8800GT Overheating

Enjoi

Enjoi

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I have a BFG 8800GTOC (Factory overclocked to 625) and it has been getting insane temperatures. It has worked fine for about 2 years now, not a single problem. However today when I was playing Operation Flashpoint 2, my screen went black and the monitor said it was going to sleep. I thought maybe it was a fluke, so I restarted and continued playing. Same problem happened. I immediately suspected temp problems so I downloaded an entire arsenal of stress tests/ temp monitor software and started checking things out.

Whenever I started the tests, the card was idling at around 85C. I took it out, blew some dust off and did a visual inspection of the card. Everything seemed ok. The dust blowing helped temperatures a bit, but not much. I got my old thermaltake fan back from my roommate and put it on the front of my case, and this lowered temps about 5c.

All of my other temps, CPU, system, etc, are fine. Cold even. But the video card is cooking itself. I have lowered the temps a small amount with the extra fan and dust removal, but during games I still go above 100c. The highest I have hit (since I started monitoring) was 108c. I know it is just a matter of time before the card commits suicide if things continue like this. The fan on the GPU is working fine... no obstructions or anything like that.

What could cause a video card to massively overheat like this, even though the fan is still running and I have good case cooling?

I tried reinstalling drivers. I am at 191.07 currently (The latest)


Not sure if system specs would help, but they are:

Asus P5K-E Wifi/Solo AP
Core 2 Duo E8400 @ 3.0 (Not OCd)
BFG 8800GTOC (Factory overlocked)
4 gigs 800mhz DDR2

Running XP 32 bit with SP3
 
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Replace the thermal paste on the cooler. use IC Diamond 7 or Arctic Silver 5
that should help get it down to normal temps...

while you have the heatsink off, check for any damage/defects on the cooler itself.
 
I tried removing the heatsink earlier. Didn't figure it out. I took the card out completely (obviously :P) and unscrewed all the screws with orange-ish circles around them. The ones that seemed to be holding it in. All screws were out and I tugged on it, but it didn't come off. Do you have any experience taking it off?
 
On a scale from 1 -10, how much effort have put into "tearing" the HSF from the PCB? I'm thinking some more effort may be required, perhaps even a crowbar. :P
 
Dont know about a crowbar.lol But some can be a pain to get off. The ones that just use that old white stuff (silicone) seem to pull right off. The ones with the darker compound can be tough.

Just make sure you got all the screws that seem to hold it. Plus look on the side, some have a few small screws on the side holding it.
 
Alright, I finally got it off. I blew the dust out from underneath it, and cleaned off the old thermal compound, replacing it with Arctic Silver. The idle temperature dropped quite a bit, but under gaming loads it still reaches 108c, and begins to throttle itself. I am starting to wonder if the HSF isn't seated properly... Are they as sensitive to being placed properly as they are with CPUs?
 
StrangleHold said:
Have you tried something like EVGA Precision to turn up the fan RPM while you game?
Click to expand...

Yes, I set my fans to stay at 98%, and I also underclocked my card from 625/900/1566 to 575/800/1140, no changes in temps.

Question though, when you reapply thermal compound to a video cards heatsink, do you still stick to the grain of rice amount rule? I gobbed it on there pretty thick.

I used Arctic Silver.
 
As long as you cleaned the old paste off, and you didn't use the whole tube of AS5 you should be fine. just don't go rubbing your head with a balloon and touching components! :D
 
linkin93 said:
As long as you cleaned the old paste off, and you didn't use the whole tube of AS5 you should be fine. just don't go rubbing your head with a balloon and touching components! :D
Click to expand...

Do you think it would improve temps if I went back and used a smaller amount?

I am running out of ideas here :(
 
I've decided to use IC Diamond 7 for all my future GPU's. AS5 is reserved for CPU's

Perhaps try updating the card to it's latest BIOS?

If all else fails invest in an aftermarket cooler.
 
StrangleHold said:
What kind of case air flow do you have?
Click to expand...

Great airflow, I have a Zalman 9500 for my CPU, a Thermaltake 120mm sucking cool air in at the front, a side duct, and a 120mm rear fan that came with the case. The air blowing out the back of very cool... All other temps are great, CPU rarely sees over 40c, system temp is about the same, hard drives are even lower. It is JUST the video card giving me trouble. Idles at around 60c and when I play games it is usually in the 100-108c range.

linkin93 said:
Perhaps try updating the card to it's latest BIOS?
Click to expand...

How do you update the BIOS for a video card? I am using the latest drivers, that didn't help at all. Maybe the BIOS is what I should have done.
 
mep916 said:
How's it running?

Flashing the BIOS may help, but of course you risk bricking the card if something goes wrong. I've never done it myself.

BIOS List

nvFlash

nvFlash guide
Click to expand...

I hate to say that I won't be flashing my GPU, but thanks for taking the time to fetch those links.

I've decided to buy another card. It's about time to upgrade anyways, and if I scale the clock speed back and use Rivatuner to set the fan to 100%, the temperatures stay at a reasonable level so long as I don't do gaming. My wounded 8800GT will serve as my emergency backup or perhaps as a video card for an internet and music machine, which I have been wanting to build.

Now I just have to decide what I am replacing it with :cool:
 
After you get your new card, you can prolly RMA the 8800 gt. It should be under warranty.
 
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