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Thread: GPU, Heating, Cooling

  1. #1
    "Island Bartender" KG4CGC's Avatar
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    GPU, Heating, Cooling

    4 gig video card, MSI Nvidia Gforce GT730. low end stuff really but I wanted to add more ram into the GPU area of the machine last year. Overall specs, 16gigs ram, quad i5 Sandy Bridge configuration. I know, should have gone for the Ivy Bridge and I still may. WinX because what the hell else would I use?

    A few weeks ago the video started shutting down while the computer kept running. It would be fine again after restarting. Could figure it out at first. It only did it on the one guilty pleasure I indulge in. Asphalt8: Airborne. Yep. A car racing game which includes online racing against other players, most of which are in the Eastern World.

    Now, this started as soon as an update was installed by the game maker, Gameloft. Naturally I thought they did something that was taxing the system to a greater degree. I gave up playing the game but the problem still bugged me in my head. A few less weeks ago I started running some of the software that came with the GPU and did a stress test. It's going through the test and what I noticed was when it reached 100ºC, it would shut itself down. That's why I couldn't play.
    Keep in mind, this is my main machine for photo editing so I was concerned the problem would get worse.

    I took out the GPU and ran bare naked on the MB video. Yes I noticed a difference in speed of the video and the quality looked like it was off just a hair. I run video to a 42" monitor. A TV actually via VGA. Tried HDMI but the picture quality from the computer just wasn't there. VGA is razor sharp and the colors are dead nuts accurate which is important for someone who does what I do.
    Upon removing the fan and the heatsink from said GPU, I noticed it was pretty much set up like a CPU on a MB, thermal grease and all. The first thing that stuck way out was how the thermal grease looked like it had separated. Like oil and water separates. Maybe it broke down. Maybe the heatsink wasn't making good contact. Maybe it broke down because the heatsink wasn't making good contact.

    I had already went to the locally owned computer store, which we are lucky to have and grabbed a couple of small fans intended for GPU usage that were also rated 2000 RPM higher than the stock factory fan. These were on clearance for 2 and 3 dollars and came with thermal paste, copper heatsinks and a cord to directly connect the fan to the main power supply. After much thought and consideration, I ended up cobbling both fans directly on to the heatsink forcing air down upon it. While I was at it, I attached a 4" fan to the other side of the board and wired it in to the case power supply feeding 12 volts.

    Now keep in mind that the connectors are the old school, bulky white 4 prongers. I had soldered all the wires and connectors so that all I would have to do is mount the card and plug the fans in. I'm looking inside that case, (yes I built this machine about 14 months ago) when I notice that I only have the newer flat connectors and no converters (if they even make those). Ha, well, the soldering iron was still hot. I had to cut into the extra connector from the optical drive and tap into the yellow and black wires there.

    Am I done yet? So I solder, tape, route, clear, route again before I finally get to start the beast up. Everything spins! No smoke! No noise! No complaints from the bios or OS! The start screens lights up and it goes to the desktop. I run the stress test again and and this time it starts at 33ºC and maxes out at 54ºC. Room temp was about 24.4ºC.

    So now I'm off to the races! I start the game up and it runs, and runs, and runs, and runs ... very awesome! I check the temp after 45 minutes and it peaked at about 55ºC or 104ºF. So now I wondering if the original 3000 RPM fan, running off the power from the GPU was enough to begin with or was it thermal paste breakdown or a bad contact with the thermal paste or is something else breaking down on the board that is causing heat. Did the manufacturer realize that they made it too easy to fix and was that their intention and what will happen in the future?

  2. #2
    Orca Whisperer PA5COR's Avatar
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    My new satellite receiver temp of the quad core CPU ran at 69 degrees C out of the box in a room temperature of 19 C, hotter room, hotter CPU....
    So, long story short, since the cooler of the CPU wasn't replaceable, mounted a 4 "fan over the receiver and now the CPU is 39 C.
    As well is the rest of the electronics much cooler inside the receiver.

    I keep my I7 lappy with 2 Gb video card clean of dust very regularly, have a double fan laptop holder where it sits on and keeps the laptop cool.

    Build my son's game computer ourselves and NOT skimping on coolers and very large heat sinks either as well extra case fans etc.

    My experience over the years? producers need too let the stuff work during your warranty time, then it needs to break asap so you need to buy new stuff.
    Skimping on heat sinks, cheaper fans and production where care of mounting stuff isn't that important anymore.

    Remember the temp of the cpu is measured at the body, not the chip inside where the temp is much higher... and lifespan much shorter through migration and will conk out much sooner.
    Keeping electronics cool will lengthen their lifespan considerably, lowering the temp 10 C will double the lifespan...goes for CPU, memory SSHD or HD etc.
    Looking at the I7 lappy now, CPU 36 C, GPU 34 C , Mobo 24 C, ventilator speed 1790 rpm. SSHD 26 C.
    can't measure the temp of the 12 Gb mem, but that is about 30C ( fingertip guesswork).

