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ThaMahstah
02-07-09, 03:18 PM
I've started to notice my card heats up a bit more. It starts to crank up the fan speed sometimes when I play World of Warcraft.

On Idle at 48% fan speed its temp is at around 70-73 C.

For an experiment I dropped the fan speed to 28% and it went up to 92 C (on idle) before I set it back to 48% fan speed. (I don't know where it would've stopped.)

I'm not overclocking this card. The only thing I've changed since I've bought it is the drivers.
henzo
02-07-09, 03:21 PM
Although I dont have one yet, those seem to be alittle high. How long have you owned the card? Is you system a dust collector? I only ask because my 8800GT started that and I had to blow it out and it was right as rain after that.
ThaMahstah
02-07-09, 03:24 PM
I bought the card soon after it came out. Yes, I checked the card for a build-up of dust. Just a week ago I found the fan was full of dust. I removed the dust and also the dust from the surface of the card. However yesterday the card hit 92 C while I was playing World of Warcraft and cranked up the fan speed. I dunno if I missed some dust or what. Could I have damaged something or other?
henzo
02-07-09, 03:34 PM
I took the shroud and heatsink off the card and reseated it actually. Also, I cut a section off the shroud to increase airflow through the heatsink itself. I cant stand poor reference coolers. They work ok, but there are always subtle things they leave out that does wonders for colling it. When my x2 gets here tuesday, I plan on seeing what I can do to help the airflow before I even do a final assembly of my case (after checking to see if it works first).
ThaMahstah
02-07-09, 03:39 PM
Yeah, but a lot of people don't have to do that to keep their x2s cool, do they? =P

Looking through other people they say their 4870x2 idles around 70 C as well, but I don't know their fan speed...

I know the card is meant to run hot, but the temperatures still seem kinda high.
henzo
02-07-09, 05:28 PM
No, you dont have to do it, but every little bit helps. Besides, it isnt all that big of a matter to reseat the hs and make a new hole or widen one on a gpu to make it idle 20c cooler lol. Plus, there isnt an air aftermarket cooler out for the x2s so far as I have seen from the interwebs.
dealmaster
02-07-09, 11:20 PM
That is quite high, mine idles a lot cooler, but then again, I also have lots of fans in my case and the clocks set to the minimum possible value at idle speeds.

This is my idle state:
Fan - 35%
GPU - 507MHz
RAM - 500MHz
GPU1 - 51C
GPU2 - 48C

My gaming/load/benching state is:
Fan - 55%
GPU - 750MHz
RAM - 900MHz
And the GPUs typically load around 55-70C depending on if I'm gaming or doing Furmark. Furmark pushes them up into the high 60s/low 70s. I'd try the setup I have if I were you, I just have hotkeys assigned to each state, so switching quickly to the gaming state is just Alt+3 away.
ThaMahstah
02-08-09, 12:01 AM
To be fair there is almost no air passing over the top of my card. (I hardly feel any holding my hand over it.) Maybe I should buy another fan. One of those cheap-o case fans perhaps. This maybe? (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811998127)
m_k
02-08-09, 09:23 AM
My x2 idles at about 60-65 C at 30% fan speed. Load at around 65-70C at 50% fan speed. at 20% it idled to about 90C, so it's pretty normal.
Neural Net
02-08-09, 10:23 AM
My x2 idles at about 60-65 C at 30% fan speed. Load at around 65-70C at 50% fan speed. at 20% it idled to about 90C, so it's pretty normal.

Same. I was worried about the heat at first but these puppies are rated for 120°C. I placed a 120mm fan on top of my card blowing air away from it and through the top of the case, the card used to get up to 90°C or so under load but now it hovers around 80°C.
ThaMahstah
02-08-09, 01:40 PM
I'm still going to buy another case fan for it.

Because when the temperature starts getting up there the card cranks up the fan speed automatically and sounds like a jet taking off, which is rather annoying. =)
prime81
02-11-09, 04:56 PM
I had a side 120mm fan blowing directly over my 4870x2 when I had it, I also kept the fan speed at 50-55 % the entire time... idled around 42c and loaded around 55c.
mgoode
02-12-09, 06:22 AM
That does seem high,mine is in a MountainMods case with stock cooling. Second gpu idles at 38c.
Neural Net
02-12-09, 06:47 AM
That does seem high,mine is in a MountainMods case with stock cooling. Second gpu idles at 38c.

