Overheating Problem - Sapphire X1950

trefaes

trefaes

trefaes

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Joined
26 Dec 2006
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42
I have a Sapphire X1950 Pro 256mb GFX card, which has served me perfectly fine until recently (I've moved into a new flat) where every game I've been trying to play recently decides to stop working about 10 minutes in to playing - with the monitor turning black, lights blinking and the computer freezing.

As far as I could tell - this was my graphics card shutting down, so I decided to check with ATITool to make sure it wasn't overheating.

Turns out, at idle, it runs at around 80°C (seems way too hot to me, although I'm not too sure how hot these cards run), and under stress (in games) it can heat up to 130°C - which is kind of scary.

So as far as I can tell, my problem is one of the following:
  • On moving into my new flat I somehow damaged the card and it's slowly melting itself to bits.
  • The general temperature in the new place is significantly higher and my cooling system is having trouble keeping the temperature down (my CPU doesn't seem to be running any hotter though).
  • ATITool is reporting completely the wrong temperatures and it's something else which is causing the crashes (although I can see the crashes occurring as the card reaches around 130°C generally).
  • My 430W power supply can't keep up with something or other.

I'd just like to hear anyone else's opinion on this, I need some ideas on how I can figure out where the problem is so I don't end up unnecessarily buying a new graphics card!

Thanks :)
 
I have done! I've given the card a good clean and added a few more case fans but it doesn't seem to help at all.
Working from my laptop at the moment, getting scared of using my PC :)
 
Most likely the move has shaken the heatsink/fan in some way. Maybe the fan connector has come loose; maybe the heatsink isn't as attached as it should be. What I'd probably do is...

- Have a look at the card in situ, see if there's something obviously amiss (connectors not connected, something blocking the airflow)
- Next, run the PC with the case side off, see if the fan's actually behaving like it ought to
- Next, I'd remove the card from the PC, check the heatsink assembly for any other obvious problems you can't seen while the card's in place... and then, probably, disassemble the heatsink, make sure all the thermal paste etc is as it should be, take the opportunity to clean the fan etc, then put it back together and cross my fingers :)

I've not done this with a 1950 but I imagine with the right tools and a bit of care and patience it wouldn't be too hard. You might find it's something simple though, like something's obstructing the airflow.

abc
 
Yep the fan seems to be working perfectly fine, you can hear it whirring if you crank it up to 100% with ATITool - which actually makes me wonder why it isn't running at 100% all the time...

Thanks ALienBC, I'll have to take a closer look at the card and see what's going on.
 
If your room is 10 degrees warmer your card may be too, you can discount that part of it. If your PC has room for air to circulate around it (not in a cupboard) I would be thinking of reseating the heat sink with fresh past also. I would be concerned as the card is getting that hot why the fan is not ramping up to 100%. It should go up in stages the hotter it gets the faster it goes (to keep the noise down when the card is idling). It should never get to 130 in any case.
 
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Thanks for the advice - not sure how willing I am to open up the card, knowing me I'm bound to mess something up, so I'll probably just splash out for a new one.
Is the fact that the cards core temperature is the only thing that seems to be too high suggest that it might be a fault with the card rather than its heatsink? The memory temperature seems to be a pretty steady 50°C...
 
It is not that bad a job. You have the "chip" that needs to lose heat. To that is firmly pressed a lump of metal that is held by a few small screws so the heat is transferred to the lump of metal. There is a fan mounted to the lump of metal to transfer the heat to the air inside the case. What we suggest is to remove the screws, the heat sink & fan will come off. Clean the heat sink & "chip" of the old compound, put fresh heat sink compound on & screw it back together.
 
hi there, super happy now, i opened the cooler on thetop and there was a massive load of dust collected in the pipes and the fan. i removed all of it and its now idling at 42 degrees now to play some games,
 
If you want to send the card to me, I will gladly take a look at it. If you want to donate it to me, that would be even better! :D
 
I'm having the same issue with my card, although if I put the fan speed to 100% then it won't freeze during games. I blew out as much dust as I could, but it looks like I might have a bite the bullet and take the thing apart to get it cleaned properly.
 
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