Safe GPU temps

[evilsaint]

I can make some educated guesses and say that the 60-70max that my new X850Pro AGP (extra pipes unlocked, OC'd to 540/590 - X850XTPE speeds) aren't entirely too bad, but will that kind of temp over time fry the card or anything?

I'm not getting any artifacts at all, benching, gaming, or ATITool'ing, and I would certainly de-tune it if the temps hit 75-80 consistently, but what's a safe avg. operating temp under load?

 

[Nirach]

Mine loads at sixty at 600/600, mine's an 800GTO though. and water ccooled. I should imagine 60-70 would be fine on air cooling. On that note, what're you cooling with?

 

[voodoodrul]

The GPU itself can physically handle what most would consider outrageous. The 7800GTX in particular can routinely hit 100C without and damage whatsoever. Nvidia's thermal warnings by default don't even come into play until 115C. Remember the Voodoo3/Banshee days? There was a point in time where passive heatsinks and 100C temps were the norm. Phsyically, no harm was done.

I even had a GPU that all the etchings burned off it and it worked fine. The more I hear people chatting about what is a "safe" temp, the more I realize it really doesn't matter in the slightest. Just make sure your CPU doesn't break 95-105C and the GPU doesn't break 115C and you're probably going to be just fine. Anything less than that is well within manufacturer specs..

Yes, insane temps, I know. But looks at AMD/Intel's white papers and thermal specs. What they rate as max temps are what they consider safe enough to warranty trouble free functionality.

 

[evilsaint]

Awesome news Thanks Voodoo and Nirach. I'm just using the stock fan that came with the card. It's the actual ATI version, so I guess the fan can't be *that* bad...

And oh yes, do I remember the Banshee days... Come to think of it, I think I still have a scar from a burn that one of those bastages gave me, but maaaaaaan did they make
Motocross Madness run like silk

 

[mindless1]

Most significant is why it hits high temps (which yours are not particularly, but if they were...) to the extent that SO voltage regulation components or capacitors will fail over time. For the GPU itself, the threshold of instability is lower than that of damage. Ie- if it's stable it's cool enough to not suffer any immediate damage. That is, unless you were severely UNDERclocking it, as that might regain stability at very high temps.