Yes but what are your ambient temps? If you've got a window open and it's snowing outside then practically anything will run that cool. ;) :p
mgoode
02-12-09, 07:25 AM
I am down South it's actually 70 degrees right now.
Neural Net
02-12-09, 07:27 AM
I am down South it's actually 70 degrees right now.

See now the results mean something, nice temps :)
jonwall
02-12-09, 07:31 AM
thats definitely high for that card. You dont have ANY case fans? Adding a few can make a world of difference when it comes to temps
ThaMahstah
02-14-09, 03:39 PM
thats definitely high for that card. You dont have ANY case fans? Adding a few can make a world of difference when it comes to temps

Oh I do. 6 actually, built into the case. But the air blowing from them doesn't really reach the card. I checked by seeing the difference between the high and low settings on them and on low the card only heated up by 2 degrees.
jonwall
02-14-09, 04:30 PM
hows your cable management then? and is there any way to move a fan to another spot by the gpu?
mastrdrver
02-14-09, 05:55 PM
Is the card running in 3D clocks on the desktop? Are these in game temps or desktop temps?

If its in game I see similar temps in games with a modified auto setting using Riva Tuner.
ThaMahstah
02-18-09, 01:45 AM
Well took a closer look and upon further inspection there appears to be a nice layer of dust on Heatsink #1. Like a wall, more like. This is probably the issue, blocking air-flow and whatnot.

Only problem is, I have no idea how to clean that out. Could anyone tell me how to remove the fan or what I'm doing wrong or something? Because the last panel between me and the heatsink refuses to come off. Those screws are in ridiculously tight.
chevro1et
02-18-09, 03:35 AM
A can of compressed air should be able to blow the dust out. I recommend taking the card out of the case to blow it out, prevents all that dust from being redistributed throughout the rest of your case.
ThaMahstah
02-18-09, 12:54 PM
The card is already out. I already mentioned I tried to disassemble it. =P

And call me an idiot, but won't blowing compressed air into the card only force the dust -inwards-?
sandyduff
02-18-09, 04:02 PM
No, it will blow the dust out of the grill at the back of the card...
chevro1et
02-18-09, 04:26 PM
The card is already out. I already mentioned I tried to disassemble it. =P

And call me an idiot, but won't blowing compressed air into the card only force the dust -inwards-?

If you're really worried about that, blow the compressed air from the exhaust end of the cooler. Trust me, a can of compressed air will solve your problem.
ThaMahstah
02-18-09, 06:19 PM
Right, I'll do that then.
ThaMahstah
02-20-09, 12:38 AM
Well it's now idling around 57 C and 67 C under load, so that's a good thing. We're clear for another few months anyway. It'll probably drop further once I get that fan.

Thanks for the advice.
chevro1et
02-20-09, 02:54 AM
Glad that it worked out for ya :beer:
bridsmath
04-20-09, 12:41 AM
Im having the same issue. Thanks for posting this, Im going to do a full clean of my case and install a new fan on the side. Hope I get the same results as you :D
sandyduff
04-20-09, 12:19 PM
If you really want to give it a good clean, take the cover off the card and clean out the heat sinks, mine were clogged with dust... i dont even have the plastic cover or the fan on mine anymore, i have just left the heatsinks exposed and have a 120mm fan blowing onto them, idles in the low 30's and load (furmark) just hits 70...
bridsmath
04-20-09, 08:55 PM
So... what timing...

Right before I get to cleaning my card the game I am playing suddenly freezes and causes me to have to hard reboot. Right before the Windows screen I am getting a black screen that won't go away. I have tried reinstalling Windows and everything works fine up until I install the Catalyst drivers. I managed to get back into Windows after installing them by waiting, but it says that no display driver is detected and the CCC doesn't work.

Is this a hardware or driver issue? It seems like one of my GPUs might have blown up because my game froze and that's when everything went wrong, but I am able to load up in 1600x1200 driverless....?

Thanks for any help.



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