GPU temperature and longevity

[Turbonium]

I once owned a GeForce 6800 GT, and it ended up dying eventually. I never quite figured out if it was the VRAM or the core itself, but I can tell you that it was one of the hottest running GPUs I've ever had (It would go well into the 80+ °C range). Coincidence that it eventually died?

Anyway, I'm on the market for a new GPU. I'm looking at either a 660 Ti or 7950. I'll be getting the spec/stock version of whichever I decide to go with (I may even do a huge downgrade and just go with a 650 Ti, pending more research on what I really need for my purposes).

I'm wondering: which runs cooler? The 660 Ti or 7950? I've seen plenty of power draw articles which show that the 660 Ti uses a bit less power at full load, but temperature information is a bit harder to come by. I'm getting anywhere from high 60s to low 70s at full load for a 660 Ti. If true, is that well within the safe margins for that chipset?

 

[aaksheytalwar]

6800gt was fine at 80c plus. It probably died due to age or whatever. 80c under load is fine for most gpus which are not of this gen.

 

[amenx]

I have a gtx275 and 470 still in use. Both these cards hit 105c (max sensor limit) for around 20-30 minutes, the first due to the infamous Nvidia driver bug that glitched fan speeds and the second due to accidentally setting the fan to manual rather than auto in MSI-AB prior to a GPU intensive game. The 470 regularly hit 90c or more for extended periods though and still alive and kicking in another PC.

 

[Imouto]

I had a passively cooled 6600GT for myself and replaced it for a 8600GTS. When I upgraded my PC gave my old comp to my parents. The 8600GTS died about 5 months ago and plugged back the 6600GT working flawless.

The 6600GT has been running at +90c for years and still going on.

 

[Turbonium]

I had a passively cooled 6600GT for myself and replaced it for a 8600GTS. When I upgraded my PC gave my old comp to my parents. The 8600GTS died about 5 months ago and plugged back the 6600GT working flawless.

The 6600GT has been running at +90c for years and still going on.

What make was it?

My 6800 GT was EVGA...

 

[Imouto]

The 6600GT is a Gigabyte. http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/good-3d-performance-a-middling-price,1005-16.html
The 8600GTS was an ASUS. http://xtreview.com/addcomment-id-2560-view-Asus-EN8600GTS-silent-HTDP-256M.html

 

[Dravonic]

I have a XFX 4890 that ran constantly at +90C for a few years. Fan crapped out on me early on, not even 3 months IIRC. I opened it up, got some grease in there, put it back to work. Had to open it up to grease the fan every 6 months or so. Card is still alive and kicking.

This gen people seem to have reached a consensus low 80s are the absolute max. Some people won't even let their cards go past low 70s. I really wonder if all this temperature worrying makes any sense. My reference 7970 will hit low 80s at stock clocks and fan profile on a hot day, so that's what I aim for when overclocking. Still think it would be fine at 90s.

 

[Mushkins]

I have a XFX 4890 that ran constantly at +90C for a few years. Fan crapped out on me early on, not even 3 months IIRC. I opened it up, got some grease in there, put it back to work. Had to open it up to grease the fan every 6 months or so. Card is still alive and kicking.

This gen people seem to have reached a consensus low 80s are the absolute max. Some people won't even let their cards go past low 70s. I really wonder if all this temperature worrying makes any sense. My reference 7970 will hit low 80s at stock clocks and fan profile on a hot day, so that's what I aim for when overclocking. Still think it would be fine at 90s.

A lot of the worrying is about longevity, and in 99.9% of use-cases its really unnecessary. At stock clocks, with stock cooling, under the stock auto fan profiles from the drivers, these cards are guaranteed to last until the warranty period assuming they are properly installed and maintained. The card reaching 85C under load before the fans kick up is totally fine for that use.

Yes, an aftermarket cooler will be quieter, and keep it at 70C under load or whatever. Thats awesome for overclocking performance, it's awesome for stock too, and it'll help the card last a little longer over the years. However, odds are that extra lifespan isn't going to matter because most enthusiasts are going to upgrade their card long before seeing the benefits of those lower temps in any tangible way.

These cards are almost universally rated to be OK for the length of the warranty as long as they stay under the Tjmax value (typically high 90s/low 100s these days). Moving to India and having an extra 20C ambient temperature to deal with is accounted for in the design of these cards.

If you're not OCing, and your temps arent crazy high because of dust or a poorly seated cooler, honestly you're ok not worrying about it.

 

[KompuKare]

I had a passively cooled 6600GT for myself and replaced it for a 8600GTS. When I upgraded my PC gave my old comp to my parents. The 8600GTS died about 5 months ago and plugged back the 6600GT working flawless.

The 6600GT has been running at +90c for years and still going on.

I would hazard a guess that the 6600GT used the correct solder during chip packaging (solder bumbs), whereas the 8600GTS did not.

Remember the 8600GTS was from the same era as the 8600M, 8800GT etc. and Nvidia messed up big time that generation (in quality not performance - 8800GT was a price / performance leader for ages).