6600gt running hot

[daddyrief]

ok, another question guys... i just bought this xfx 6600gt, and the card WAS idling in the mid-to-high 60 degree mark...i bought a $5 proc fan from radioshack and threw it in the bottom of my case, now its idling at 62/63.. still too hot.

i read it should be idling in at least the 50's...

also my case is in a workcenter, ie, has a closed compartment for the tower...with the door of it cracked open though, thats when it runs low 60's idling...

any ideas?

 

[Inappropriate4AT]

It's nothing to worry about, if it bothers you that much purchase a new heatsink, but it's not a high enough temperature to do any damage to the card.

 

[daddyrief]

whats the highest temp i should safely run it so that it wont cause damage to the card over a period of time?

 

[dug777]

under 70'C should be fine

but yeah, i mine is idling at 58'C atm (just been watching a movie)...

 

[Doctorweir]

Hmmm...mine idles at high 30's and hits high 50's max under full load (600MHz mind you...).
However, on the other hand I got a decent cooler on it but which is again reduced in rpms (@2100).
Anyway, 60's for 2D idle mode seem too high for me...but the core can take it...

EDIT: What is the temp under full load?

 

[anandtechrocks]

Doctorweir, that RAM overclock is insane... Anyway, before I upgraded to a 3rd party heatsink, my 6600 GT was idling @52-60C but would load in the mid 90s! That was crazy.

 

[Doctorweir]

Originally posted by: anandtechrocks
Doctorweir, that RAM overclock is insane... Anyway, before I upgraded to a 3rd party heatsink, my 6600 GT was idling @52-60C but would load in the mid 90s! That was crazy.

I also couldn't believe the RAM figures, but it is true...technical limit is 1320 (when the driver intervenes while testing new settings). No artifacts, no matter where. Depending on the game I have to reduce the core to 590 to avoid texture errors.
I was wondering all the time how 1300MHz would be possible with 2ns rams. I just found out while bargain-searching for a second identical card, that Gainward also has 1.6ns chips on the dual-DVI+ViVo golden sample non-GLH versions. That explained a bit...

 

[lifeguard1999]

It could be a loose heatsink as seen here

 

[jeffa66]

yeah like Inappropriate4AT said its nothing to worry about mine idles at 59c they can take it

 

[lifeguard1999]

Mine idles at 58C and jumps to 90C during Far Cry as well.

 

[BFG10K]

under 70'C should be fine

For idling? No way, that's way too hot. It could be a defective cooler as many 6600GT coolers don't contact the die properly.

 

[Eureka]

Actually, my 6600GT idles around 60, so yeah it's probably just bad design.

Norm

 

[daddyrief]

thanks guys...it is idling at 55 degrees now, after getting a couple fans in my case...

it goes up to about 80-82 max under load, but usually stays around the high 70s on average, under load...

the only thing im wondering, i run visualizations on my computer all night, is keeping it running at about 80 degrees all night alright for it? im thinking about investing in some ram heatsinks as well.

 

[Slitherythesnake]

A good idea for your 6600 GT if it is PCI-E would be an aftermarket heatsink like a Zalman or Arctic-Cooling. I was hitting about 44 degrees idle, and up to 76 degrees load. Now I have a Arctic-Cooling NV Silencer 6 [Rev.2] and it is about 34 degrees idle and 55 degrees load. The only problem I could see is that it might not fit in a workstation case and you need 2 slots that are free so that the nub on the heatsink doesn't skim on a sound card for example. A zalman heatsink might work better in that case.

 

[potato28]

All copper stock HS, idles at 55, load is in the mid 80's.

 

[daddyrief]

Slithery - it is agp.

it sucks that its running so hot stock, kinda limits the potential for oc'ing :/

 

[daddyrief]

ugh...i also cant even keep a steady 30 fps on hl:2 single player.

for such a powerful card, im feeling kind of disappointed...

 

[jiffylube1024]

They do run that hot, although you should still be able to get a good o/c out of it. I had a Leadtek 6600GT Extreme (the one that ran at 550/1100 stock) and even that one had some o/c potential, even though it was loading over 70C.

I agree, though, that the temps are a bit disconcerting. As others have recommended, if you plan on owning the card for awhile, I'd recommend getting a Zalman or AC Silencer cooler. I've already got an NV silencer here patiently awaiting the 7800GT that it will be installed on .

 

[Crescent13]

Mine idles at 34C, and load at 43C. WHILE overclocked to

615/1265

4055 3dmark05 score

Of course that was when I had the comp set up outside on a super cold day with the case side off and a huge fan blowing right into it but still...

 

[BFG10K]

As a point of reference my passively cooled X800 XL is currently idling at ~49 C and I don't have any extravagent cooling in my case by any means.

 

[Slitherythesnake]

It appears the Zalman coolers (VF700 Series) DO work on 6600 GT AGP. However, there night be problems with structural integrity and the positioning of one of the heatsinks on the card. Check out their website www.zalmanusa.com for more details. Hope this helps

 

[gunblade]

My leadtek ususally is idling at about 43 degree C and ~60 under load.