xt850 xt toasty

Jambaa

Junior Member
Oct 21, 2005
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After some good advice, I used ATI Tray tools to moniter my new XT850 XT temps while playing BF2 and was a bit surprised at the max temp of 67. Idle temps are around 38. Using CCC which opened up way too slow, the max temp that I had seen was 56. What's a relatively safe maximum load temp? If I plan to OC a little, will I definitely need a VGA Silencer or similar? Any suggestions between the VGA Silencer and one of the Zalman products for the XT850 XT (AGP)? The case temps at load are high 40s I believe. Thanks for the help.
 

Crescent13

Diamond Member
Jan 12, 2005
4,793
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Graphic cards arn't like CPU's you know ;). My 6600GT (keep in mind much less powerful and hot), idles at 43C, with aftermarket cooling (Zalman vf-700CU). 67 would be above my comfort zone (which is very small, I like between 50-60C), but it is still VERY safe. If you will be overclocking, I would reccomend getting an aftermrket cooler. The zalman that I mentioned above is arguably THE best cooler out there for graphic cards.
 

mrkun

Platinum Member
Jul 17, 2005
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Modern GPUs can safely run at pretty high temperatures. I don't know what the normal temps are on the X850XT, but you're certainly not out of tolerable range. My 7800GTX will hit 80C with rthdribl.

Edit: That's w/ my card at stock settings.
 

Fadey

Senior member
Oct 8, 2005
410
6
81
Really? my card is clocked at 490/1300 and its only using stock air cooling (the default nvidia one) and it only gets 69 underload...
 

aatf510

Golden Member
Nov 13, 2004
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Originally posted by: Fadey
Really? my card is clocked at 490/1300 and its only using stock air cooling (the default nvidia one) and it only gets 69 underload...

Really? what are you doing with it to get 69C?

My GTX easily get up to 80C after running ATItool for 20 min.
 

Munky

Diamond Member
Feb 5, 2005
9,372
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As long as your temps stay under 80, I wouldnt worry about em. But I personally have the zalman vf700cu, and it's the best $35 you can spend on a cooler. Not only does it cool well and is relatively quiet, but it also fits a whole bunch of cards. I've used it on my 9800p, now using it on my x800, and soon will install it on the c3d x800gto I just ordered, assuming it unlocks to 16 pipes. The temps are good also, my x800 used to hit 76C on stock cooling at stock speeds (390), and now at 440 with the zalman the temps never go above 60C.
 

Fadey

Senior member
Oct 8, 2005
410
6
81
Lol ive done nothing its all stock , in a thermal take shark case , overclocked 490/1300 just played 5 hours of bf2 and an hour of fear and it was at 68..
 

1Dark1Sharigan1

Golden Member
Oct 5, 2005
1,466
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67C is fine. Hell my XL with its stock cooler used to peak at 84C (usually playing Riddick) when clocked to just 432/1100 . . . the main thing about that X850XT is not that the cooler is ineffective but LOUD. A Silencer or VF700 would be very quiet (even @ 100%) and should decrease temps by ~ 10C at load . . .
 

Fraggable

Platinum Member
Jul 20, 2005
2,799
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My X800XT AIW @ 520\1040 tops at 80C with a ATI Silencer 1 rev. 2 and i'm uncomfortable with that. That's in a Antec Overture case though so there's not a ton of airflow. I've been thinking of getting a vf700 for it but am unsure if it'll help any. IMHO, the X8xx series cards shouldn't run above 70C for any length of time if you want them to last a few years.
 

Jambaa

Junior Member
Oct 21, 2005
15
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I've figured out the problem. Seems like the default fan settings (in ATI Tray Tools maybe) were set more on the quiet side. I never reached above 35% fan use even at 67 degrees. I've set the options to have the fan run at 50% at over 50 and 75% at over 62, but now the max temps are around 60.

I have a couple of questions regarding the Zalman cooler though. Does it need it's molex for power or can you connect it to the fan power connector already on the card? If you connect it to the one already on the card, can you still regulate it's full range of speeds using ATI tray tools? If not, can you still regulate it (not full speed all the time) if you connect it to the 12V adapter? Thanks!
 

flexy

Diamond Member
Sep 28, 2001
8,464
155
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the X850XT core temps can reach as high as upper 80s. Your 67 is nothing.

I read into that subject a bit and tehre are differnt opinions - SOME claim good results with Zalman.

But the general notion is that the original 850XT cooler is "pretty ok" already and i read reviews/comparisons with the stock 850XT cooler and Arctic Silencer. The Silencer is quiter but might only cool one or two degrees or so better than the stock.

Not worth for me to change the stock cooler.
 

thegimp03

Diamond Member
Jul 5, 2004
7,420
2
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The stock cooler on the x850 xt is pretty good for being stock. Your temps are fine, I wouldn't worry about them.
 

1Dark1Sharigan1

Golden Member
Oct 5, 2005
1,466
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Well the stock cooler is a DHES . . . so it's not bad by any means . . . but loud as hell though at 100% fan speed . . .