    In short, paying attention to cooling and mounting the cooling hardware pay's off.
    "If the Republicans will stop telling lies about the Democrats, we will stop
    telling the truth about them." - Adlai Stevenson (1900-1965)
    “I’m not liberal/conservative, I’m anti-idiotarian.”
    At some point in the last 20 years, the left moved to the center, and the right moved into a mental institution

  3. #3
    "Island Bartender" KG4CGC's Avatar
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    Very good.
    I should have mentioned that the heat sink on the GPU is almost 11cm x 11cm so it's quite hefty. I stayed with it because the aftermarket ones wouldn't fit without major issues that I would have to purchase new tools to overcome. The old one fits and fits within the narrow slot area of the PCI-E card.
    It's been on all night and all morning and the current temp is 28ºC while to room temp is 10º.

  4. #4
    "Island Bartender" KG4CGC's Avatar
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    Did the laptop. An Asus G60 J. Very heavy duty copper. The thermal paste was dried up and although they are known to run hot, I wanted to see if it would run cooler. One side of the double copper strip, over and eighth inch thick and an inch wide, covers the CPU and leads to a cooler on the fan. The other side goes over the GPU and leads to another cooler at the fan.

    Didn't seem to be much area for air to get in so after I got the massive heat sinking remounted I added another finned copper square piece to the area directly over the GPU and cut out a hole in the bottom cover for it. It's a perfect fit and I can manually feel the temp with my fingers. Over the CPU I drilled a series of holes and now air flows unrestricted from both sides.

    I don't have a temp app for the laptop but right now I'm giving it the acid test as it will stream all night. So far so good. This is a heavy Republic of Gamers laptop that I got for mobile editing on trips. Never played any games on it other than Chess. I used this as well, for a time, to run the 42" monitor.

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  5. #5
    "Usual Suspect" WZ7U's Avatar
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    This is all great info! Thank you. I need to look into mine a little deeper, since the last time I opened it up was to clean all the yuck off of everything the fans brought in. At that time I didn't give too critical an eye to things but now I will. I thought I was brave pulling the fan off the CPU heatsink; now I guess I need to pull the sink up and check the heat sink grease too.

    I remember way back in the day how the first electronic distributors in the cars would have the module crap out from heat sink grease failure. Why would these things be any different? duh!!!

    Like that post was...
    Moving on, my posts are not helpful

  6. #6
    Orca Whisperer PA5COR's Avatar
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    We noted down the temps of the several measured components in the lappy/game computer of my son, so if after cleaning the temps still don't drop enough, remove heat sink and apply after good cleaning new heat sink compound, i have 2 large tubes of it in supply here, don't use too much, but do use good quality.
    Cleaning the laptop ventilator it needs removing it to get to the cooling sink it blows through, lots of fluff otherwise stay in the system.
    the cooling system on this Lenovo 17" I 7 was good, just maintain the system keeping it clean, the fan is running slow, and i have a ball bearing spare if need be.
    On the desktop i have a tool that gives the components temperature so i can keep track of it all the time.
    My last laptop worked 8 years, keeping it clean pays off, still woks, but the screen is falling apart, and i needed a faster one.
    They get used for 6 to 10 hours a day, battery is not in the laptop, kept separate.
    Never skimp on cooling it is a life saver for your gear.
    If it is computers, satellite receivers or radio's....
    "If the Republicans will stop telling lies about the Democrats, we will stop
    telling the truth about them." - Adlai Stevenson (1900-1965)
    “I’m not liberal/conservative, I’m anti-idiotarian.”
    At some point in the last 20 years, the left moved to the center, and the right moved into a mental institution

  7. #7
    "Island Bartender" KG4CGC's Avatar
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    I'm thinking about removing that little copper square and adding a fan there. The GPU heats up and while the copper square gets warm, I feel that moving air is a better option for that section.

  8. #8
    Orca Whisperer PA5COR's Avatar
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    Airflow is better as passive cooling, might cool the rest of the stuff nearby as well.
    "If the Republicans will stop telling lies about the Democrats, we will stop
    telling the truth about them." - Adlai Stevenson (1900-1965)
    “I’m not liberal/conservative, I’m anti-idiotarian.”
    At some point in the last 20 years, the left moved to the center, and the right moved into a mental institution

  9. #9
    "Island Bartender" KG4CGC's Avatar
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    The CPU is cool. I guess the next question is should I push the air or pull it. The GPU though, warm. The search for low profile fans.

  10. #10
    La Rata Del Desierto K7SGJ's Avatar
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    A clear conscience is usually a sign of a bad memory

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