- Sep 21, 2000
- 4,818
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I picked up an HiS 6970 reference card earlier this year for cheap, with the understanding that its previous owner started having issues when the card was stressed. I currently use it in a workbench rig, so no gaming at all, just used for diagnostics on customer PCs.
It replaced a 4870x2, bought at the beginning of this year, AGAIN with overheat issues. Sensing a trend ? Check out GPU Temp #2 - I dare you to top that temp (its went over 122c before it rebooted):
Both cards were taken apart and cleaned, and I replaced both TIM and GPU thermal paste with the 'good stuff', forget the name of the TIM but it was $27 for a 4"x4" sheet, and Noctua NT-H1 was used on the GPU chip itself.
On to the 6970. The TIM looked terrible on it, as bad as the 4870x2:
Same mess on the GPU:
VRMs look meh ...
Added some Noctua NT-H1 to the GPU itself and made sure it seated cleanly:
High end poly TIM (I forget the brand but it is the correct thickness):
Put the card back together and then re-ran GPU-Z, anxious to see what my work had done:
Oh Hellz Ya !!! That's MUCH better !! That is HALF of what it had been running at) and those earlier readings were done sitting idle at the desktop).
OK, time to try and run the Vantage benchmark again, then if that completes its time for a Unigine Valley run .. but wait, what's this ??
Temps are yet again creeping up, but not as hot as it was. There is NO way that GPU Temp #2 should be that high. It's 20+ higher than GPU 1 and 3. Sitting idle at 80 again, which is better than 100c, but a run of Vantage had it back up to 119 again before I stopped it. What exactly is that GPU Temp #2 that GPU-Z is reporting ?
For reference, here's my CCC screen, with the card at default core and memory speeds. I raised the power limit setting from -3 to +20 just to see if it changed anything - no change that I can see. I also bumped fan speed up to 45%. Any higher and it can be heard easily outside of the case.
I know the first suggestion would be that I didn't have the TIM cleanly applied (I'm assuming that GPU Temp #2 is the VRMs) but if you look at the 6th pic down, I seated the HSF then removed it, and the pads stuck in place cleanly. The VRMs also get air from the fan and are not blocked by the HSF shroud like the XFX 7970 cards are. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
It replaced a 4870x2, bought at the beginning of this year, AGAIN with overheat issues. Sensing a trend ? Check out GPU Temp #2 - I dare you to top that temp (its went over 122c before it rebooted):
Both cards were taken apart and cleaned, and I replaced both TIM and GPU thermal paste with the 'good stuff', forget the name of the TIM but it was $27 for a 4"x4" sheet, and Noctua NT-H1 was used on the GPU chip itself.
On to the 6970. The TIM looked terrible on it, as bad as the 4870x2:
Same mess on the GPU:
VRMs look meh ...
Added some Noctua NT-H1 to the GPU itself and made sure it seated cleanly:
High end poly TIM (I forget the brand but it is the correct thickness):
Put the card back together and then re-ran GPU-Z, anxious to see what my work had done:
Oh Hellz Ya !!! That's MUCH better !! That is HALF of what it had been running at) and those earlier readings were done sitting idle at the desktop).
OK, time to try and run the Vantage benchmark again, then if that completes its time for a Unigine Valley run .. but wait, what's this ??
Temps are yet again creeping up, but not as hot as it was. There is NO way that GPU Temp #2 should be that high. It's 20+ higher than GPU 1 and 3. Sitting idle at 80 again, which is better than 100c, but a run of Vantage had it back up to 119 again before I stopped it. What exactly is that GPU Temp #2 that GPU-Z is reporting ?
For reference, here's my CCC screen, with the card at default core and memory speeds. I raised the power limit setting from -3 to +20 just to see if it changed anything - no change that I can see. I also bumped fan speed up to 45%. Any higher and it can be heard easily outside of the case.
I know the first suggestion would be that I didn't have the TIM cleanly applied (I'm assuming that GPU Temp #2 is the VRMs) but if you look at the 6th pic down, I seated the HSF then removed it, and the pads stuck in place cleanly. The VRMs also get air from the fan and are not blocked by the HSF shroud like the XFX 7970 cards are. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
I remember the days of 4870x2 vrm issues myself
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