[peyote]

I purchased a 2nd hand 9800 GT form a computer shop a couple of day ago and since I have plugged it in I am getting really high idle temps 70-75 oC. That seems far to warm for this card. I have been reading other posts on the internet from other forums and I and a bit confused, 50% say its far too hot and there is something wrong and the other 50% say its normal for this card as they are designed to withstand high temps because they are quite powerfull.

I have used Rivatuner to adjust the fan speed and it has helped a little but to get the card below 65 oC I have to set the speed at 60% and it's rediculously loud and 65oC still is not a good temp to idle at. The ventilation in my case seems ok as it hav many vent and my PSU is 650Watt so I don't think that's a problem.

There seems to be LOADS of post regarding this issue "9800 GT running hot" and I have read most of them with no solid answers. My main concern is do I have a faulty card because I only have 5 days get my money back or if it is faulty after the 5 days it will be repaired so I need some advce.

PS

I used FurMark to test the card and it got 50 FPS (average) and the temp reach 107 oc !!! Is this normal ??? please help !

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You say you purchased a second card. Have you run the test on the original card by itself to see what they say?
If that comes back normal for you then I suggest swapping cards and retesting new card. If it still shows that hot then I believe you may have a bad card.
Also are you testing both the cards during this testing when they are in the system. I would be interested in nowing what the original card is reading with both cards installed.

[rshaffer61]

You say you purchased a second card. Have you run the test on the original card by itself to see what they say?
If that comes back normal for you then I suggest swapping cards and retesting new card. If it still shows that hot then I believe you may have a bad card.
Also are you testing both the cards during this testing when they are in the system. I would be interested in nowing what the original card is reading with both cards installed.

[peyote]

Not a second card but a second hand card / pre-owned.

The card I had in my PC before was a x1650 pro and experience no way near these temps.

[rshaffer61]

Ok then if it is second hand you may very well have a defective product
Did you get the chance to test the card(New) by itself

[Ferrari]

Hi peyote, Welcome back.

The 9600 GT is well known for running hot. The temps you are stating though seem higher than many of the posts I have found when I googled "xfx 9600gt runs hot?". However, many of them run their fans at 100% or so-you don't. The 107 C when you tested it is extremely high, however, thats when you were benchmarking the card. In other words, really putting a strain on it.

You said you have plenty of vents in your case, what about fans? How many fans? Name their location too please. From what I have read, you will need to run the fan at a high percentage, but you don't seem to like the noise. This is always an issue when trying to keep a specific peice of hardware cool, or the entire case cool. Fans make noise...Period. Since it is adjustable, you may want to consider just cranking the fan up while you play Turn it down for regular usage.

I don't have enough experience with all the cards out there, so i can't suggest one that I know is quiet or that I know runs cool. Please note, video cards are well known for running hotter than a cpu for example. They get hot, which will also increase the temps inside your case. The hotter the inside of the case, the hotter every component (including your video card) will be.

My final suggestions would be to run the fan at higher percentages and deal with the noise. Increase air flow(more fans) for your case. Or, return the card. Keep in mind, many gamers will actually run their case "open". Meaning that they take the side panel completely off and leave it that way.

Let me know about how many fans you have, and what you think. If you are unhappy with the card, maybe you should return it and do some more detailed research on "quiet" cards, or "cool running" cards. I don't know if there is such a thing really. What do the guys at the computer shop say?

Other than the heat, how do you like the card? If you decide to try a different card post back in our original topic and we can see if we can find something better, but I can't make any promises.

[rshaffer61]

Thank you Ferrari, it's always nice to have your advice. Everything I have read on these cards also suggest heat is a issue. As you say the options are installing more fans, or running the existing fans higher for the game play.
Is there software that will test idle temperature on the card instead of running speed? I'm not a fan of the diagnostic on heat as they vary from program to program, but it may give peyote something to compare against and to decide by. Again thank you for your input and assistance.

Edited by rshaffer61, 08 April 2009 - 01:27 PM.

[Ferrari]

Likewise rshaffer61,

I have more to add. Peyote, why don't you try playing a game(favorite game) with the side panel off and the fan cranked up to say 90%. See what the temps are then. If your GPU is getting hotter than 85 C after playing the game for 20 minutes or so, I would say something is defective and return the card. It would be a good idea to see what the idle temp is after about 10-20 minutes before you play the game with the side panel off and fan cranked up to 90%. If you notice a drop in the idle temps and the running temps then you will know what the problem is, "not enough case cooling".

Let us know!

[peyote]

I have had the fan set at 55% and the noise is bearable and the temp is stable at 62 oC but still seems very high when all I have open is fire fox. If I set the fan at default setting it reaches 75 oC.

I have 4 fans in total, the CPU fan, the stock fan on the GPU and 2 fans on my new PSU, one fan is extracting air out from the case and the other is exhausting the air (one fan either end of the PSU).

The day I got my card I tested it with the fan at 25%(default) as I did not know you could even change the speed at that point but anyhow I tested it with a game C&C3 set at the maximum setting and there was no problems, even though at the time the idle temp was 75oC, while playing the temp maxed at 83 oC. I know C&C3 isn't much compared to games like Crysis as that game seems to be the most talked about. I just tested it with C&C3 again with the fan at 55% (62 idle) and the max temp was 73 oC so its a constant rise in temp what ever the idle temp is.

