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4870x2 running super hot!

Up the fan speed, the 48nn's I've seen worry me, not because the GPU is not, I couldn't care less if that bugger sits at 80, it can handle it, no, what scares me is the amount of that heat that soaks into the PCB of the card and it's other components....just cos the GPU thinks 80 is a breeze doesn't mean all the little capacitors and resistors and support IC's will be as forgiving, particularly with repeated cold>hot>cold cycles. In theory your card could even crash because a resistor is hot and has changed it's resistance (bloody unlikely though).

So, NV are two complete cards, but ATI are one card with 2 GPU's.....that's bound to be slower then with only one set of support infrastructure surely?
 
I've just measured my temperatures for your reference:

Fan speeds set in Rivatuner. Temperatures taken from Rivatuner.


Fan speed: 35% (my silent mode for quiet time)
Idle (2D clocks): 47°C / 47°C (Core0/Core1)

Fan speed: 40% (my gaming fan speed)
Idle (2D clocks): 43°C / 44°C (Core0/Core1)
Load*: 75°C / 64°C (Core0/Core1)


I also have 46% and 52% fan speed profiles, but I have not wanted/needed to use these yet.



*Load = Left 4 Dead @ 1920x1200 (all settings high/ultra where applicable, 4xAA and 8xAF) using 99% of both cores. Left for 5mins at 99% usage to determine maximum operating temperature.



P.S: I have reseated the heatsinks since purchasing the card (AS5 paste), and that made a substantial difference (7-10°C) to both the idle and load temperatures.
 
I've just measured my temperatures for your reference:

Fan speeds set in Rivatuner. Temperatures taken from Rivatuner.


Fan speed: 35% (my silent mode for quiet time)
Idle (2D clocks): 47°C / 47°C (Core0/Core1)

Fan speed: 40% (my gaming fan speed)
Idle (2D clocks): 43°C / 44°C (Core0/Core1)
Load*: 75°C / 64°C (Core0/Core1)


I also have 46% and 52% fan speed profiles, but I have not wanted/needed to use these yet.



*Load = Left 4 Dead @ 1920x1200 (all settings high/ultra where applicable, 4xAA and 8xAF) using 99% of both cores. Left for 5mins at 99% usage to determine maximum operating temperature.



P.S: I have reseated the heatsinks since purchasing the card (AS5 paste), and that made a substantial difference (7-10°C) to both the idle and load temperatures.

Same stats for me. Except I haven't touched the stock card. It is a great fan, you just need to adjust the speed. Don;t the new drivers set it at 50% speed anyway?
 
I have an HD 4870X2 by powercolor and it's great but I noticed this last week that it was getting hot.it was 86-89 Celcius idle and Ihad 20 minutes on BFBC 2(Bad Company 2)and the temp was 103.Concerned I checked out software instalation and everything else.Turns out that after removing heatsink anf fan casing there was a blanket of dust(lint like) on the heatsink near the fan.
I removed this dust and now idle temp. is 47-54 and after 2.5 hour on BFBC 2 it was 64 with 8x anti-aliasing and 16x anisotropic fitering,every thing on max.
Don't need any advise just wanted people to know.
 
I have an HD 4870X2 by powercolor and it's great but I noticed this last week that it was getting hot.it was 86-89 Celcius idle and Ihad 20 minutes on BFBC 2(Bad Company 2)and the temp was 103.Concerned I checked out software instalation and everything else.Turns out that after removing heatsink anf fan casing there was a blanket of dust(lint like) on the heatsink near the fan.
I removed this dust and now idle temp. is 47-54 and after 2.5 hour on BFBC 2 it was 64 with 8x anti-aliasing and 16x anisotropic fitering,every thing on max.
Don't need any advise just wanted people to know.

I am glad you got the temps down. I went through a phase with my card, it was increasingly getting hotter at idle (during the colder months), and this of course raised the noise which did really start to irritate me a fair bit. I don't mind in game at all but at idle I want low temps and peace and quiet. I took mine completely apart, thought I might have knackered it at one point since after putting it back together it began to artifact, luckily after one or two fits of this it stopped doing that, and I knocked +25C off the temps. There was so much dust, it looked like a piece of a brillo pad next to the gpu heatsink, lol. Reminds me of when my mate who used to work in a computer shop when he told me how he found a mouse nest in someones case.

