Why is my 2GB XFX HD6950 so hot?

[Synomenon]

System is in my sig.. Using Everest / AIDA64, I see that my 2GB XFX HD6950 is currently at 62C and all I'm doing right now is surfing the net / email / word processing.

I do have three monitors running off of it right now:

Dell U2410 -> Mini-Displayport 1
Dell U2211H -> Mini-Displayport 2
Dell U2211H -> DVI 1


Is it running too hot? What should I do to fix this. There's already a 120mm fan blowing at it:

 

[Keysplayr]

It's because you have more than one monitor running. You can see the core speed is staying put at 450MHz in 2D mode. That will run the temps up.

 

[Qbah]

It's because you have more than one monitor running. You can see the core speed is staying put at 450MHz in 2D mode. That will run the temps up.

It's actually the memory that's causing most of the higher temp But you are right, those temps seem normal for a multi-monitor setup on a stock cooler.

 

[Vdubchaos]

Also could be because you PS is blowing hot air right on your Video card....

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

Is that a htpc case? Not sure why you would want a high end setup in such a small case?

 

[notty22]

In such a small case its going to run hot. Not much room under the video card. Your exhaust is now used with the H70.
Is h70 bringing air in or pushing out ?

 

[Cebu]

You need a bigger case. There is no room for air circulation in that thing. I had a setup like that in a Apevia X-QPACK2 and my temps were very high. I changed to a HAF 912 and the difference was amazing. I loved the small form factor type case but the high temps were not worth it.

 

[SmCaudata]

Looks like the silverstone ft03. Adjust your fan speed to 40% on the video card to see if they drop much.
Airflow should be fine with psu pulling air in from the bottom and two intake with the cpu cooler and gpu cooler as exhausts. What are the temps of the rest of your components?

I wish the would have made they case just a bit longer for a full atx. It would have been much smaller than the raven our most mid tower cases but offered better cooling.

 

[darkswordsman17]

Also could be because you PS is blowing hot air right on your Video card....

Huh? Most PSUs exhaust/pull the air. Of course even that's a moot point as its not pointed at the video card and is in a separate chamber. Its fan is above its own opening on the bottom.

In such a small case its going to run hot. Not much room under the video card. Your exhaust is now used with the H70.
Is h70 bringing air in or pushing out ?

I would guess its exhausting. Everything is vertical and the case has vents out the top. The case is pretty well thought out from an airflow standpoint.

You need a bigger case. There is no room for air circulation in that thing. I had a setup like that in a Apevia X-QPACK2 and my temps were very high. I changed to a HAF 912 and the difference was amazing. I loved the small form factor type case but the high temps were not worth it.

It should have quite a bit better airflow than the X-QPack. I don't think the case is the problem. Sure, its not going to have the air of good mid or full tower case, but it should be fine. Its definitely the 3 monitors that is causing the issue here. This has been discussed multiple times on here lately, if you run more than one monitor (and don't clone), it puts extra load on the GPU.

 

[theAnimal]

Also could be because you PS is blowing hot air right on your Video card....

PSUs do not exhaust into the case...

 

[SmCaudata]

Looking again this case should keep your memory really cool.

Is it quiet? How hot are your HDDs?

 

[WelshBloke]

I had the same problem, its not your case or power supply.

Theres some workarounds in the thread linked below.

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2131211&highlight=

 

[OVerLoRDI]

Sounds about right. My 6970 runs at 62C with 3 monitors connected. My 2nd 6970 with no monitors connected runs at 43C. What you should care more about is load temps in a small case.

 

[Synomenon]

Looking again this case should keep your memory really cool.

Is it quiet? How hot are your HDDs?

Yes, the memory is cool:

It's pretty quiet. The loudest thing in the case is the HD6950. I don't have the 600GB VelociRaptor plugged in right now so I haven't seen its temps. yet in this case. The Intel G2 isn't hot at all.


The PSU is at the bottom of the case and exhausts out the bottom. None of its heat goes up into the case.

There are four 120mm fans in the case. One right below the video card is blowing upwards towards the video card / top of the case. One is right below the RAM also blowing towards the RAM / top of the case. The last two are on the H70's radiator and both are blowing towards the top of the case.

