Is my 5870 running to hot?

[JE78]

Nice mobo by the way. Nice setup.. when you gonna oc that cpu? Another project perhaps..

Thanks, I've got my CPU up to 3.3, 3.47 with turbo but can't get it stable after that. I'm not much of an OCer so i'm happy for now. I could use some help if you have some advice.

 

[Hauk]

Thanks, I've got my CPU up to 3.3, 3.47 with turbo but can't get it stable after that. I'm not much of an OCer so i'm happy for now. I could use some help if you have some advice.

Probably want to venture to cpu forum for that. But I can say it'll prolly take disabling the power saving features and turbo, and opting for a steady overclock. You have the equipment and cooler to do it. 3.8 minimum can be achieved with 1.29-1.30ish voltage and the right BCLK, memory, and board voltages. I saw you at EVGA forum, glad you got system to work, try posting there or here in cpu forum..

 

[JE78]

Well, I just ran a virtual Daytona 500 at iRacing.com, 3hrs and 39minutes my card was at load and the temps peaked at 88c with the fan on 37%. Maybe laving it at auto and letting it do its thing is the best bet. Who knows.

 

[Hauk]

Well, I just ran a virtual Daytona 500 at iRacing.com, 3hrs and 39minutes my card was at load and the temps peaked at 88c with the fan on 37%. Maybe laving it at auto and letting it do its thing is the best bet. Who knows.

Looking at your case.. a total of 7 fan slots, all except that small one behind the mobo wall are 120mm? How many and where are fans installed?

Your card should be running cooler. Mine in an Antec 1200 (lots of airflow) ran much cooler. If you're only running the couple fans that shipped with the case, it may not be enough. That front fan is only 1200rpm, it's quiet but not doing much. A single 120mm on the back wall is helping but if it's a low rpm fan too.. And IMO, that small fan behind the mobo wall is useless. If it came with one and it's noisy, I'd rip it outta there.

Try gaming with 40% fan speed and side panel off. Check temps. If they're lower, suspect case heat buildup. If you're already running with 120mm fans in the side panel and on top, then I'm wrong. If you're not and running with side panel off brings temps down, then I'm going to recommend additional cooling.

And I must, for those who need it, add a disclaimer: It's noted that the 5870 is designed to operate at mentioned temperatures.

 

[JE78]

Well when I installed my Dark Knight I had to get rid of 3 fans for it to fit. Both the top fans and the top side fan. BTW, that fan behind the CPU really helps. The 3 fans I have in it now, the front, 1 side and rear are all the stock fans that came with the case.

I'll try gaming with the side panel off and see what kind of temps I get.

 

[Hauk]

Yea I can see where that cooler would present a challenge. I pointed my Ultra 120 upwards, enabled me to fit a fan in the side panel, kinda good because it shoots air right out my top case fan. So the fan on the mobo wall does some good, pics don't help much but it looked like it's blocked by the mobo. Is it exausting? It's an 80mm? Lemme know how that side panel test goes, just curious

 

[JE78]

It didn't matter how I positioned the Dark Knight, I was going to loose 3 fans either way. I have it facing the front of my case so the fan is blowing to the back and at the exhaust fan. I still have to try gaming without the side panel but once I do i'll report back.

 

[Hauk]

It didn't matter how I positioned the Dark Knight, I was going to loose 3 fans either way. I have it facing the front of my case so the fan is blowing to the back and at the exhaust fan. I still have to try gaming without the side panel but once I do i'll report back.

Sounds good.


This got me thinking about different things I've done with cooling and one thing really jumps to mind. On my Antec 1200, that side panel fan I mentioned has a removable screen filter. I ran 5870 CF for a while and noticed load temps were 10c higher in CF vs. running a single card. Experimenting, I removed the screen filter which allowed the fan to shoot more air between the cards. Just doing that lowered both card's load temp by 4c. I opted to run with the filter, but it was interesting to see how that affected gpu temps.

 

[JE78]

In my case the only filters I have is in the front. I guess I could try removing that and seeing if I see any difference.

 

[Hauk]

In my case the only filters I have is in the front. I guess I could try removing that and seeing if I see any difference.

I'd try gaming with the side panel off, see if it makes a difference. I'd not consider removing a filter, as others said the temp is acceptable. But if the side panel off makes a difference and you are interested in lowering temps, you could explore the options..

 

[JE78]

I just gamed a round with BC2, I left the side panel on for half the game then removed it, and went from 84c to 82c so not a big enough difference to say that it would be heat buildup inside the case I would think.

 

[Hauk]

Cool, well I guess that answers that. Sounds like letting the card do it's job via auto fan is the way to go. Congrats on the new build..

 

[JE78]

Yeah I guess your right, auto fan is the way to go.

Thanks, I do want to get my 920 to 3.8 so that will be my next task.