What to replace first

[Copilot]

Ok here are the facts.

I know that my video card is overheating ever since buying my new mobo and cpu

computer had no fans besides the heatsinks on the video card and cpu so I bought 2 80mm fans, one intake one exhaust, they didn't help at all

I know that it is my video card getting to hot because I took the side panels off my computer and put a household fan on high pointing into it and it didn't overheat anymore

Current computer specs

450watt CPU
asus m2n-ms SE motherboard
AMD AM2 X2 6000+ dual core 3.0ghz CPU
evga gforce 7600 GT video card, only 4-5 months old, last one caught on fire

old cpu and mobo are

amd opteron 144 1.8ghz cpu single core
asus a8n-e motherboard

This never happened with my old motherboard.

So I am probably just going to buy a new video card because I can't fix this problem with more cooling unless I buy a new case with 5 fan slots all 120mm and make my computer too loud to even hear myself think.

So do I buy a new power supply and see if that fixes the problem? 450watt is plenty for my set up. Or buy a new video card, probably something in the 8000 series that has a bigger heatsink.

Any help is appreciated.

 

[wanderer27]

If your PSU can adequately support the Video card, then certainly get a new card.

If it can't, then you have to get a new PSU first.

Don't know about the brand you have, but I would think it should handle the newer Video card fine.

 

[Copilot]

Yeah well there are no issues right now, but I don't know why the video card is overheating now when it didn't 2 weeks ago, maybe I just need a new psu because the dual core cpu is taking too much power?

 

[robisbell]

I'd recommend a 500 or 550 watt psu. if you are planning on doing a lot of gaming a 600 or 650 watt then.

 

[cozumel]

Are you saying that you have poor cooling within your case? Since you have already tried a couple of extra fans with no improvement then you would be far better getting a well built case with an enhanced airflow. It can often be quieter to have the better airflow when the case is well constructed. I have just bought a new case that has more fans than my old one and is considerably quieter. Knocked over 10c off the idle and load temps of my processor in one hit.

Edit: typo correction - First sentence did not ask what I had meant.

 

[Copilot]

Yes I bought 2 fans on sunday, the temp didn't change even 1degree from what it was on saturday wit no fans.

 

[cozumel]

Extra fans in in a case with poor thermal qualities will not make any difference as you will be recycling hot air. What is your current case pls?

My last case was great for single core but as soon as went a 2 core model the temps went up. When I installed the quad and 8800 the temps were unacceptable fully loaded and I was even unhappy with the idle temps. I put new fans on but with only a marginal and negligible drop in case/cpu/gpu temps. So I bought my new case, can now overclock and the temps are still lower than in the old case lol

One other consideration with your current graphics card is are you sure the current heatsink hasn't been knocked in some way, that everything is seated correctly and the gpu fan is spinning at correct speeds? (Of course, if you were looking to upgrade the graphics anyhow then this wouldn't really matter)

 

[Copilot]

Case is http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16811119104 but without the fan on the side, its on the front bottom by the power button, and there are vents there for it.

The fans were just $10 ones from a store around here, 80mm because thats all I have slots for.

The weird thing is the CPU isn't overheating at all, only the video card, which doesn't make sense since I upgraded the CPU and not the video card. The weird thing is the case I bought didn't come with any fans which is weird, but if I buy a $100 ish case will it come with fans already, ones that are usable? or would it be better just to buy the $5 coolermaster ones from newegg and replace the stock ones.

Also what case would you suggest, cheaper the better but not so cheap it can't do what it needs to cool the dual core.

 

[cozumel]

A really nice case that is well within your budget is the http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/...p?ProductCode=10006342">Cooler Master RC-690</a>. Currently $38.99 after MIR (expires 22/01/08) which is half the price of Newegg!!! Quite a bit more space than your current case, can take a full-length PCIE graphic card, good airflow, cooling and cable management. It is still a Mid-Tower (like you Centurion) but does have larger footprint (it's 1cm taller, 5cm wider and 6cm deeper I think). It's had some really good reviews that I have read recently.

I would double check your gpu fan-speeds and heatsink before going down this road (unless you were upgrading regardless).

 

[Copilot]

I don't know how to check my GPU fan, on speedfan the only fan I can control is my PSU fan(i think it runs at 3300 rpm so I am sure thats it ), and my fan I put in the front that plugged into my chassis fan 3pin connector.

 

[cozumel]

RivaTuner will tell you what your current GPU fan speed is and allows you to alter the speed. And you should be able to monitor the GPU temp via the NVidia control panel / NTune software.

 

[Copilot]

Ok downloaded RivaTuner, clicked Driver settings, customize, system settings(video card picture)

I clicked on the Fan tab, now I see "Standard 2D" "low power3d" "performance 3d"

They are all at 25% so which ones should I turn up?

 

[BladeVenom]

You say it's overheating, but what are the symptoms? Video artifacts, crashes, or just high temperature readings? What are you temperature readings?