I think it is good to mention how you have solved issues like these and it only helps others when we highlight what a little cleaning and care can do. Ever since I have cleaned my card, even in this weather, the hottest gpu on idle with a fan well under 30% doesn't even hit 50C. To think I nearly shelled out on a new card, noise was driving me barmy. :D
 
I am glad you got the temps down. I went through a phase with my card, it was increasingly getting hotter at idle (during the colder months), and this of course raised the noise which did really start to irritate me a fair bit. I don't mind in game at all but at idle I want low temps and peace and quiet. I took mine completely apart, thought I might have knackered it at one point since after putting it back together it began to artifact, luckily after one or two fits of this it stopped doing that, and I knocked +25C off the temps. There was so much dust, it looked like a piece of a brillo pad next to the gpu heatsink, lol. Reminds me of when my mate who used to work in a computer shop when he told me how he found a mouse nest in someones case.

I think it is good to mention how you have solved issues like these and it only helps others when we highlight what a little cleaning and care can do. Ever since I have cleaned my card, even in this weather, the hottest gpu on idle with a fan well under 30% doesn't even hit 50C. To think I nearly shelled out on a new card, noise was driving me barmy. :D

Mine idles around 55c (hottest core) with the fan on 30%. Its clean, but is it worth a reseat and is it easy enough to do? I've never reseated a gpu before you see. I've got some left over as5 and mx3 tim.
 
Mine idles around 55c (hottest core) with the fan on 30%. Its clean, but is it worth a reseat and is it easy enough to do? I've never reseated a gpu before you see. I've got some left over as5 and mx3 tim.

Those temps are fine, especially when you consider how low the fan is running, summer heat etc. I have never reseated a gpu so I can't say how tricky it is. I should think it isn't really that difficult at all. If you're bored and fancy learning something new then why not, but it doesn't 'need' it to be done. :)

Btw, are you the guy that was going to run tri fire, 4870X2 + 1gb 4870? Maybe I am mixing you up with someone else?
 
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Heat on HD4870X2

I only put my message about dust to help other.It was some other helpful sort that pointed out the same problem to me.It is very hot indoors at the moment(just come in and windows been shut) and my card is idle at 46 degrees celcius with 30% fan speed.
Create good Karma and hope that when in need you might get help.
CHEERS Kurtains.
 
Those temps are fine, especially when you consider how low the fan is running, summer heat etc. I have never reseated a gpu so I can't say how tricky it is. I should think it isn't really that difficult at all. If you're bored and fancy learning something new then why not, but it doesn't 'need' it to be done. :)

Btw, are you the guy that was going to run tri fire, 4870X2 + 1gb 4870? Maybe I am mixing you up with someone else?

I am indeed the guy that was going to attempt tri fire :p I was going to create a thread, but hadn't got round to it. The problem is the crossfire connector between the 4870X2 and 4870 wasn't compatible (it was the bridge that came with the single 4870). What bridge do I need or do I even need one? I've always been a single gpu person so know very little about this sort of stuff :p
 
I only put my message about dust to help other.It was some other helpful sort that pointed out the same problem to me.It is very hot indoors at the moment(just come in and windows been shut) and my card is idle at 46 degrees celcius with 30% fan speed.
Create good Karma and hope that when in need you might get help.
CHEERS Kurtains.

Is that 46c the hottest core? If so then that's pretty good at that fan speed.
 
I am indeed the guy that was going to attempt tri fire :p I was going to create a thread, but hadn't got round to it. The problem is the crossfire connector between the 4870X2 and 4870 wasn't compatible (it was the bridge that came with the single 4870). What bridge do I need or do I even need one? I've always been a single gpu person so know very little about this sort of stuff :p

I didn't know the bridges could vary, would have thought that any would suffice but to be honest I don't really know. My only venture into crossfire has been with the X2. Maybe someone else can shed light on this?
 
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