GPU core too hot! (6800gt)

Hi everyone, this is my first post. Unfortunately, it is a post asking for help. I just recently bought a brand new system (seen in sig below), everything is going great. The only problem I'm having is as the title says, the GPU is far too hot. On stock speeds, it's rising to 90ºC while playing a game. Besides spending more money, is there any way I would be able to fix this to run optimum speeds? I have thought about underclocking it, but I'm not sure how much this would help.

One thing to note, is the PSU comes with a fan controller, I had it plugged into the fan slot. I just took it out, and am not really noticing much of a difference.

If there isn't a way to make it run more cool without spending money, would the card running this hot make it go bad much quicker, or is there a chance it could ruin it within a few hours of it running this hot? The core slowdown threshhold on the card is 135ºC. Would this mean it is ok to run at this temperature?

Thanks for the help.

[edit]On another note, according to mbm5, my other temperatures are completely OK. See attachment.

This is too hot, by about 20c i would say. What is ur case temp, how hot is the room ur in, how many fans do u have in ur case, and how is airflow?

Nathan0490 said:

This is too hot, by about 20c i would say. What is ur case temp, how hot is the room ur in, how many fans do u have in ur case, and how is airflow?

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2 fans came with the case, one on the PSU, one on the video card, and one over the processor. The airflow could be better because of wire management, but they are all tucked away the best I could. The room I'm in is fairly hot right now, but I have the ceiling fan going. The case is in a small space, and the fan on the side panel isn't hitting much. Right now I have the side fan pointed right at the video card, but the panel isn't exaclty made to fit like that. It did lower the temperature a bit, but not enough.

Oh, as for the fan on the video card, I didn't plug it in anywhere to the mobo. I assume it just turns on when it gets power, hopefully I'm correct.

up to 90° during a game sounds about right for a 6800GT. i'm thinking you'll need better airflow, and replace the TIM.

The fan gets power from the a plug on the card, so it is turning. You could try a duct mod, peple seem to get good results with those and it'd basically be free if you have enough tape/cardboard.

SolidxSnake said:

up to 90° during a game sounds about right for a 6800GT. i'm thinking you'll need better airflow, and replace the TIM.

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I don't think I'm going to be able to achieve much better airflow

The wires are not too horribly done, I can see the entire mobo very easily, they're just tangled a bit around the edges. I'm sorry, but I'm a little new to computer hardware. What's a TIM?

The Leadtek cards have a very poor thermal solution. All that copper looks good, but it doesn't seat properly on the GPU. My card was doing the same thing. When I purchased the Zalman VF-700 the temps dropped by about 15C! I suggest you pay the $28 and buy one too.

After looking at your ambient temp from your first post, the GPU temp looks normal. Still, you can do better with a Zalman. Work on your case airflow too.

I would probably suggest getting that computer out of the "small space" that it is in. It is probably starving of fresh air in that already hot room of yours. I know when I used to keep my comp in a tight cabinet, it would make the temps rise about 20C! What was happening is the hot air coming out of the computer was just lingering in the small space and going back into the case.

Try opening a window and taking your computer out of the small space it is in and into the open room.

Bryan D.

bryan_d said:

I would probably suggest getting that computer out of the "small space" that it is in. It is probably starving of fresh air in that already hot room of yours. I know when I used to keep my comp in a tight cabinet, it would make the temps rise about 20C! What was happening is the hot air coming out of the computer was just lingering in the small space and going back into the case.

Try opening a window and taking your computer out of the small space it is in and into the open room.

Bryan D.

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Just did that, it is helping. I will try the open window too, you're probably right. With the taking it out of the space, and repositioning the fan, while running games in graphics intensive areas, it is only going up to about 73ºC. Will this be a safe solution for now, until I can get another fan? Thanks for the help everyone. I really do appreciate it.

If I have to, I will try a duct mod as well. It doesn't seem like it would be too tough. I'm just a little afraid of the cardboard burning.

I took off my stock brackets and fans for my 6800gt's and left the RAM block and heatsinks on with a VHE blowing on them. Works perfectly at 45c. Might wanna concider doing this then cut a hole in your case to allow a fan to be placed.

73 C doesn't sound too bad for this card, i'm running a BFG 6800GT and i'm getting around low 70s at load and my case has good airflow. If you want better temps i would suggest getting an aftermarket heatsink.

I noticed that after i replaced the thermal goop on mine with AS ceramique the temperatures didn't really change they just take longer to rise.

I have that exact same video card, leadtek 6800gt 256 pci-e. and it just runs hot, thats just how the card is, high 50's idle, high 60's to low 70's full load. Im still oc'ing my cpu at the moment, so i havent played with the video card cooling much, i do have a 120mm fan blowing over the video card and chipset, chipset dropped to high 30's but video barely budged, probably b/c of that plastic shroud leadtek put on there.

Yay. This post makes me feel much better about my temps. I'm currently idling at mid 50s (C) with my eVGA 6800GT. It used to idle mid 60s. Originally, I had a normal cramped emachines case with little airflow, and my GPU core would idle in the 60s with mid 70s (even 80s with programs like 3dmark03) under load. I replaced the stock cooler with a NV5 silencer rev. 2. This unfortunately didn't change my temps really, but then again I hadn't replaced the thermal compound on there to ensure proper placement. Later on I bought an Antec P180 case, recently bought 2 silverstone fm121 120mm fans (they move lots of air, but a little bit noisy. I don't care though) and my temps have lowered (especially ambient temps and system temps). I also sorta replaced the thermal compound on the core, and now I'm idling in the low to mid 50s with mid to high 60s under full load (might crack 70 once in a while).

All in all, it might not just be you. I spent a good bit of money trying to cool off my card and computer. The fans helped my entire computer and didn't have to break the wallet. However, I'm hoping the thermal paste I ordered should help my temps some. Might be your best solution if it's your problem, and not expensive.

SolidxSnake said:

up to 90° during a game sounds about right for a 6800GT. i'm thinking you'll need better airflow, and replace the TIM.

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90C ARE YOU MAD!!!!!! i have run 3dmark05 nature test for 8 hrs straight on mine and got a 78C max temp!!!!

My stock cooling usually pushes 70 ~ 75C load with high clocks...at idle it was roughly 50C. Try remounting it with some fresh tim

Better work on your case airflow and replace VGA cooling. You can go either with plug&play coolers like from Zalman / Arctic Cooling / Stasis or mod CPU heatsink.

For me after cooling replacement on 6200, even with higher clocks after mod, temperature dropped by >30°C.

You guys need some serious cooling. At 430/1200 my card's load temps average 66C. Normal idle temps are 47C.

Two case fans are simply not enough for a system that puts out as much heat as yours. That is unless those two fans are 120mm fans. Four 80mm (two intake, two exhaust) is the norm.

Other than that, all I can recommend is doing a duct mod (like the others have stated) or drilling a blowhole over the vidcard area of the case if you're on the cheap. The more pricer option is to get a better vid card cooler like the Zalman V700 or an Arctic Cooling cooler (the specific model elludes me right now).

Try taking the side of your case and see if the temps improve. If so then its just a case of bad airflow and more intake fans would fix it, if not then try and replace the cooler. I wouldn't worry about it though, my 6800gt sits at about those temps normally.