Need a cooling solution for a Sapphire 6950 2gb.

[Mike Da Yooper]

Hi everyone! I just registered for the site but I have been coming here for awhile now for tech info. Here is my problem.

I just recently bought a Sapphire Radeon HD 6950 2gb. It is the one that looks like the reference card, not the one with the Sapphire cooler on it. The problem is the darn thing is HOT. I am running stock voltages and settings on my whole rig, nothing is overclocked and only the ram is tweaked. I have nothing but stock cooling on everything, which you would think would be sufficient. Well when it comes to this card it isn't cutting the mustard.

Just to give you an idea of the heat, I am sitting here typing this, and the card is sitting at 52C. My last card was a Sapphire Radeon HD 5750 1gb, it had the Vapor-X cooler on it, and it topped out under full load at less than this card runs at idle.Now the idle speeds I can handle. The problem is when you are gaming the card pushes 90C and higher. It has crashed twice so far in Champions Online due to heat issues. The sad thing is it used to be even hotter.

First thing I did was take the side off my case. This dropped it from 100C to around 95C under load. Next I went to Walmart and bought a laptop cooler with 2 fans on it and stuck it with it blowing inside. This had almost no noticable difference, so I bought a small Wind Tunnel fan and now I have that blowing into my case from the side. That brought it down to the temps I listed above. Thse temps just aren't going to cut it. What can I do here?

I have never dealt with heat issues before this so I have no idea. I know the card is going to eventually wreck if I don't cool it better somehow. I can't afford a really expensive cooling solution. Any thoughts? I had considered maybe using that Sapphire Trixx program and setting the fan speed control to manual and having it running at 100% all the while I am gaming, then I could turn it down on the desktop. The problem here is tha what happens if I forget to turn it up when I game.

I am like totally lost when it comes to this stuff. I thought about buying one of them aftermarket coolers but I have no idea how to install them or even what the prices are or what. I do have a decent amount of pc knowlege and this is my I think 3rd build I have done for myself plus at least 6 for other people so I know how to build them if it required taking the video card apart I could maybe do that, but honestly it is still under warranty and that just doesn't sit too comfortably with me. Just wanted to add that I have no and wouldn't even think of doing that 6970 thing to my card where you basically turn it into one. With how hot it is already I could only imagine a burning piece of plastic and metal. So can I get some people who know alot about cheap cooling methods to give me some insights? What are my options here?

 

[m0r7if3r]

Well, the fact that opening your case up dropped your temps is a huge pointer. Is the inside of your case really warm? Does it have particularly bad airflow? You shouldn't see but 2-3C difference in temps from going to case side on to box fan blowing into your case...so that would be the first thing I tackled. Do you have another computer you could check this in? It could be that you got a bum card that just runs hot, then that combined with your hot case to give you bad issues...if you can rule out bum card that will be a pretty big step. Report back with your findings

 

[Mike Da Yooper]

Thanks for the reply. I am at work right now but tomorrow I will see if one of my friends will let me try out the card in their rig and see if it gets hot. In terms of my airflow in my case, there really isn't much in it. It is a full tower with only a single dvd drive and hard drive, and only one card, the video card. My cords are all ied up so there is nothing to reduce airflow there.

However I did notice a difference when taking the side off but it was only a couple degrees so yeah maybe the airflow is an issue. Still tho, with the case side off and a fan blowing on it, you would think a normally functioning card would at least remain within operating temps. One thing I forgot to mention in my earlier post is that ever since the day I got the card it has made this wier humming sound that changes as I move the camera around in games. For instance, playing Chmpions Online, when I am flying around the city and pan the camera around my character the pitch of the buzzing noise changes. This is not from the fan eitehr, I know how to differentiate that sound. It is almost like a higher pithced version of the buzzing sound a transformer on a power line makes. No idea if this is normal for these cards as the last decently powerful card I owned was back when I bought a Geforce 7800GTX right after they came out(dumbest thing I ever did btw). Any ideas what that could be and if that would affect heat? Either way I will definately try it in anotehr pc if I can.

 

[m0r7if3r]

Right now I'm thinking bum card (for the reasons you listed). Sounds like bad contact with the GPU or something of that nature maybe? Could the humming be something touching a fan? If not you almost certainly should RMA the card. Who is the maker of the card and is it still under warranty?