All of the fans and exhaust (except for the PSU) go the same direction in this case: Up

Some of you might be new to SilverStone's Fortress cases. They position the components so all of the heat in the case rises up and out of the case.

 

[3DVagabond]

The PSU is at the bottom of the case and exhausts out the bottom. None of its heat goes up into the case.

There are four 120mm fans in the case. One right below the video card is blowing upwards towards the video card / top of the case. One is right below the RAM also blowing towards the RAM / top of the case. The last two are on the H70's radiator and both are blowing towards the top of the case.

All of the fans and exhaust (except for the PSU) go the same direction in this case: Up

Some of you might be new to SilverStone's Fortress cases. They position the components so all of the heat in the case rises up and out of the case.

Yeah, this is one of those instances where size truly doesn't matter.

 

[Ben90]

What you should care more about is load temps

''

 

[notty22]

Yes, the memory is cool:

It's pretty quiet. The loudest thing in the case is the HD6950. I don't have the 600GB VelociRaptor plugged in right now so I haven't seen its temps. yet in this case. The Intel G2 isn't hot at all.


The PSU is at the bottom of the case and exhausts out the bottom. None of its heat goes up into the case.

There are four 120mm fans in the case. One right below the video card is blowing upwards towards the video card / top of the case. One is right below the RAM also blowing towards the RAM / top of the case. The last two are on the H70's radiator and both are blowing towards the top of the case.

All of the fans and exhaust (except for the PSU) go the same direction in this case: Up

Some of you might be new to SilverStone's Fortress cases. They position the components so all of the heat in the case rises up and out of the case.

Then you don't have a problem with high temps ?

 

[WelshBloke]

Then you don't have a problem with high temps ?

Its not his case thats causing the problem.

 

[notty22]

Not every case can be home to any/every video card also the ambient temperature has to be thrown in to figure out that equation.

 

[WelshBloke]

Not every case can be home to any/every video card also the ambient temperature has to be thrown in to figure out that equation.

Your right, but the case and his ambients are nothing to do with his problem in this case.

His temps are within the norms for running monitors like he is.

It sucks that Nvidia and AMD haven't sorted it out but there you are.

 

[apoppin]

Your right, but the case and his ambients are nothing to do with his problem in this case.

His temps are within the norms for running monitors like he is.

It sucks that Nvidia and AMD haven't sorted it out but there you are.

Here is a quote from Nvidia's GTX 560Ti reviewer's guide that was not in the last reviewer's guide (as i remember); so at least they are acknowledging your issue
(and evidently they are not going to do anything about it)

Multi-monitor power testing

Please note, when testing power consumption with multiple displays connected to one graphics card, the graphics card will run in its standard idle power state(pstate) as long as both displays are running at the same screen resolution/timing. If both displays are running at different resolutions, the graphics card will enter a multi-monitor power state that consumes more power than the standard idle power state.

If an end user wants to avoid entering this multi-monitor power state, we’d recommend running both displays at the same screen resolution/timing.

In a multi-GPU environment with one display connected to each graphics card, the card will always remain in the standard idle power mode.
The following chart summarizes the GPU power states under each of these scenarios:
​

(nifty chart not posted)

 

[Synomenon]

I'm actually considering returning my 2GB XFX HD6950 for this XFX HD6870 Black Edition:

because the HD6950 is too loud for me.

I'm not sure though if I'll have the same loudness and temp. issue with the HD6870 since I'll still be driving three monitors (1920x1200 x1 and 1920x1080 x2).

 

[badb0y]

If you game that 6950 might be better off for an eyefinity setup.

 

[load81]

I'm actually considering returning my 2GB XFX HD6950 for this XFX HD6870 Black Edition:


because the HD6950 is too loud for me.

I'm not sure though if I'll have the same loudness and temp. issue with the HD6870 since I'll still be driving three monitors (1920x1200 x1 and 1920x1080 x2).

XFX lets you use after market coolers without voiding the warranty if you live in North America I believe. Just get a different cooler for your 6950 because with 3 monitors the 1gb on a 6870 will limit you.

 

[Synomenon]

Are there any aftermarket (non liquid) coolers for the 6950 that are more quiet than the stock cooler AND take up the same amount of space or less than the stock cooler?