[ifyouseekay]

So for the last month my pc has been crashing while playing WoW and I realized it was because of the video card over heating. It was a geforce 6600. There are two fans inside the computer that both work. I'm not completely sure if the fan on the video card was working cause you can't really see.

Anyway, eventually I just took off the side of the pc case and pointed a regular fan inside and that worked okay for a week or so, but then the crashes started again, so I just assumed the fan on the video card wasnt working anymore.

So earlier today I went out and bought a new video card, a radeon x1650 pro, and installed it. I played WoW for maybe 5 minutes before my pc crashed, so I opened it up and felt the new video card and it was HOT. Nearly burnt myself.

With two internal fans working fine, and the side of the case open with a room fan blowing inside, I'd say it's pretty clear that I don't have any cooling problems. Could it be the motherboard maybe? Is my brand new videocard at risk of being damaged just by using it?

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Make sure the fans that are in the case are blowing air properly. The fan at the front of the case should be blowing air IN and the fan in the back should be blowing air OUT. If you have a fan on the side panel, that should be blowing are IN. Also clean out the computer with compressed air that you can buy at any local computer shopt. Just make sure that when you are cleaning the fans, that you LIGHTLY hold the fan so the blade doesn't spin when you are cleaning it or else you could ruin the bearings on the fan and break the fan.

Fenor

[Fenor]

Make sure the fans that are in the case are blowing air properly. The fan at the front of the case should be blowing air IN and the fan in the back should be blowing air OUT. If you have a fan on the side panel, that should be blowing are IN. Also clean out the computer with compressed air that you can buy at any local computer shopt. Just make sure that when you are cleaning the fans, that you LIGHTLY hold the fan so the blade doesn't spin when you are cleaning it or else you could ruin the bearings on the fan and break the fan.

Fenor

[ifyouseekay]

Pretty sure the fans are pointed in the right directions because I've been using the pc for about 18 months and never had any overheating issues.

And not to be rude or anything, but how much will cleaning it out help? I mean in under 10 minutes the card will go from normal room temperatue to *very* hot. Can dust really cause that?

Also, how hot does it have to get before it could be damaged?

[Titan8990]

Cleaning will help a TON. Dust can destroy a system.

[Jack123]

01-ifyouseekay-[Video Card Overheating]-5th MAR-2007

Here is what – Fennor and Titan8990 – are referring to –

See photo -

The dust gets – packed in tight – over time – usually about 1 ½ – 2 years. This will clog up the fins on the heat sink – and will prevent the – hot air – from exhausting – and prevents the CPU from cooling down –

Eventually it will cause the fan to either break a blade or seize up. This can happen to CPU – Video Card and Power Supply. It is not the fan that requires the cleaning – it is both the fan & heat sink –

In your previous Post - http://www.geekstogo...s...=150108&hl= In – Games – Techie4fun and – rumble291 – suggested the same –

If there is another card e.g. sound card next to the graphics card move it along on onto a different PCI slot if you have one as this will make the graphics card cooler. Also if there is alot of dust get a vacum cleaner out and take the dust away but be carefull with it.

Here is info on cleaning – for CPU Fan Assembly -  01_Clean_CPU_FAN_Assembly_Process.pdf   161.07KB   123 downloads

Jack123

Edited by Jack123, 05 March 2007 - 04:18 PM.

[ifyouseekay]

Ok well I've just cleaned it out with compressed air, but hasn't seemed to help.

[pyron81]

Hello,

I had the same problem a while back with Eve instead of WoW. What turned out to be my problem was the power supply. It might sound off but if you do not have enough power going to the graphics card the computer will just shut down.

What type of power supply are you using please list the watts as well as brand.