I have read some peoples post that say that their cards idle at 35-40 oC but they dont mention if they have a special set up or added fans/cooling apps. Im guessing the posts I have read are from hard core gamers which means they may have gone to the lengths as to make extra cooling for their cards. My main concern is, do you think this card could be faulty in anyway, is 63 oC a high idle temperture and do all of these type of cards have high idle temps without extra cooling ?

Thanks for your help.

[peyote]

Likewise rshaffer61,

I have more to add. Peyote, why don't you try playing a game(favorite game) with the side panel off and the fan cranked up to say 90%. See what the temps are then. If your GPU is getting hotter than 85 C after playing the game for 20 minutes or so, I would say something is defective and return the card. It would be a good idea to see what the idle temp is after about 10-20 minutes before you play the game with the side panel off and fan cranked up to 90%. If you notice a drop in the idle temps and the running temps then you will know what the problem is, "not enough case cooling".

Let us know!

I'll do that and post back. Even with the case on the temp has fallen from 75 oC to 63 oC with the fan at 55% instead of 25%. So you think it's normal for these cards to get this hot ? Seems to be alot of people saying the same thing but because my card is pre-owned im even more paranoid.

[rshaffer61]

Google XFX 9800 GT cooling and you can see it's normal for this card as well as any of the newer higher end cards to run hot.
Most people who use sli cards have lots of cooling in their system just because of how hot these cards run.
By following the steps Ferrari suggested you can determine if the card is defected or you will need more fans to help disperse the heat created by the cards

[Ferrari]

The temperatures you are now mentioning are well within range. Take a look at the Specifications Tab on this link to Nvidia's Website.

9600 GT Specs

You will see that the max temperature is 105 C. I know it is hard to imagine something being that hot(could boil water) but GPU's get very very hot. You are within range. I would set the fan to a level you seem comfortable with and see what the temps are then. As long as you aren't getting up close to 100 C you should be good to go. Is your game playing being affected by the hot temps? Does the game slow down or the video seem to have problems at all? If not, then you are OK.

It may be a good idea to increase air flow with your case, is there a spot on the back of the case to mount a 80mm or 120mm fan? Do you see an opening or mesh for one?

Edited by Ferrari, 08 April 2009 - 02:00 PM.

[Ferrari]

I'll do that and post back. Even with the case on the temp has fallen from 75 oC to 63 oC with the fan at 55% instead of 25%. So you think it's normal for these cards to get this hot ? Seems to be alot of people saying the same thing but because my card is pre-owned im even more paranoid.

Read my last post. People saying that there cards are running at 45 C are more than likely using several case fans in a case that has places for them (My next build will have 7 fans, maybe 8) What would be really good for you is if you had an area on the front of your computer(usually around the hard drive chassis) that you could mount a fan to intake the outside cooler air. Additionally, add an exhaust fan to the back(described in last post) to get hot air out.

Even though your temperatures are within range, I think this is a good idea because a card running that hot will increase how hot the inside air of your case is which results in all of your components running hotter. More heat will cause other components to die sooner than if they were better cooled. This is where the whole "case cooling" idea comes from. More heat = quicker death. Less heat = longer life.

[peyote]

I just found another fan on the side which I think is sucking in air for the CPU and I also found a air vent that is empty and designed to house a fan, is round but has 4 holes for screws. There isn't anywhere to house a fan on the front of the case or anywhere else that is obvious, only the back. Do you think I should get a fan for the back to intake fresh air or to expell air from inside the case ?

It's abit late now but tomorrow I will test the temps with the case off and post what the temps are. From where the card is mounted its actually fan facing down and hot air could be being trapped beneath the card and considering hot air rises it probaly mounted in the worste position.

[peyote]

The temperatures you are now mentioning are well within range. Take a look at the Specifications Tab on this link to Nvidia's Website.

9600 GT Specs

You will see that the max temperature is 105 C. I know it is hard to imagine something being that hot(could boil water) but GPU's get very very hot. You are within range. I would set the fan to a level you seem comfortable with and see what the temps are then. As long as you aren't getting up close to 100 C you should be good to go. Is your game playing being affected by the hot temps? Does the game slow down or the video seem to have problems at all? If not, then you are OK.

It may be a good idea to increase air flow with your case, is there a spot on the back of the case to mount a 80mm or 120mm fan? Do you see an opening or mesh for one?

Sorry Ferrari missed loads od questions, no it doesn't effect the games I have tried nor does it effect the FMV in the games, no slowing or anything but last night my computer did freeze when I toggle between C&C3 and windows but I think it was a random error and not the card as the temp was only arou 70 ish.

I think more fans will be definalty a good idea, I will probaly pick one up after work tomorrow to fit on the back in the spare vent. What kind of fan should I be looking for ? I will be buying from this shop if you could assist

http://www.maplin.co...u=1...& Cooling

Thanks also rshaffer61 Will be googling xfx 9800gt cooling alday in work tomorrow.

[rshaffer61]

You are very welcome. I'm glad we could help. Please let us know how everything works out for you. If there is anything else we can do to help please feel free to ask.
Thank you for choosing GeeksToGo for help.