PC Overheating Problems

uzairzaidi · 4 Sep 2013 at 15:55

Hi guys,

I have a query for you guys regarding my PC. Recently I decided to download some games from the AMD Reloaded pack and it seems to be causing my PC to crash often. I built my PC after buying it from Overclockers back in May and have never had a problem with it. I used it primarily for CS-GO and Dota2 so it wasnt being used for any graphically intense games.

I recently decided to play games that have higher graphics requirements to test out the system that I had spent a fair bit of money on. I have been playing Borderlands 2, Far Cry 3 and Tomb Raider all at Maxed out Ultra settings at 1920 x 1080 resolution. The frame rates are fantastic and there is no lag whatsoever but for some odd reason after about 10-15 minutes of playing my PC "crashes". The screen turns black / green. I can still hear the sounds of the game and can still talk to my mates talking in the background on our VOIP Chat system teamspeak but my image never comes back.

I'm guessing this has to do something with my PC overheating? My specs are as follows:

Intel 3570k i5 (running at stock speed - have not bothered overclocking)
Motherboard: Gigabyte Z77N WIFI
Video Card: AMD 7870XT Black edition.
Case: Bitfenix Prodigy
Cooler: Corsair H60 and 3 Bitfenix / Corsair case fans.

Let me know if you guys require any further information in order to reach a possible solution.

Regards,

BluD · 4 Sep 2013 at 16:43

Try downloading GPU-Z and run it in the background while ya run a game and see what temps ya get.

SouthEastBlue · 4 Sep 2013 at 20:55

Have you messed with any drivers since you had the PC? Download MSI afterburner, and u can edit the settings to make it display your temps on ur screen while in game, or alternatively u can run it in the background and tab out to see a set of graphs showing various statistics of your cards such as temp, usage, fan speed, clock speed, etc.

uzairzaidi · 4 Sep 2013 at 21:17

Ok ill do that when I game tonight. Any temp in particular which I should be noting? Any danger levels?

SouthEastBlue · 4 Sep 2013 at 21:25

Not sure what the 7870 XT average temps are but anything between 90 - 100 celcius is generally bad, most cards I've used hit a Max of 60 to 80 celcius depending on the cooler used on them.

doyll · 4 Sep 2013 at 21:45

How often to you clean your system? Maybe it just needs a good cleaning.

It's also possible the temps inside your case are too high when you work system hard. This might help:

The only way to know what works best in your case (no pun) is test different combinations and see.

There is much more to cooling than good cases, good fans and good CPU / GPU coolers. Modern GPU's make more heat than CPU... and getting that heat out of the case can be a challenge.

Setting up the case to cool properly is the hardest and most time consuming part of a build... And the most neglected by most builders.

Cases, especially those with filters, usually benefit from fans with higher static pressure ratings than stock fans... "cooler" fans instead of "case" fans.

Intakes are typically more restricted than exhaust; air filter, more restrictive grill, HDD cage, etc. I prefer a little more intake than exhaust.

And don't confuse number of fans with amount of airflow... or cofuse airflow with airblow

Airflow is flowing cool air from intake to component and flowing hot air from component out of case without the hot air mixing with the cool air.

Airblow is lots of fans blowing air with some of hot air from components mixing with cool air making it warmer resulting in warm air not cooling components as well as the cool air will.

Putting fans in case as intake and/or exhaust is only the first step. These fans only move air in and out of case.

This does not mean heated air is not mixing with cool air.

Nor does it mean cool air is going to where it is needed.

Getting the air to flow inside of case properly is even more important. We still need to manage where the air flows inside the case. We can do this several ways; deflectors, cooler intake fans, exhaust fans, removing vent grills, using fans with higher pressure/airflow, building ducts to or from CPU/GPU cooler, etc.

Using a remote temperature sensor to monitor what air temps are is the key to finding out where the cool air is flowing and knowing heated air is not mixing into it. By monitoring this we can than make changes to get airflow the way we want it.

I monitor the temps with a cheap indoor/outdoor wired remote or terrarium digital thermometer. Twist a piece of stiff insulated wire into the last 8" of sensor lead so you can bend it to position sensor where you want it... like 40mm in front of your GPU cooler/radiator intake.. to see what the air temp going into CPU / GPU cooler is compared to room temp. The closer it is to room temp the better.. Shouldn't be more 5c maximum, 2-3c is what I usually end up with after 30 minutes full load on both CPU and GPU.