question about video card

[dsj]

Why is my geforce 6800 GT EVGA at 110 degrees celcius when playing games? I just cleaned out the dust but it's still hot. I no longer can use the video card. Why is this?

 

[amplemind]

Did you overclock? And perhaps you need more airflow and cable management in your case. 110C, you may want to RMA it as "defective".

 

[dsj]

The warranty period is already over. It's a year for evga right? I didn't overclock.

 

[suicidalpigeon]

why did you mkae two threads about this?

 

[dsj]

That otherone is about the gigabyte board overclocking. This is just about the temp.

 

[suicidalpigeon]

then edit the topic updating the situation, give it a bump, and state the new question.

 

[mwmorph]

sigh, remove heatsink, clean off the thermal pads and solutino and use some cermaique and then reinstall the heatsink/fan. It's probably not making good contact on the core.

 

[dsj]

But that might damage the videocard. I don't know how to perform this.

 

[mwmorph]

that's the only way besides rma to cure a overheating problem. search google fro some guides.

 

[dsj]

Is opening a videocard dangerous? How fragile are the inside?

 

[mwmorph]

uh... youre not opening anything.
http://www.ocfaq.com/reviews/ArcticCooling/VGASilencer_Rev3/
it's completely safe.

 

[dsj]

You want me to install another fan? If that doesn't work then I wasted another amount of money. I'm trying to make the HARD decision of buying a new card.

 

[mwmorph]

no, im just saying that's what ti looks like without a cooler. you wont damage it unless you somehow smash or chip that shink black silicon square. also, it's a pretty good rudimentary guide.
1. remove the screws or pins holding the cooler in place.
2 wipe off thermal interface material
3. use alcohol to clean it off even further
4. wait for alcohol to dry off
5. add asome new compound. anything that is labeled thermal compount should be fine but i recommend ceramique.
6. reattach it using the pin or screws you took off.

 

[dsj]

But if I wpied it off then isn't it going to be even hotter?

 

[mwmorph]

that's why you apply some different compound. SOME Thermal compounds tend to degrade over time. I know Artic Silver 5 is suggested to be replaced every 6-132 months.
Use some ceramique. It lasts forever and cools very well, but just about any thermal compound will fix your problem.

 

[t3h l337 n3wb]

...mwmorph said to apply new thermal compound...

 

[dsj]

I think this card is still good for RMA. I'll try to ask them to replace it first and when they say no I'll try the ceramique. Which creamique is the best for videocards?

 

[t3h l337 n3wb]

Ceramique = the name of a specific model of thermal compound made by Arctic Cooling.

Arctic Silver Ceramique

 

[dsj]

So I have to rewipe the paste everytime? Evga and amd didn't say that. So the video card breaks every half a year if you don't re add the glue? So if someone that doesn't know about this and buys a dell for gaming will have to send their pc for repair every half a year?

 

[mwmorph]

no. some deteriorate depending on type. most silicone based ones(the white pase most gpus have) dont deteriorate. Even if it did deteriorate, it dosent cause there horrible temps. I'm guessing that when it was moved, some sort of impact caused the heatsink to be loose and it no longer makes good contact with the gpu chip so it's overheating. wiping it down and replacing the heatsink along with some ceramique should drop your temps to below new levels. (you really dont have to replace the paste but i'd do it asa cautionary measure since it;ll get you better temps and cooler cards last longerand with less problems.

 

[dsj]

I'll try the rma first.

 

[mwmorph]

k. gl. evga has pretty good customer service.

 

[dsj]

Their 24/7 tech support personnels are untrained.

 

[mwmorph]

damn, did they move to india recently? you might want to try in the morning anyway. night/weekend staff are usualyl somewhat iffy.

 

[dsj]

The number is supposed to be free but when you call you can't get through. I have to use the phonecard. A 500 min phone card only has 60 minutes when calling that number. And the daytime calls need to wait like 30 minutes before someone is avaliable. That's like a fraud.