6600GT high temp, OC'ability

Hi, I'm new to the forum but not a novice PC user.

My problem/questions are as follows: I have a Leadtek 6600GT AGP 128mb.
I've had it about a year with no problems but after reading the forums here it seems my 54C idle is very hot. Just used RivaTuner to find out load temps peak at 116C!! This is overclocked temp, haven't tested stock yet.

I have it overclocked from stock 500/900 to 519/920 (using rivatuner) and have never seen artifacts or had a crash, I do have occasional 5-10sec lock ups. (Only got artefacts when experimenting with higher clock levels).
I can't push the OC much more without artefacts but I know the card has potential for far higher. My CPU is cooled by Arctic Cooling Freezer 64 and runs around (idle/load): CPU - 38C/47C, MoBo 28C/35C, so system temps are relatively cool.
I am seriously considering better GPU cooling.

My questions are:
1. How worried Should I be worried about 116C load temp? Presumably very.
2. Will better cooling guarantee no problems/artefacts etc. if I OC much higher?
3. What are recommended clock speeds (or ratios) before I cool it. I.e. could I safely reduce core freq but push the memory freq?

Thank you for any suggestions, Hen_dawg

Rig:
AMD 64 3200+ (not OC'ed)
1GB DDR400 Kingston Value RAM
Leadtek 6600GT AGP
ASUS K8N
Seagate Barracuda 160GB SATA (primary HD)
E-MU 0404, Terratec 6 Pack sound cards

Welcome to the OC Forums.

I would be somewhat concerned about your temps, both on the vid card and your processor. With the AC Freezer Pro, your temps should be lower than that. What is your caseflow like (ie. case fans? how many/ size?).
The lockups on your vid card are likely heat related. You likely will get a higher OC on the vid card with better cooling, but no guarantees (some cores are just duds).
Many cooling options for the 6600gt, both off the shelf and DIY modded units as well.

EDIT: check the cooling section for several threads regarding cooling for the 6600gt.

chevro1et said:

EDIT: check the cooling section for several threads regarding cooling for the 6600gt.

Click to expand...

Like this one.

If you go with the Zalman, try it without even using the ramsinks first. You can always add them later. I modded mine, but from what I hear it probably didn't do much.

AHHHHH that temp IS WAY HOT.... DO NOT I REPEAT DO NOT KEEP USING IT WHEN IT LOADS LIKE THAT.... i have THE SAME exact card and with it at stock cooling and an oc of 588/1272 i would get load temps of 68*C... with my p4 hs on it i get 45*C at that oc and with a volt mod i can oc to 615/1272 and stay right at 48*C... GET SOME BETTER COOLING NOW!!!! AND MORE CASE FLOW...

heres a pic of mine... nvm just go the the thread linked above

i agree the temperature is too high. abnormally high at that. you should check the basics ie. fan working properly , hsf mounted correctly, no dirt, try new paste. then if all else fails get a new hsf.

better cooling should allow you to oc more. i can get mine up to 550/1150 on stock max temp at 74C. not the coolest but o well...

stock should be below 60C at the max. mine idles at 47C. dont underclock too much cause that can also freeze up the computer.

cheers for the advice guys. It's clear to me now I have to cool this card properly. Chevro1et, your comment about the dud core is believable. I'll try and get some thermal paste and resetting the fan.
I need both the sound cards in there so don't have room for any special mod. Zalman seem to dominate VGA cooling but I'll search this forum more for help on what to choose. Won't be too long till I upgrade my gfx anyway.

In regards to my fan setup I have the Arctic Cooling Freezer 64 for the CPU, a Nexus 400W true power PSU with near silent, very large fan. There are 2 case fans (standard 80mm i think) The one sucking in is at the bottom of the front and the one blowing out is under the PSU. My case is a generic/cheap style one which doesn't help I guess.
I've uploaded a (not too clear) pic below if you want to see for yourself
http://spaces.msn.com/hen-dawg/

Does this setup look and sound ok?

A bit off-topic but what type of frame-rate increase have you seen with your current OC's nd4spdbh2 and Damenshon?

Thanks for your time

maybe a dumb question, but how do u use rivatuner to see load temps?

Drinkyoghurt said:

maybe a dumb question, but how do u use rivatuner to see load temps?

Click to expand...

If you are inquiring in reference to your 7800gs, you have to do a .cfg tweak before Riva will recognize the card. Check blitzkreig's post in this thread:
http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=450450&highlight=7800gs

I use the hardware montoring function that shows a graph. Found in the target adapter section. Is there another way?
I doubt it's relevant but when I load Rivatuner it warns that the gfx drivers have not been tested with rivatuner. I'm using forceware 84.21 so guess Rivatuner just hasn't caught up with it

Yep, the graph is all that there is.
As for the warning about Riva not tested with those drivers, just check the 'never show this message again' option and it will go away. There has not been a new build of Riva in awile, hopefully soon to support those guys with 7600/ 7900 series cards.