R9's running at differt temps?

Hey guys I was a member on the forum like 13 years ago but I got out of computers until recently when I built a new system with used parts from craigslist.
15 3570k
z77x-ug5h
16gb patriot viper ddr3 1600mhz
evga 750wB2
2x XFX R9 290 double dissipation
z9 neo with 5x120mm fans
I was having trouble keeping the temps in check running crossfire 85c 1 card and 100c on the other so I decided to just sell one of the r9's. Before I get rid of one I obviously wanted to overclock them and keep the better card. I havnt played with them that much but the 1 card starts to show artifacts above 1130mhz immediately and the memory doesnt like going above 1340mhz, the other can run benchmarks at 1150mhz/1550mhz without artifacts. I havnt played with voltages yet to try and make them stable but its pretty obvious which card to keep at this point.

Now here is my issue, the good card was maxing out at like 81c in the valley benchmark but for whatever reason that cards cooler ran quite a bit louder then the other. I decided to swap the fans and reapply some new thermal compound. all I had on hand was Arctic alumina (not the best I know). Anyways the good card now gets up to like 86C fairly quick in valley even at stock speeds (idling at 49c currently). I have reapplied the paste numerous times and I keep getting similar results. I was going to just blame it on the paste and upgrade to some mx4 but I found a buyer for my 2nd card today and the local store is out of mx4. I decided to throw the alumina on the other card and see if it would run without overheating. After 2 runs of valley that card is only reaching 75C and it took much longer for it to heat up and cools much quicker. Both sets of fans on both coolers spin properly, the louder card just has a high pitched whine to it.

Is it normal for such a large temperature difference between cards? I started looking at reviews for the same model of card and out of the 3 reviews I read they had quite a bit difference in temperature. 2 of them ran around 70C while the 3rd was around 90C if I remember correctly. I know the "safe" operating temperature of the chip is like 95C but above 76C the card starts to sound like a vacuum cleaner. Should I just keep the cooler running card? obviously something is up with the compound if its running hotter then it was with the stock stuff. Should I just tell the buyer I cant meet today and try and track down some mx4 and see what happens?

I tracked down some mx3 and thoroughly cleaned the gpu and heatsink and applied a fresh coat of compound. Temps are a lot more stable and take longer to heat up. However It still got as high as 89C in furmark after 20minutes. I just changed compounds on the 2nd card and I'm about to give it a try and see how it compares to the other. It sucks the good overclocker runs so hot. At this poiint I'd rather just use the cooler card so the fans arnt at 100%.

cards vary one to the next, don't sweat it, all of the cards I have pairs of are like that.
290's are just very HOT and LOUD, you will not freeze this winter but, you might invest in ear muffs.

well I just ran the 2nd card on furmark for 20min with mx4 on it and it topped out at 74C and the fans never went above 74%. I know they are hot cards but I just dont get how 1 can run 15C hotter then the other when they are the exact same model with the same cooler running at stock speeds. even swapping the heatsinks and fans between the cards makes no difference in performance. Does the gpu have a heatspreader or is that the die? The only thing I can think of would be a poor application of compound to the die, but if they dont use heatspreaders which I dont think they do then that just doesnt make sense to me...

I think I figured it out
according to gpu-z the hot card is running:
Bios 015.039.000.007.003523
maximum Readings
12v = 11.88V
VDDC = 1.219V
VDDC1 = 1.0V
VDDC current in = 17.5A
VDDC current out = 144.5A
VDDC power in = 206.5w
VDDC power out = 165.5w

The cool cards readings are
Bios 015.046.000.000.000000
12v = 11.88V
VDDC = 1.164V
VDDC1 = 1.0V
VDDC current in = 13.1A
VDDC current out = 155.3W
VDDC power out = 131.5W

So it looks like the one card is drawing a lot more power then the first. That would also explain its overclocking results. Could it be the bios thats installed causing it to overvolt? I havnt touched any of the voltage settings in MSI Afterburner...

like cpu's one runs hotter than the other, one takes more voltage than the other, and like cpu's the tim under the heat spreader varys also.

Sweet. I just flashed the stock bios back on the card 79C on furmark after 20min. Looks like the previous owner was playing around with them. Hell I can probably crossfire now

awesome!!!!! got ear plugs?
I have a titan, sc card with a heavy bios mod, no air cooling on that beast!!!!!

Its not actually that bad that I've started playing with manual fan control.

The one card was still running a bit warmer then the other and it core speed wasnt very good at overclocking so I sold it and kept the cooler running card. I've now started playing with the card I kept and it seems to be running stable at 1107mhz/1400mhz with +13mv. My current fan profile has the card inaudible below 75C and its way quieter then before under full load.

I'm curious what everyone suggests the ideal load temp to be? As I have it right now the card runs fairly quiet and its maxing out at 88C on valley with the fans never going above 60%. I know colder is better but I'm trying to find a good balance between longevity and noise. I think I read the core starts to throttle above 95C, I'm hoping if I am to keep it below 90C I should be fine? 90C is the point where I set my fans to come on 100%

On a side note I grabbed a hyper 212 evo yesterday and started playing with my cpu. looks like my 3570k might be a dud, only does 4100mhz at stock voltage, I'll see what I can push it to but I was easily able to overpower the heatsink when I upped the voltage (100c on the core ) I might try and delid it but honest the pc runs everything fine even at stock speeds

You probably know this but just in case... The top card of a crossfire setup will always run hotter as it is sucking the heat up off of the bottom card. Unless you're water cooling.

loads change also
1st card usually run hottest in Crossfire.

Runninwild said:

Its not actually that bad that I've started playing with manual fan control.

The one card was still running a bit warmer then the other and it core speed wasnt very good at overclocking so I sold it and kept the cooler running card. I've now started playing with the card I kept and it seems to be running stable at 1107mhz/1400mhz with +13mv. My current fan profile has the card inaudible below 75C and its way quieter then before under full load.

I'm curious what everyone suggests the ideal load temp to be? As I have it right now the card runs fairly quiet and its maxing out at 88C on valley with the fans never going above 60%. I know colder is better but I'm trying to find a good balance between longevity and noise. I think I read the core starts to throttle above 95C, I'm hoping if I am to keep it below 90C I should be fine? 90C is the point where I set my fans to come on 100%

On a side note I grabbed a hyper 212 evo yesterday and started playing with my cpu. looks like my 3570k might be a dud, only does 4100mhz at stock voltage, I'll see what I can push it to but I was easily able to overpower the heatsink when I upped the voltage (100c on the core ) I might try and delid it but honest the pc runs everything fine even at stock speeds

Click to expand...

I would only try 4.5GHz at 1.33v-1.35v