overheating GPU?

thevictor390

Teen Wankeler
Joined
Mar 9, 2007
Messages
11,892
Location
Massachusetts
Car(s)
'17 Mazda MX-5 RF, '89 Toyota Blizzard SX5
The problems with my PC are getting bad enough that I have to do something about it...

Lately I've had performance issues in games where the framerate tanks to under 10 FPS for a few seconds, at regular intervals. The intervals get closer the longer I play. It seems like it has to be overheating. The question is, is there anything that can be done about the GPU? It's idling at 70c which seems high but I don't know if that could be normal. Is there anything else it could be?

I had a similar issue in the past that ended up being the CPU overheating which I solved with an aftermarket cooler, stupid AMD FX-8120... but I'm not sure how to approach this with a GPU. Disassemble and re-apply thermal paste?

I actually don't even know exactly what model GPU it is, it's a Radeon HD 6900 series pulled from an OEM alienware unit that was defective and is not labelled. And yes I know this is all my own fault for cheaping out on hardware.
 
I guess you already made sure that the fan runs, right? How warm is the heatsink? Usually if there's enough thermal conduction the heatsink should be pretty warm when the GPU is at 70C. If it isn't there's not enough thermal conduction between the GPU and the heatsink so disassembling it and re-applying thermal paste is the way to go.
 
If you are going to take it apart, make sure the heatsink is flat and smooth.


EDIT

Turn down the volume... Bad music is just bad.

 
Last edited:
Damn you, it even comes with Dirt Rally :p

And no, I actually haven't looked at the fan while it was running.... that's probably a good thing to check :blush:
 
Well I don't know if this was the exclusive cause of issues, but I'm pretty sure it was bad.

Before:
iInUx59.jpg


After:
OrfVnpU.jpg


The GPU fan definitely works though it it rather small considering the size of the card. I'll have to do some testing.
 
On the cheap side of things, you could either upgrade the chassis to one with better cooling capabilities, or take a dremel/hole saw to the top & side of the case to install additional fans. Alternatively, with the three or four expansion slots unoccupied below your video card, a 80mm fan could probably be zip-tied in place to provide additional exhaust airflow.
 
I forgot to mention that I discovered on a tiny sticker on the bottom of the GPU that I have a Radeon HD 6950 :lol:

Ended up spending the rest of the night formatting a new hard drive I've been meaning to put in and took the opportunity to do so, so I haven't tested to see what difference is being made yet. But I like the idea of an extra fan below the GPU. The case is from a prebuilt PC I bought years ago but I believe is an off-the-shelf Ultra, and definitely isn't the best. I had to take the hard drive bay out to fit that video card (as evidenced by the floating drive above).
 
The 6950 looks like a stock cooler. That's not a very good cooler. Try installing MSI Afterburner and upping your fanspeed. Warning, the fan on those cards is obnoxiously loud above 75%.
 
Top