 

[cozumel]

I always do the lot lol but there probably is no need.

If you are overheating only on 3d games then you would only need to increase that fan speed. I just prefer to to have the fan speed higher accross the board.

Set it to 100% initially and apply and you should definitely hear it speed up (a rather disturbing whine lol). Then play a gpu intensive game and see if the overheating continues. If that has sorted out the problem you can change the setting to 50% probably and test again.

Don't forget to save the fan profile and to tick the box that says 'Apply fan settings at Windows startup'.

 

[Copilot]

Originally posted by: BladeVenom
You say it's overheating, but what are the symptoms? Video artifacts, crashes, or just high temperature readings? What are you temperature readings?

Just 10-15 second game freezes, check my other threads for a better description, basically it is as if I get a huge lag spike, but it isn't lag because it doesn't do it when I cool my computer with a household fan.

EDIT: ok just played a game and alt tabbed right after I got a game freeze and my temp on the nvidia thing said it only went up about 1degree so I don't think its my video card anymore.

When gaming my CPU performance goes up to about 55-65%
disk is at 100%, memory was at 90%

Is it something else that needs replacing? Maybe my harddrive? or more ram? (1gig right now)

anyone going to bed will check thread in the morning.

 

[fachmannn]

Try reseating the GPU fan with new AS5 paste, after that... I would recommend a Zalman type cooler unit for it. I hope you didn't touch the GPU chip under the fan.

 

[BladeVenom]

He doesn't believe it's the video card now. So try reseating the CPU's heatsink.

 

[oynaz]

Try a Memtest86+ run.

Isn't the card still under warranty? In that case you should RMA it if you think it is the culprit.

Originally posted by: robisbell
I'd recommend a 500 or 550 watt psu. if you are planning on doing a lot of gaming a 600 or 650 watt then.

Way overkill. His present PSU has plenty of power. Unless he is running a hair-dryer off the USB port ;-)

 

[cozumel]

Originally posted by: Copilot

Originally posted by: BladeVenom
You say it's overheating, but what are the symptoms? Video artifacts, crashes, or just high temperature readings? What are you temperature readings?

Just 10-15 second game freezes, check my other threads for a better description, basically it is as if I get a huge lag spike, but it isn't lag because it doesn't do it when I cool my computer with a household fan.

EDIT: ok just played a game and alt tabbed right after I got a game freeze and my temp on the nvidia thing said it only went up about 1degree so I don't think its my video card anymore.

When gaming my CPU performance goes up to about 55-65%
disk is at 100%, memory was at 90%

Is it something else that needs replacing? Maybe my harddrive? or more ram? (1gig right now)

anyone going to bed will check thread in the morning.

Copilot dude. You are not being precise in your answers to the questions being asked. Please state what your temps of the GPU are at idle and at load. To say it went up by 1 degree doesn't mean it is cool. Once we can be certain that the graphics are operating properly then it can be crossed off the list of things that could be causing your problem and then as others have said we can move on to memory tests etc. It's no good checking other things before you have ruled out a graphic problem.

 

[Copilot]

Ok, idle right now

50C

Gaming, 70-75C



EDIT: Also when I change my fan speed with RivaTuner I can't hear it going any faster, and when I open RivaTuner it says

"Warning! RivaTuner has not been tested with the currently installed display driver. It is strongly recommended to upgrade RiveTuner to a new version, otherwise it may not work properly because the driver is not officially supported."

And the fan settings I can control are Performance 3d not the standard 2d or low power 3d controls.

 

[cozumel]

Re-confirming what you have just said and done. When you changed the default fan setting on graphic card to 100% and applied the change you did not hear an a noticeable increase in fan speed as it should make quite a noise. Please also confirm then when you moved the 3d performance slider to 100% that the 2d and low power 3d also increased automatically in sync.

I am just going to check what the temps idle/load should be for 7600GT as I can't remember any more lol. brb

 

[Copilot]

Yes thats correct, they automatically change to 100% also, and I don't notice any fan sounds.

Also I can change my GPU fans via RivaTuner or Nvidia control panel, maybe one is overriding the other?

 

[cozumel]

okay the 75c temp, while a fraction warm is not excessively hot. Do me one more test though if you would please just because the fans aren't speeding up at 100%. Download ATItool and get the temp monitor running so that you get a permanent On Screen Display of GPU core temp even while you are gaming your most baddass game you have to doublecheck that temp. Then we check memory.

 

[Copilot]

Still at 75C, stays at that even during one of the game freeze things, have been playing the game for roughly 10 minutes until the first one happened.

EDIT: The longer I game the more often it happens, sometimes when I am not near anyone so there wouldn't be much to load, also incase I forgot to mention the sound repeats when it happens, like whatever someone is currently saying on the mic will repeat over and over.

 

[cozumel]

Just to tick off another possible cause for your diffuculties do you have the latest windows updates and updates for chipset, graphics, sound and all other drivers? Do you have the latest BIOS installed?