MSI r9 290 Gaming edition hitting 95c

northun_munky · 22 Feb 2015 at 12:08

Bought just over a year ago and been an awesome card but noticed in the last week or so temps now hitting 95c and the card throttling itself back from stock 977, sometimes down to the low 600's to keep itself cool. It's causing a fair bit of stuttering in games which is what brought it to my attention.

Case air flow is good and the H/S's are free of dust. It wasn't getting anything like this warm, maybe early 80's when i first got it. A bit of a search and google would suggest perhaps HSF coming lose maybe but most point to RMA time. Anyone else had this? I don't want to start messing with the HSF if it will mess with the warranty.

RJC · 22 Feb 2015 at 12:11

I think your best bet is to RMA the card, if your happy everything else is ok.

Daft question - I assume the fans are ramping up to full speed.

r7slayer · 22 Feb 2015 at 12:12

Try repasting and reseating the cooler on it? Because the cards are designed to run at 95 degrees then throttle down you may have a hard time RMA because they wont find a problem with the card. But yea repasting may mess with the warranty. so caution advised before doing it!

northun_munky · 22 Feb 2015 at 12:15

RJC said:
I think your best bet is to RMA the card, if your happy everything else is ok.

Daft question - I assume the fans are ramping up to full speed.

Yeahy, sorry should have said, it ramps up to 100% then throttles itself at 94-5c

r7slayer said:
Try repasting and reseating the cooler on it? Because the cards are designed to run at 95 degrees then throttle down you may have a hard time RMA because they wont find a problem with the card. But yea repasting may mess with the warranty. so caution advised before doing it!

Surely though with it being an aftermarket MSI cooler though if it can't keep itself cool enough for the advertised clocks then it's faulty? I'll get in touch with OcUK on Monday about an RMA i think.

thefogo · 22 Feb 2015 at 12:22

Sounds like the cooler has come loose or has bad contact. Reseat the cooler or RMA it.

tres_kun · 22 Feb 2015 at 12:22

I had the opportunity to play with one of them
Was hitting 84 degrees in furmark after 60 minutes
Fan profile was stock do not remember fan RPM %
But it was very quiet from my perspective

Wizzfizz · 22 Feb 2015 at 12:44

RMA it. Don't bothered trying to reseat it, it's not your job to do that, plus it's still under warranty, I'm guessing.

Gilbert89 · 22 Feb 2015 at 15:08

Mine was hitting 84c with 60% in Crysis usually high 70s with a case designed for airflow!

Will eventually jump ship when something more powerful/cooler/quieter at a decent price goes on the market

africanos23 · 22 Feb 2015 at 15:35

I had 4 of the MSI Gaming R9-290s. All were hitting over 80c with 2 of them hitting 94c.

Your best bet is to reapply thermal paste - drops 5-10c with AS5 - ( theres a sticker that voids warranty) and undervolt to keep temps cooler.

Trying using vsync as well so the cards don't run crazy and you should be fine.

LoadsaMoney · 22 Feb 2015 at 15:39

My 290X only goes to around 79/80, not sure what the fan speed is at those temps, but can't be that fast, as still pretty quiet.

northun_munky · 22 Feb 2015 at 15:47

africanos23 said:
I had 4 of the MSI Gaming R9-290s. All were hitting over 80c with 2 of them hitting 94c.

Your best bet is to reapply thermal paste - drops 5-10c with AS5 - ( theres a sticker that voids warranty) and undervolt to keep temps cooler.

Trying using vsync as well so the cards don't run crazy and you should be fine.

Wizzfizz said:
RMA it. Don't bothered trying to reseat it, it's not your job to do that, plus it's still under warranty, I'm guessing.

I think this is the best plan. I'd be gutted if I tried re seating the hsf and void the warranty whilst not fixing the issue.

LoadsaMoney said:
My 290X only goes to around 79/80, not sure what the fan speed is at those temps, but can't be that fast, as still pretty quiet.

Yeah, this never used to be much above 80c max I think. Just been playing crysis again with it and it's getting worse. Defo RMA time.

Disco_P · 22 Feb 2015 at 16:25

I got one of the first MSI Gaming 290s back in early 2014 and it had this problem from the start. Nothing I could do to stop it reaching 95C and throttling, even with 100% fan speed.

I never bothered opening it up to check thermal paste as OcUK immediately offered a refund and I went back to my 680.

rolypolyman · 22 Feb 2015 at 18:47

I seem to remember Msi, through gibbo, agreed the cooler could be removed for re-pasting on these cards as this was occuring on quite a few of them and this would not invalidate the warranty, provided no damage was done and the person doing it had some knowledge of what was required.

tommybhoy · 22 Feb 2015 at 18:53

Disco_P said:
MSI UK's Facebook post regarding waterblocks and stock cooler removal

To be clear to those people wanting to install a GPU Waterblock on their MSI Graphics Cards...

In the EU (UK incl) if you install a Waterblock it will NOT void your warranty so long as you don't damage the Cooler or PCB in any way.

I would suggest to keep the cooler (and screws used) kept safe somewhere if you ever wanted to RMA the card to us or the place of purchase to keep your warranty intact.

Click to expand...

https://www.facebook.com/msiuk/posts/652634514773229

northun_munky · 22 Feb 2015 at 19:21

That would be awesome if true as tbh, I can't be bothered with the waiting around during an RMA if I can re seat the HSF without voiding the warranty. I've messaged them in Customer service so should find out tomorrow what the deal is. Cheers everyone.

Ayahuasca · 22 Feb 2015 at 19:31

That temp is normal and within limits.

northun_munky · 22 Feb 2015 at 19:36

Ayahuasca said:
That temp is normal and within limits.

I don't believe it is. Maybe for a stock hsf but 95c and severe throttling for this card really isn't.

Bradmax57 · 22 Feb 2015 at 20:01

MSI allow the removal of heatsink to reapply thermal compound I emailed them to confirm and as others have said provided no damage is done to the card itself warranty remains, its really easy to do and the benefits are worth it.

northun_munky · 22 Feb 2015 at 20:13

Bradmax57 said:
MSI allow the removal of heatsink to reapply thermal compound I emailed them to confirm and as others have said provided no damage is done to the card itself warranty remains, its really easy to do and the benefits are worth it.

Sweet

is it just the 8 screws on the back? Leave the back plate in situ?

Bradmax57 · 22 Feb 2015 at 20:15

Something like that, it was a while ago I did mine but recall it wasn't hard, unfortunately I don't have that card any longer. I'm sure there will be some guides online to confirm