 

[Mike Da Yooper]

It is a Sapphire card. It is about a month old. It is this card to be exact:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102914

The thing about the humming sound is I have done some research and according to different things I have read that is normal sometimes for cards to do that. Then in other places I have read that it is not normal. It has something to do with the electricity flowing through the card or something. It has something to do with a a part on the card called inductors. Anyway I don't even know if I can RMA it. I ordered it with a friends credit card and it was ordered on his Newegg account. I normally make all my own purchases with my Walmart debit card but I would have had to wait 2 months to have enough money for it, so he let me buy it with his credit card. I have no idea if it is going to mess something up with hi credit card or Newegg account. I am at a loss here because I have no idea what to do. I have never returned anything like this before.

EDIT: I just found this:

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/306852-33-radeon-6950-making-buzzing-noise

Apparently I am no the only person having an issue with this card. His is an XFX but it is the same kind of card.

 

[m0r7if3r]

Little background on transformer buzz:

theres a joke that we have in the EE community that is sorta a right of passage for new guys where you ask them "do you know why transformers hum?" and they try to give you some longwinded explanation and your response is "no, it's cause they don't know the words". Anyways...with that out of the way, the REAL reason that transformers (or in your case, inductors, which is really just half of a transformer) hum is due to the oscillation of the core with current. The forces (I wanna say the magnetic force does it, but don't quote me on that) generated by the switching of the current cause the core to actually contract and expand slightly, essentially turning it into a speaker operating at the frequency of the wave that is going through the coil (or some harmonic thereof...but staying on point). With small things like this, I really wouldn't expect hum, that's not to say it can't happen, but it's just not common for something on a scale like this to have not only an audible hum, but one that's percetable over the fans.

tl;dr: That hum probably shouldn't be happening.

With that out of the way, the reason the other guy is having the same problem as you is because you have a reference model and he has a reference model. Reference models are all produced by foxconn and as such are identical except for the pretty stickers that the manufacturers put on them (and the occasional aftermarket cooler).

You should be good to RMA the card, even through newegg. If you can go threw newegg, I would, I've dealt with them before and they're fantastic. If not, I'm sure sapphire will be willing to stand behind the warranty.

HTH

 

[Seebs]

It has to be a bum card... I have the same exact Sapphire card that you mention. Mine also idles at around 50C (I guess that is normal for these GPUs)... And while gaming it tops out at about 80ish.... I do have a fan on the side panel blowing outside air straight at it on my CM690II case.

 

[Nel]

I have a MSI 6950 and it gets equally as hot when gaming with the stock cooler. Thing is, the fan doesn't ramp up enough by default. I guess, because it gets crazy loud when it does so they try to keep it quiet and cool just enough.

You could manually adjust the fan curve with a program like MSI Afterburner so it spins up faster at a lower temperature. This is assuming you stay with the stock cooler. It got me through for a while until I got sick of the noise, but kept temps much lower around the 60-70C range when doing heavy gaming. I was getting in the 90C range by default too.

I just recently got a Thermalright Shaman and I must say it's the best cooler I've ever come across. My temps now idle around 27-28C and get up to 50C while running any benchmark that stresses it fully while overclocked at 1.3v!. It is also nearly silent at full speed.

Just one suggestion as it's not for everyone since it's a huge cooler, but I'd say it's one of the best out there. If you have the room, I'd look into it.

 

[Mike Da Yooper]

Well heres the deal thus far. I contacted Newegg about an RMA. I was told that since I already sent in the Mail In Rebate, that they will no longer RMA the card. They told me to get in touch with the manufacturer. This was easier said than done. Turns out "Sapphire" cards are handled by this company in Walnut, CA called Althon Micro, Inc. The guy from Newegg gave me their number.

I called it and got an asian man who spoke terrible english. After close to 15 minutes on the phone I was able to explain to him what was wrong. He sends me to tech support, without a further word. The guy in tech support at least knew english pretty well, although it was so accented that I had to ask him to repeat himself like 30 times. After explaining to him about the electrical buzzing sound(which I had to tell him 10 times was NOT THE DAMN FAN) I simply stuck the phone next to the pc and let him get a taste of what I have been dealing with. He sent me back to the RMA department immediately after that.

Back with the RMA guy he tries to explain in very broken english the rma process. Finally I told him to just send it in an email. Found out I had to fax a whole bunch of crap to them in order to even get an RMA number. I don't have a fax so this costed me 5 bucks at the library in town(I live in the boonies, we don't have Kinkos). The next day I get an email and shipping instructions. This is where I find out that the shipping costs come out of MY pocket. Despite the card being weeks old I had to pay $20.74 to ship it to them. Now I guess I play the waiting game. Says 1-2 weeks turnaround time. I just can't believe all this trouble. Also to Nel, according to the tech support guy I talked to the temps I was getting are not normal, even under stock cooling. My friend just got the same exact card as me and his peaks out at 83C, thats 18 degrees cooler than mine, without the need of an extra fan or the case side off. Also his card doesn't make a high pitched whining sound loud enough to be heard throught the house when the case side is off. Believe me when I tell you my card is not in normal working condition. Unless normal working condition is in a rock concert in Antarctica. I can still hear that sound when I close my eyes at night.

