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Crossfire overheating :(

NutterzUK

NutterzUK

NutterzUK

Associate
Joined
18 Feb 2010
Posts
940
Hi,
I have crossfire 6850s in my case, when I play games like battlefield 3, for some reason it is overheating and I believe is the cause of my PC restarting when playing games.

I went and looked in overdrive, which seems to show both of my cards with very different activity levels and temps.

I believe these should be almost equal, so I have something wrong with my setup :(.

Any help is appreciated!

Thanks

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2.jpg
 
Yikes, that's not good.

What case/cooling have you got? Got a pic of the cards as they sit in the case?

What are you using to control the fans?
 
Thanks for your quick reply Milano, your help is massively appreciated, this problem worries me a lot.

My case is a coolermaster CM690.
There is very little clearance between them, and if I select crossfire on the catalyst controll center, it says it is enabled.

I'll get a photo of them in the case.
The cooling I use is currently a spot fan on the northbrige, corsair h-50 for the CPU, and a large front case fan and large side case fan.
 
You will need better cooling, especially if the cards are close to each other. But saying that, it's a huge difference in temperature.
 
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Not only a difference in temps, the difference in activity confuses me...
Some other things that may play a part, but i'm not sure:
- Two monitors, one 27" Samsung SA950D, one DELL ( but is currently turned off ).
- i7 920 @ 3.8Ghz, 24GB Corsair Vengeance memory, MSI X58M motherboard, Intel X25-M SSD, 2x 1tb WD greens, Corsair 650w PSU.
 
That side case fan is blowing out, the reason is because the h-50 brings air in,... but I'm thinking that could cause problems pulling air away from where the graphics cards would take it in, perhaps I should flip this?

Then I have nothing blowing air OUT of my case though, although the case does have kind of a vented mesh over the top.

Any advice on that would also be brilliant. I have a profile which disables one of the monitors when I play, I do that so I can get 120Hz out of the Samsung950, could that be anything to do with one of them not showing activity?
I currently have both monitors plugged into the top card.
 
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Clean the dust out of the whole case, if the case is that dusty, how much dust do you think is in the gpu shrouds, you will need a can of compressed air to give your gpu's a good clean and don't forget to clean the front case panel too.

Turn the H-50 to vent air out the case, put a 120mm fan at the front to suck air in, experiment with the side fan blowing air in/out/off, move the spotcool down to try and blow air between the cards and wedge a small piece of plastic between the gpus to let more air in.

Install RadeonPro and it will give you the option to display a CrossFire usage bar it will show you exactly how much each gpu is utilised in game.
 
hi, i had the same thing with 6970 in crossfire. now this might help you like it helped me, try swapping the cards around and if you have a bios switch on your cards switch it over. not sure how this worked but it fix my problems. got to be Worth a try! maybe the other card runs cooler than the other you never know.
 
Thanks tommyboy, I downloaded RadeonPro but i'm not sure exactly how to use it yet. I'll experiment with it.

I have long thought about turning the H-50 around, as currently it sits in it's "recommended" orientation but I do not think that is the best for my current set up. I will do that also, it's getting late so it will have to be tomorrow, but i'll let you know how I get on.

I'll also buy some more compressed air from overclockers, it's been around 6 months since it was last cleaned, and I will promise myself to use it this time on my computer, not spraying my housemate.

Thanks!!
 
Thanks romper, i'll try that too. I don't think I have a switch but I will take a look, I can swap them over though, worth a go. I'm going to take them out anyway to give them a good clean.

Thanks!
Steve
 
Definitely turn the H50 round.

Also remove all ATI drivers fully, reboot, then install all again to see if this removes the three cards from CCC.

You need cold air coming in from the front and being exhausted out of the back. As above, experiment with the side fan and point the one inside the case between the cards.

A good clear out is always a good move, dust = bad!

Personally, I'd be looking at upgrading the case to something that can deal with a multi GPU setup a bit better than the case you have, something like the Silverstone Fortress FT02 or Raven if you're on a bidget.
 
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That sir is dusty ! CLEAN IT ASAP ! a tip get some air in a can like Air in a can and spray on the inside of the GPU fans or around it if you can get to them. That way you can try get some of the dust away from them fans so the cooling will be better.

But that first temp is scary high 101c ! :eek: I don't like it if my gfx card gets to around 80 let alone into the 100's. That said with my new custom WC I dont get them probs anymore I dont even get to 50 let alone any higher :p
 
i bet your card is full of dust i had my 6950s up close like yours and only hit 70c top, blow the cards out with a air line or pop into a local garage and do it. My old 295atx was hitting 105c so i blew it out and it was back down to 60c.
 
The CCC tray icon showing 3 6800s is because it has 3 outputs. I think. My 5830 CF shows 3 anyway.

Get it clean, and make sure that side fan is blowing air onto the GPUs, not away from. The H50 would be best exausting out of the case as well.
 
a) Dust filters
b) change the H50 so air is going out, not in.
c) change the side fan to blowing in (it looks like it should blow directly on the the cards)
d) clean that sucker up.
e) can you sort the cables a bit better.
f) can you DIY a 120mm fan at the bottom of the 5 1/4 bays that will blow more air on to the cards.


Changing case will only help in part, as it is to do with your motherboads slots that will depend on the gap between cards. A better case will help a bit but not a great deal.
 
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