Pausing/Heat problem

[VoteQuimby]

I have a question about my 6800GT temps. First I?ll start with I?ve been noticing pauses in games where my pc will freeze for 5-10 seconds and then comeback and seem ok, but It happens the more I play a game(hmm heat issue?). Also sometimes it wont come back from the freeze and it will blue screen saying something about nv4_disp. All this was happening while I was OCing the card so I thought fine I?ll set it back to stock and see if that helps. Well it did for a bit and it doesn?t happen as often but it still happens. So I installed systool to check my temps and while playing DOD:S tonight the GPU core reached 92°C. I played DOD:S for about an hour with no issues but 92°C is high. Especially for stock speeds. So what should I do? How could I cool the card down and see if that?s the problem w/o buying anything like a NV Silencer or something. Am I right to assume it is just a heat issue? I didn?t have these problems with an older case and mobo.

My system:
ASRock Dual
Opteron 146 @ 2750Mhz
(35°C idle - 45°C Gaming)
2Gig OCZ Platinum Ram
XFX 6800GT AGP @ stock speeds - 81.98 drivers
(64°C idle - 92°C-95°C Gaming)
Coolermaster Centurion Case
Rosewill RV500S-2 500W power supply

edit: I'm also using the onboard sound w/ this board which I believe is realtek

 

[VoteQuimby]

bump

 

[CKXP]

your temps are high, you might want to invest in an aftermarket cooler, NV5 or a Zalman VF-700...also check your heatsink it may not be making proper contact with the GPU

 

[VoteQuimby]

Which would you recommend the NV5 or Zalman?

If I were to take the panel off of the case and point a huge fan on the side of the case will that reduce the GPU temp? That way I can determine if the pauses are caused by heat, and then buy a VGA cooler.

 

[CKXP]

personally i used a NV5 on my 6800gt, although the Zalman will perform a little better. the one advantage that the NV5 has is DHES(direct heat exhaust) out the back of the case, and it's very quiet. also how are your ambient temps in your case, and what about airflow throughout the case? pointing a huge fan with the side panel off might help in determining if heat is at fault, which i think it is.

btw: did you check the heatsink?

 

[VoteQuimby]

I'm at work now but I will check the heatsink tonight. What am I looking for exactly when I take the heatsink off the GPU?

 

[CKXP]

well first check if it's seated properly, and not loose. if you do take the heatsink off make sure you have some extra thermal paste laying around, if you have AS5 i would suggest you use that for the GPU.

 

[VoteQuimby]

Ok so I applied some artic silver to the GPU etc and my temps are better now (50C idle 65C load). But I?m still having problems. Last night I tested with NHL 2006 and during the 3rd game I played I got the BSOD w/ the NV4_disp message. So I?m not sure what to do now.

 

[CKXP]

Originally posted by: VoteQuimby
Ok so I applied some artic silver to the GPU etc and my temps are better now (50C idle 65C load). But I?m still having problems. Last night I tested with NHL 2006 and during the 3rd game I played I got the BSOD w/ the NV4_disp message. So I?m not sure what to do now.

good to hear that you temps went down also you want to try reinstalling your NV drivers, see if that helps.