Graphics card problem

[Gisli]

OK, I went ahead and got that 9600 GT that Drakhon recommended. Problem is, its overheating badly. Takes about 10 minutes for the screen to totally go nuts, classic graphics card heat symptoms.

Its a humongus thing, cased in metal, twice as wide as my previous card, has its own fan (that's not so unusual), and has its own double power plug (that I did plug in). Is it reasonable that it would be overheating right off the bat? I guess an obvious answer is to add more cooling fans in the case, but I wanted to see if people think there's something wrong with the card itself.

[Aoann]

Is your power supply big enough for this card?

[Wazdakka]

Is your power supply big enough for this card?

Try running it with the side of the case open. Also, with the computer on, slide a strip of paper into the fan just to see if the fan is actually running. Maybe download and run sysfan and see if the temps look high there.


And no, it is not reasonable for it to be overheating right off the bat. Something somewhere is wrong.

[Aoann]

Did you download the latest drivers? http://www.nvidia.com/Download/index.aspx?lang=en-us

[Gisli]

Try running it with the side of the case open.

That does not solve the problem.

Also, with the computer on, slide a strip of paper into the fan just to see if the fan is actually running. Maybe download and run sysfan and see if the temps look high there.

I couldn't find "sysfan" but I did find and download something called "speedfan". Basically, it just tells me the obvious. It says that the CPU temperature is fine, but something called "AUX" is running at 110 degrees. Obviously not right. The monitoring software only recognizes that the CPU fan is running, and thinks the "AUX" fan is not, but I don't think that indicates anything directly about the graphics card.

Yes, the fan on the graphics card is running. Not vacuum cleaner force, but noticeable suction.

For what it is worth, the case has a 3-inch fan blowing air onto the hard drive at the front, and another 3-inch fan sucking air out of the case on the side. Besides the big CPU fan (and the new fan on the graphics card), those are the only fans that I notice.

But, the graphics card is running SO hot SO fast... I've got difficulty believing that putting another fan in several inches away to increase air flow through the system could actually solve the problem. Note that the card exhibits heat problems just from turning the computer on and running Vista. I don't have to be running high intensity graphics like a game.

[Dall dies to much]

which brand?

also...

download this (even is it isn't an EVGA card) and manually crank the the card fan speed up to 80% and force it to stay there. (or 90% depedning on how much wirl sound you can deal with)

http://www.evga.com/precision/

(just move the fan slider up, and hit apply. if it won't move, clcik the "auto" button. you'll hear the thing speed up. if that fixes the issue, click the little "wrench" icon and start with windows)

if you are still having issues, RMA time my friend. the heatsink/fan combo might be seated wrong and causing this.

(there is some issues with a certain nvidia driver causing the stupid cards to not scale the fan right)

[Wazdakka]

which brand?

also...

download this (even is it isn't an EVGA card) and manually crank the the card fan speed up to 80% and force it to stay there. (or 90% depedning on how much wirl sound you can deal with)

http://www.evga.com/precision/

if you are still having issues, RMA time my friend. the heatsink/fan combo might be seated wrong and causing this.

(there is some issues with a certain nvidia driver causing the stupid cards to not scale the fan right)

Yeah, it was late. I meant speedfan. That's a good call, Dall. I'd return the card if it requires the fan to be turned up like that though. You should't need to up the fan unless you are overclocking or running it hard for long periods.

What I would do at this point is: If you have another computer available to try the card in, see if it has issues there. If you don't have another comp around assume it is bad and return or rma it. Actually, if you bought it locally I'd save the effort and return it now.

[Radaghast]

Return the 9600 and get a 8800. The 600 series is Nvidia's cheapest chip, you can get a 8800 that will outpeform it for roughly the same price.

See Caere's post a few down, he seems to agree with me as well

[Dall dies to much]

ya, i would say return.. but!

four possible issues that are causing this

a) the card and drivers are not scaling the fan with temp.
B )the psu is not strong enough and causing soemthing shitty to happen
c) the fan/heatsink isn't mounted right
d) Gisli liked teh hot house and the air flow in the case isn't moving enough CFM

my test method will fix (a), (B ) is a larger issue and even replacing the card won't fix it, (C) is a good bet also. things happen during production/shipping. D) is Mr. 120mm fan problem and my little test will help it a bit, not much though

also, the EVGA tool will tell him card temp.

and if something in his comp is running at 110c .. soemthing is bad! (~250 f)

[Cillbo]

Speedfan can be a bit flaky with sensors. I wouldn't trust it. Precision is much better for GPU temp readings.

I don't think that's your problem though. Try downloading the latest beta drivers.

http://www.nvidia.com/Download/Find.aspx?lang=en-us

They have some stability, performance, and fan speed fixes. Just remember to UNINSTALL the old drivers (should be under "Nvidia drivers" in the uninstall menu), reboot, then install the new drivers.