Overheating issue due to ambient temps...watercooling my only option?

[Andrew111]

In Windows Vista I'm getting "display driver stopped responding" frequently during gaming and I've isolated the issue to overheating (tried all sorts of video drivers). It never happened in the winter months and only now started to occur as the weather warmed up (and stops when I crank up the AC). No overclocking is being done...it's a Dell computer and I simply replaced the power supply and video card for gaming. The case isn't really that cramped for a mid-tower. It's a Q6600 with a Geforce 8800GT...I'm running games at less than the detected optimal settings and it still does it...games don't stutter ever with low FPS so the hardware is capable but just overheats.

I really don't think I should have to crank up the AC and freeze my butt off in order to keep my computer happy, lol. I also keep my computer running 24/7 and do notice the room with my computer is warmer than other parts of the house. I'm hesitant to watercool but it seems to be the only real option as better fans and heatsinks aren't going to help much...I doubt it will completely eliminate the "displayer driver stopped responding" error. Am I being reasonable in that assumption or am I overlooking an option?

For those who recommend watercooling...is there an all-in-one system that is easy to install for a noobie? I am pretty clueless on watercooling and wouldn't want to spend a lot of money on it(less than $200 if possible)...I wouldn't want an elaborate system and would just assume watercool the GPU only since that is the source of my problem unless doing the CPU too wouldn't be much more expensive/complicated.

Any suggestions will be much appreciated so I can game in peace

 

[Kenmitch]

I don't have a nvidia gpu other than in my laptop so not sure....But does the nvidia control panel allow you to changs the fan speeds?

Or if not you should be able to find an aftermarket program to do it....Maybe something geared towards overclocking the card will also provide fan control.

Maybe just bump up the fan speed and see if it helps....May get kinda loud tho but at least you can see if it'll help. Water coooling is cool and fun to play with but does tend to get kinda expensive tho. GPU blocks are pretty much card specific so when and if you upgrade your card you'll have to buy another block.

Something like http://www.guru3d.com/index.php?page=rivatuner should work

 

[Andrew111]

I'm at work at the moment so I can't check if I can modify the fan speed with the NVIDIA control panel. I'm assuming during heavy usage the fan would be going close to as fast as it can go, no?

 

[Modelworks]

You need more case fans to get air into the case. When oem design cases they design them for the load that they will sell for. So if you add a video card that produces more heat after market you will have to add cooling because the case was not designed for it.

Take the side off the case and see how long it can run before you have problems. Often you can just replace existing case fans with better versions.

 

[Binky]

If you're positive that it is the video card overheating, you can buy a new video card of equal or better performance for less than $200!

Water cooling brings its own set of problems and hassles. I woulnd't go for water cooling without really thinking it through.

 

[imaheadcase]

I don't think a driver stopped responding error would be heat related. If it was a temp issue you would get hard locks, random resets, etc. You mention games play fine though, heat would normally cause lockup or tearing of graphics.

 

[fffblackmage]

Can I assume nothing is clogged up with dust?

I just recently helped a friend dust out his computer. He was complaining about high tempuratures and low framerates in WoW, even though it was running fine before. Turns out he hasn't cleaned out the desktop once after owning it for 3-4 years.

 

[zagood]

I agree that it's probably temp related. Test by taking side door off then gaming.

Good suggestions - dust out case, use rivatuner to increase video card fan speed. Rivatuner also has a great monitoring setup that can run in the background when gaming, so that should be the first thing you use to test.

Also may want to add an intake fan, on a Dell you would usually have to move the hard drive from a vertical to horizontal position by adding a bracket, then ziptie a fan to the space the hard drive was taking up. Different models have different ways to do it, which Dell?

Also may try plugging the rear fan directly into the PSU (via 3-pin to molex adapter) so it always runs at full speed. If that works, put the fan on a manual fan controller so you can change it on the fly.

p.s. which nVidia driver?