Cooling

[jpk]

I just upgraded my system and have been having what I believe are cooling issues. When in games after a few minutes the screen/controls lock and after a few seconds unlocks. Then again after a several seconds, it locks again repeating the cycle. I have a Phenom II 810 with stock cooler and a EVGA 260 GTX 216 core superclocked GU. Evereything running at stock speed. My case is a mid tower Lian Li with four 80mm fans, one in the case top, one in the rear and two in the front. The two in the front however don't give much flow because the front of the case only has a small vent below the front panel which pulls from the bottom of the case. The GU card gets very hot to the touch and I have to leave the side panel off to keep things cooler inside the box. Is there an after market cooler that will work with my card? Will I have to remove the plastic housing that surrounds the card and stock fan in order to mount an aftermarket fan? Thanks for any help.

 

[Eureka]

I'd work towards better airflow since aftermarket VGA coolers pool up air inside the case rather than exhaust it. The Accelero line seems to be pretty respected around here for aftermarket VGA coolers, but not sure if they fit 260s. And yes, you will have to remove the stock assembly.

If you're not sure its a cooling issue, run in windowed mode with a GPU thermometer on the side (or find one with OSD). If the temps break 100C then you have a problem. If it stays around 80-90, then its not cooling.

 

[Operandi]

Those older Lian Lis with 80mm fans aren't the best for cooling sadly.

You might want to pickup a digital thermometer. Measure the ambient temp in the room then set the thermometer in the case for 5-10 and measure the case temp to see how well your case is being cooled.

 

[jpk]

Yes, I can see that. The case is an older one and I really don't want to spend the cash right now to get a new more aerodynamic one. I'm thinking about cutting a blowhole in the top to accomodate a 120mm fan hoping that might help but to honest I just think the case beyond its usefulness. That's too bad because I really like the case but I think it's time to be thinking of a replacement.

 

[Tullphan]

If you're in a cutting mood, cut the 80's out a little more to make room for 92's.