PowerColor x850xt PE Overheating - BF2 related?

[StrayWookie]

I DL'd ATiTool last night, ran scan for artifacts, and within 1 min my GPU temp was 95+ deg....I has to kick the fan up to 100% and stop the scanning to get the temp down to 40-50.
I only did this because i was getting computer restarts playing BF2 right when i would enter a room and try to move.
Card is not OC'd, nothing is yet. My PSU plug is 20 pin, not 24, and I know the stock PSU isn't all that great, but is this card defective or what, 90 deg is smokin hot.

 

[anandtechrocks]

Yea, 90C is way to hot, but the temp probs may be off. At that temperature the card would have damaged but if it is still functioning without any artifacts then maybe you're ok. Also that is a very broad temp range (40C to 90C!!) so maybe ATi Tool if f'd up.

 

[StrayWookie]

Well, the temps are from ATiTool, at 5 sec intervals, the graph was off the chart, crazy.
I've ssen similar topics on the x850xt PE running hot, but not this hot, thats why i'm wondering if this card might be defective or what.
It's from Newegg, and i'm about call them if no one has seen these temps before.

 

[imported_driver]

I had a Xtasy x850xtpe that ran at these temps too, so I quickly returned it. This is why I prefer Nvidia over ATI -- they are much more efficient, requiring less power and generating less heat.

 

[anandtechrocks]

One thing you could try, is touching the heatsink. Well, actually if it really is 90C don't touch it just put your finger near it. Heat like that would be very obvious so you could test it that way. I have a 6600 GT and when it is at load it feels hot but I can leave my finger there without being burned. See how that works.

 

[StrayWookie]

Thanks for all the input, i'll run some more tests tonight, but i'm seriously thinking about returning it.

 

[imported_driver]

I didn't actually touch the HS when I had the card, but the air coming out the back was _very_ warm. Also, the card noticeably increased the ambient temperature of the room after a while, much more so than my 6800U.

 

[Elfear]

Originally posted by: driver
I had a Xtasy x850xtpe that ran at these temps too, so I quickly returned it. This is why I prefer Nvidia over ATI -- they are much more efficient, requiring less power and generating less heat.

Ah, come on driver. Get your facts straight. Blanket statements like that are misleading. Yes, sometimes ATI cards of one generation use more power and thus dissipate more heat but so do Nvidia cards from some generations.

For me, power consumption and heat generation are much farther down my priority list than raw 3D power. The 7800GTx has done a good job of keeping the power consumption down but last gen the 6800 and X850 were neck and neck with the 6800 being slightly lower. Of course the X850XT PE is generally faster than the 6800 Ultra so the extra juice is warranted.

Rant off, sorry to go a little off topic.

 

[ddogg]

Rightly said. ATI's only card that gives off more heat and draws more power than Nvidia is the X850XTPE so your statement is totally misleading.

 

[imported_driver]

Let's do the math here:

ATI's X800 series is roughly equivalent to the 6800 series, right? The X800 runs between 475MHz for the Pro to 520MHz for the PE while the 6800 runs from at 350MHz to 400MHz (ignoring the 6800NU, which isn't even a competitor).

Now let's look at the X850XTPE, which runs at a whopping 540MHz. That's a 35% increase in clock speed from the 6800U that only garners an 18% increase in performance (~6300 vs ~5300 in 3DMark05 -- source: http://www.hardforum.com/showpost.php?p=1027953890&postcount=2352). And let's not forget that this X850XTPE is easily outperformed by the 7800GTX, running at a measly 430MHz. Faster clockspeed equals more power requirements and more heat dissipation, with all other things being equal.

"But the 7800GTX has 24 pipes instead of 16!", you say. But this is what it's all about -- finding ways to increase performance other than running your hardware fast and furious.

 

[Elfear]

Wait, I thought we were talking about power consumption, not clock speed. The power consumption of the 6800Ultra is roughly 99.37% of the X850XT PE if you average the four benchmarks Tom's did, yet the X850XT PE is approximately 18% faster according to you. And if you want to look at clock speed efficiency than a 6800Ultra runs at 75% of the clock speed of the X850XT PE (400Mhz vs. 540Mhz) yet consumes only .6% less power. Hum, what were you saying about efficiency?

I already said that the 7800GTX does a very good job with efficiency and beats the X850XT PE hands down with the power consumption/3D processing power ratio. I wasn't debating that, but the fact that you made such a blanket statement about how efficient Nvidia cards are compared to ATI cards when it is simply not true.

 

[isekii]

ATI X8XX series heat threshold is like 125 degrees celsius.

I dont think you have anything to worry about.

 

[imported_driver]

Do you have a link to Tom's power ratings review of the X850XTPE? I couldn't find it on his site.

 

[munchow2]

I think you guys are comparing apples and oranges. One is saying efficiency is a function of performance/core Mhz and the other is talking about power comsumption/core Mhz. It's like asking if AMD or Intel is better. Both have their advantages and warrant different modes of comparison.

On topic now: yes that seems like a huge jump in temperature. I suggest you return it or phone ati.

 

[Elfear]

There you go. You have to look a little farther down the review to see which cards they are referring to since the graph only says 6800 and ATI card.

Sorry again to go off topic, I agree with munchow2, just RMA it. My X850XT PE would get up to 80C under the ATI Tool stress test but it never shut down even when oced to 600/600.

 

[imported_driver]

That's impressive that ATI manages to keep power consumption so low. I wonder why it didn't jibe with my personal experience though. With the X850XTPE installed, my +12V line dropped down to 11.84V (as measured by MBM) while the 6800U caused it to go to 11.90V. And the X850XTPE was definitely a lot hotter than the 6800U.

I still stand by my statement that lower clock frequencies to get the same or similar performance is more efficient. And until ATI can match NVidia in that area, I'll stick with NVidia.

 

[Elfear]

Originally posted by: driver
That's impressive that ATI manages to keep power consumption so low. I wonder why it didn't jibe with my personal experience though. With the X850XTPE installed, my +12V line dropped down to 11.84V (as measured by MBM) while the 6800U caused it to go to 11.90V. And the X850XTPE was definitely a lot hotter than the 6800U.

I still stand by my statement that lower clock frequencies to get the same or similar performance is more efficient. And until ATI can match NVidia in that area, I'll stick with NVidia.

To each his own than. I've also had both (6800GT@Ultra speeds and X850XT PE) and I'll go with the faster card everytime, no matter how many clock cycles it uses.

 

[imported_driver]

Yup, we'll just have to agree to disagree.

 

[Elfear]

Thanks for being civil about it. Some other members would have resorted to name calling.

 

[imported_driver]

Originally posted by: Elfear
Thanks for being civil about it. Some other members would have resorted to name calling.

Thanks to you as well. I'm glad this didn't turn into a holy war.