Should we be worrying about video card temps ?

[zoopa_man]

With today's video cards coming equipped with heatsinks and fans on the GPU I'v got to wonder just how hot these are getting. This also makes me wonder if the stock HSF's are adequate cooling for the cards or if we should be concerned with better cooling for the chip.

I have a GeForce 2MX 64mb and want to overclock the chip but have found there is a noticeable amount of heat coming off the card. It's warm but not HOT. So what's the general consensus here ? Do we need to worry about cooling down our cards or do the factory HSF's do the job ?

 

[jeff_harrison_344]

If you dont plan on O/Cing at all, the stock Heatsinks will do. But if you plan on doing ANY sort of overclocking, a better HSF is reccomended. I suggest the blue orb.

 

[Shadow ÒÓ]

Cooler for anything in a system is always better. Even at stock speeds, you may gain stability by upgrading the cooling. (may)

If you're going to OC, I highly recommend better cooling.....if not, stock "will suffice".

 

[Pinky]

Leadtek focuses highly on cooling with their cards, mine has a killer heatsink on it (the fan is more for show)...

Yes, cooling does matter. According to my hardware monitor, my GPU idles at about 50C. t's designed to run hotter, but lockups can result if it gets too hot (I speak from experience).

 

[Blue Jester_2112]

Here's a little bit of my philosophy concerning heat and my computer.
If it produces heat, be concerned with it. Find out how hot it gets/how much heat is produced and see if there is any way to eliminate the heat, or at least reduce it.

If you're planning to OC your card then I'll second the notion to upgrade the stock hs/f to a Bl'Orb.

 

[SickBoy]

Pinky (Jun 22, 2001 01:31 p.m.):
Leadtek focuses highly on cooling with their cards, mine has a killer heatsink on it (the fan is more for show)...

Yes, cooling does matter. According to my hardware monitor, my GPU idles at about 50C. t's designed to run hotter, but lockups can result if it gets too hot (I speak from experience).

I knew there was at least one company that put thermistors/temp monitoring in their video cards..... hopefully we'll see some more of that in the future.

SickBoy

 

[CSaddict]

I have the Leadtek Geforce 2 GTS PRO 64 DDR and the temps are more acurrate on the gpu than the temps I get from my motherboard reporting my CPU temp! She does run warm though.