overheating

Renegade 13 · #1 June 6th, 2007, 09:51 PM

I have a bit of an issue with my desktop computer, where my graphics card overheats, which then causes all output to my monitor to cease, forcing a hard restart. I have a 120mm case fan in addition to all the standard fans, heatsinks, etc.

Basically, what I'm wondering is if there's anything I can do to solve this heat issue. The room the computer's in isn't a particularly hot room, but with summer coming up it'll get hotter and hotter, causing more and more problems

Any suggestions? As of yet I've been dealing with it by taking off the side of the case and having a full-size fan blowing into the case, which evidently keeps it cool enough

However, that's not exactly a long-term solution.

Litcube · #2 June 6th, 2007, 10:18 PM

I had the same problem. I sent the card back to the shop and they gave me a new one. If that's not viable anymore, you can't lose by trying your own sink/fan/silver silicate solution. It might even be fun.

Baron Munchausen · #3 June 6th, 2007, 10:51 PM

Why is this not a long-term solution?

I've been running my system with the side panel off since only a few days after I bought it. Not only does it benefit the CPU and graphics card, but the motherboard itself will last longer for being kept at a lower ambient temperature. (Capacitors die quicker at higher temps.) If your running the machine at home, why does it matter if the case is open?

Kana · #4 June 6th, 2007, 11:54 PM

From my research, supposedly the cases, and the placement of fans, and equipment like the cpu, memory, video cards etc, are taken into account with airflow and cooling. If you remove the case side panel, you may be interupting the required airflow for certain components. If your computer is overheating, opening the case is only a temporary fix. You probably have a hardware issue you should look into, or find a new cooling solution. Another reason to not have the case open, is to prevent, dust, hair, lint, smoke, etc. from readily getting into and on the internal components. Of course it does make for easier cleaning at that point, just remember to turn it off and unplug the PC before you do this.

Fyron · #5 June 7th, 2007, 01:10 AM

Get a better heat sink for the GPU? Heat sinks are the primary method of cooling. You don't actually need a lot of airflow from fans, just airflow in the first place.

Renegade 13 · #6 June 7th, 2007, 03:26 AM

Quote:

Baron Munchausen said:
Why is this not a long-term solution?

I've been running my system with the side panel off since only a few days after I bought it. Not only does it benefit the CPU and graphics card, but the motherboard itself will last longer for being kept at a lower ambient temperature. (Capacitors die quicker at higher temps.) If your running the machine at home, why does it matter if the case is open?

Good point.

Quote:

...to prevent, dust, hair, lint, smoke, etc. from readily getting into and on the internal components.

I doubt having the side panel off would really change anything, since I already have to take most of the hardware apart once every couple of months and clean all the dust out, side panel on or not! I live right next to a dusty road, so everything gets gunked up really fast, and I end up taking the CPU heatsink and cleaning it, along with the graphics card heatsink, all the various and numerous fans, etc to get them clean on a regular basis anyways.

Thanks for the various recommendations so far guys!

narf poit chez BOOM · #7 June 7th, 2007, 04:20 AM

Could just be a bad GPU.

se5a · #8 June 7th, 2007, 04:28 AM

heat sinks are not that well attached right out of the factory, Overclockers prety much rip them straight off, lap them, then reapply the thermal compound and re-attach them.
out of the factorys they have a sticky foil pad which goes between the heatsink and the chip, this is dead easy and fast to apply, but is not as efficent as using thermal compound if applied correctly. (CPUs anyway, I presume it would be a simular story with GPUs)

you could possibly have a warped heatsink maybe.

Fyron · #9 June 7th, 2007, 01:52 PM

You might want to buy a new case that has filters in front of all the intake fan slots (or affix some filters to your existing case)... this will help reduce the intake of dust significantly.

Kana · #10 June 7th, 2007, 03:09 PM

I heard a quick home grown fix for filters. You can tape dryer sheets over your vents and fan openings. This will catch a vast amount of dust and debris. The article said you can use ones that have already been used in the drier, but I can see using new ones as well.