 

[hokiealumnus]

I just cleaned up your thread Mike. Please forgive the trolling posts. I very highly doubt he'll do that again. Good luck with the RMA.

 

[Conumdrum]

This is where I find out that the shipping costs come out of MY pocket. Despite the card being weeks old I had to pay $20.74 to ship it to them. Now I guess I play the waiting game. Says 1-2 weeks turnaround time. I just can't believe all this trouble.

Yep, normal RMA. I just sent a 470 for 100% fan speed into EVGA. $18 shipping with insurance. And I wait.

You pay, but they pay the return. Part of the program. Most if not all RMAs are like this. Even my electric toothbrush warrenty card says the same.

I got a mobo from a PC show early this year, it's bad. RMA people said it's a South American serial number. Send it to the vendor. Imagine the trouble I have when the 'Vendor' is the USA rep for ASUS. Having to work between him and the RMA department has been slow going, but it's going.

Maybe buying a DELL would of been easier? Nope, we like the pain and trouble of tinkering with stuff.

 

[fall]

I must have a golden card Mine idles at 30-35*C and max load after a 6 hours on Heaven constant loops and then 2 hours of gaming after that it never passed 55*C and the fan was only at 50% barely audible. that is with ICDiamond TIM stock TIM was about 2-4*C higher

Sorry bout the bum card man, have never heard good things bout sapphire RMA, mainly stuff that they dont hold warranty but you shipped it so so far so good.

Good Luck!

Edit: now that i listen to it, when running a heaven scene i will hear a very very slight hum... Then when the screen goes black to change scenes it stops and when video is back it starts again... But its only heaven, games dont do it... lol Interesting.


EDIT#2: So i realized the humming was my PSU... not the GPUs... Is that bad?

 

[Mike Da Yooper]

My card is supposed to be delivered today. All in all it didn't take too long. It felt likde years though. I did get a chance to catch up on a few of the more obscure 360 games I have been wanting tgo vheck out so it wasn't all bad. Now I just hope its actually fixed. Actually I think they may be sending a replacement card instead. On the email they sent me the day they shipped the card back it says this:



Dear Customer,



This e-mail is to inform you that your RMA replacement from Althon Micro, Inc. has shipped on 04/20/2011. The tracking number of your package is(------------------). You may check the status of your shipment by clicking on the following: http://www.ups.com/tracking/tracking.html



If you have any question, please feel free to email us back.



Thank you very much for your patience,



Regards,



RMA Dept.
Althon Micro, Inc.



So since it says RMA replacement does that mean it is a replacement and not the same card repaired? Would be really cool if they replaced it with one of the non-reference 6950 2gb. I hear they run a bit cooler due to better cooling and are also quieter. The one I am referring to is this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102928

Wishful thinking lol. Oh well time to go to work. Thanks for everything guys! Heres hoping everything goes well when I get home. I probably just totally jinxed myself there......

 

[Mike Da Yooper]

Just got everything setup and so far so good. They did send a replacement card. The new one is still one of the reference cards but at least it works properly. It idles at 41C, which is 11C cooler than the old card. Under load it still runs kinda hot, sits right around 80C, give or take a few degrees. Had it on Unigen Heaven Benchmark last night on demo mode and let it run for a good hour with no heat issues or hiccups. I did have an issue when I first put the card in, and I think it may have something to do with the old card going bad.

When I stuck the screws in that hold the card in place, I had to push in really hard on the back on the case while my wife screwed the screws in. I remember doing the came thing when I put the old card in. This time I got a general video beep code from my BIOS. 1 long 2 short. Found out that the case was puting pressure on the card and partially unseating it. To remedy this I took it out to my garage and stuck it in my steel bender and very gently nudged the case into the right shape where it doesn't pull on the card anymore. Kinda sick what I've had to do to make this pc run lol. Its so jury rigged it isn't even funny. Definately my best build yet! Did I mention I had to rip chunks of the case out to even make the card fit in the first place? I keep telling myself it will all be worth it when The Old Republic and Skyrim come out.....although by then I'll prolly need 2 of these cards to even run them Anyway thanks guys for the help and just plain old moral support!!