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How easy is it to take the XFX R290 DD apart

Phil2008

Phil2008

Phil2008

Soldato
Joined
17 Dec 2004
Posts
8,743
Hi guys, I think I need to redo the past on my XFX r290 DD black edition as the temp goes up to 94c in furmark and then it throttles. I have just changed cases from a fractal design r3 to a cooltek w2. with the r3, the temp went to about 84c running furmark, but Im thinking that I could have knocked the card or something and buggered up the seal?

Has anyone took the cooler off this card and if so, was it easy todo
 
The temp increase might be due to the new case having what looks like awful airflow. From the pictures it looks like all the intake air has to come through a small gap in the front of the case which is far from ideal.

Also don't use Furmark for temp testing as it'll make it run far hotter than any game.

As for the original question, taking it apart looks easy. Remove all the screws then gently twist as you pull the card and heatsink apart. Be careful of any fan and lighting cables once the two are apart.
 
I havent had a 290 DD card but ive had other xfx DD cards, but ive not found any graphics card hard to take to bits, its normally just a matter of undoing a load of screws and then unclipping a fan cable, sometimes an led cable too. Undo all the outside screws first and do the 4 surrounding the core last. When your unscrewing or screwing bolts around a core chip go from corner to corner doing a few turns on each, its not so important now adays but its an old trick to stop you putting pressure on any of the corners and breaking the chip. Lastly theres normally some screws holding the IO bracket at the back of the card onto the cooler i sometimes forget about them ones and wonder why it isnt coming off.

Btw theres normally hundreds of clips of people doing this on youtube as people tend to record them self fitting waterblocks quite often nowadays.
 
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Just don't use Furmark, it's about the worst thing you can throw at a card, tbh I'd only ever use it to help confirm if my card was gubbed or not.

New case maybe venting less heat than your last one if your psu is isolated in the back and it's smaller?

Getting the cooler off will remove any warranty as it has a sticker, if you don't care or it's out of warranty it's simple enough, just remove the screws, carefully clean, re-paste and reassemble it taking your time and use the proper sized screwdriver so you don't strip/snap the screws and use a decent brand paste.

Wee tip, an egg cup is handy to keep the screws in-you won't lose them and they are easier to fish out with one hand because of it's shape.
 
Thanks guys, I have a feeling that its probably down to my case, when running games the temps are in the high 70s, normally about 74c with the R3 case. I am also thinking to swap the exhaust fan from my R3 case to the cooltek as the fan throws more heat out of the case while gaming.

I am a tad gutted as I really like the smallness of the case and to be honest, I would have thought it would be cooler then the R3 case as the front fans are larger and closer to the gpu and cpu?

DSCF8938.jpg
 
I still think replacing the Tim is a good idea, also you could try to undervolt your card a little.
 
Phil2008 said:
Thanks guys, I have a feeling that its probably down to my case, when running games the temps are in the high 70s, normally about 74c with the R3 case.
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Those temperatures are perfectly fine. FurMark is utterly worthless. It doesn't even stress the GPU in a way that would prove stability. Literally the only thing it does is warm your room up and raise your electricity bill. Delete it, forget it and enjoy your new setup.
 
Phil2008 said:
Thanks guys, I have a feeling that its probably down to my case, when running games the temps are in the high 70s, normally about 74c with the R3 case. I am also thinking to swap the exhaust fan from my R3 case to the cooltek as the fan throws more heat out of the case while gaming.

I am a tad gutted as I really like the smallness of the case and to be honest, I would have thought it would be cooler then the R3 case as the front fans are larger and closer to the gpu and cpu?

DSCF8938.jpg
Click to expand...

From the picture, it looks as if the fan is not attached correctly to the cpu HD.

Have you checked YouTube for a dissembling guide for your card, I always find a good visual guide the most helpful.
 
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Doh

The fan layout of the small w2 case looks like there won't be much airflow below the gfx card.
 
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chaparral said:
Phil2008 have you tried running furmark with the side of your PC case left off and see what temp you get ?
Click to expand...

no one should run that synthetic heat generator. Its like running prime 95 for your cpu you'll never use your cpu like that if its a gaming machine. Same with furmark.

few runs on heaven will give you a more realistic idea of temps for ur gpu.
 
Ummm thanks guys for your posts, most appreciated, I know one thing for sure, I am going to redo the cpu paste as the heatsink has been pulled about and twisted, so the seal has deffo gone on that, even tho the cpu temps are still quite good.

Like if it was down to me I would have the gpu apart without thinking about it, but because my hands are not very steady I have to rely on other people todo these sort of jobs for me.

I haven't actually tested it with the side off no,, but again because the side panel is glass I need someone else to remove it for me.

I will change my sig now, sorry about that JTrickle
 
I might just stick a better rear fan so to get rid of the heat faster when gaming and see how that goes for a few days.. Heres my temps after about 20mins of grid autosport

Image2.jpg
 
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Did you replace all of the thermal pads? and it the cooler sat properly? Replaced coolers on my old r9 290x to gelid and the difference was massive, pretty easy to do.
 
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