XFX GT-240 overheating?

[Thump553]

System: Compaq CQ5320F stock, with added XFX GT 240 video card. At the same time I added the videocard (approx. Nov. 2010) I replaced the PSU with an Antec Earthwatts 430 or 500 (can't recall offhand).

Computer used for general browsing, some games. Was also running Folding @ Home 24/7 and the graphics card version of Folding @ Home 24/7 when not gaming. Computer in basement, pretty cold down there (I'd guess 60-65F now). No problems until a week ago when I started to encounter the computer running but no power to monitor. That happened last night twice during a game session.

I installed GPU-Z and the graphics card was at 92 degrees C and fan speed about 95-100%. The temps dropped relatively fast, within fifteen minutes or so of no activity was down to 56 degrees. After several hours on but no action it was 42 degrees/35% fan speed.

I then gamed (Sacred Gold, if that matters) for roughly 45 mintues. When done temp was 54 degrees, 35% fan speed. Temp began dropping again after I stopped gaming.

What can I do to correct this problem? I've temporarily stopped all my Folding at Home but would like to reinstate it.

Computer on 24/7/365.

 

[Drsignguy]

Your heat issues may be due to a dust build up IF you haven't cleaned or blown out your Rig lately. As for folding, I leave the fans @ 100% and not at an Auto rate. I tried auto and it doesn't cool the cards down as well. I have 7 GTX260 cards and now starting to replace them with 460's and higher & I have always kept them clean. Computers ARE dust magnets so up keep is a must.....This includes all fans in your rig and since you said it's a Compaq, I am just betting there isn't a lot of air circulation in the case.

 

[Vette73]

Yea clean the dust out first.

But my GTS450 ran hot and loud at first. I thought that was just the card. I removed the heatsink and cleaned it and then reapplied a small amount a grease and it runs a lot cooler and can barly hear it now. So maybe it was not doen well from the factory. I would do that as well.

 

[Termie]

That XFX GT240 has some pretty bad reviews on Newegg: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814150475. Several mention overheating and driver crashing. Sounds like your problem.

In all honesty, that's probably not the best card to fold on. It's a low-power card designed with a low-power heatsink. It probably just can't keep up with folding. Try running at 100% fan, as mentioned above, and see what happens.

 

[Vette73]

^

It has a double size heatsink, like my GT240, and should run much cooler. Most GT240s use a single slot cooler.
I be willing to bet if he removed it and sanded the heatsink with some 1000grit and then did a better heatsink grease install it would help a lot.

 

[Thump553]

Thanks for the tips. I'll pop the box open this weekend. The problems just developed recently and I've been running Folding since November, so I bet there is a dust buildup.

BTW the card has never been noisy.

 

[XFX Support]

I would expect that cleaning the dust and lent from the cooler and reapplying thermal paste would get your temps down quite a bit. If you still have any problems please put in a support ticket on our site and send me a PM with the ticket ID.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Your heat issues may be due to a dust build up IF you haven't cleaned or blown out your Rig lately. As for folding, I leave the fans @ 100% and not at an Auto rate. I tried auto and it doesn't cool the cards down as well. I have 7 GTX260 cards and now starting to replace them with 460's and higher & I have always kept them clean. Computers ARE dust magnets so up keep is a must.....This includes all fans in your rig and since you said it's a Compaq, I am just betting there isn't a lot of air circulation in the case.

I tried setting my fans to 100% on my 9600GSOs, using EVGA Precision 2.01, and it "forgot" my fan settings, and reset them to default (lowest fan speed), and one of my GPUs cooked. The fan makes noises now because the fan bearing overheated.

Now I make sure to leave the fans on auto, so that they can ramp up with temperature.

 

[Drsignguy]

I tried setting my fans to 100% on my 9600GSOs, using EVGA Precision 2.01, and it "forgot" my fan settings, and reset them to default (lowest fan speed), and one of my GPUs cooked. The fan makes noises now because the fan bearing overheated.

Now I make sure to leave the fans on auto, so that they can ramp up with temperature.

Hi VL wasn't that the 4 card setup you had a while back? If it is , I remember reading about that and that rig, at that time was pretty impressive on the PPd you were getting. Seems to me that with the more card setup, the more maintenance.

I have tried Just about everything and (for me anyway) the best way I could figure was to set them to at 100%. They always stayed at or below 75c, depending on the WU it had going on at that time. I do know however, that the top card usually runs a bit hotter and that is the one I pay attention to most. Yes, they are a bit noisy but I figure since its folding and running 24/7, I can deal with a bit more db's. I try to maintain them often to keep the dust out of them and out of the room. Dust drives me nuts!

The only thing I change is the fan levels when I play a game and then I set them to Auto. But since I can play a game only on 1 PC at a time, I still hear (heard) the other fans at 100%. So far (knock on wood) haven't lost a fan yet.

Removing the H/S and fan is something I did before and it does help, a bit. Maintaining them helped much better. Nice of XFX Support to give you some help there OP Kudos!

 

[Thump553]

UPDATE:
1) I opened the case, surprised at how little dust was in there. Gave the GPU and CPU a couple shots of canned air anyway and tied off a pair of small cables that were marginally close to the videocard.
2) Installed and ran Afterburner-only change from default was to set GPU fan at constant 100% (very marginable noise increase, still almost dead silent).

After several 45 minute gaming episodes, high temp was 71C, low after sleeping all night 21C, normal after 45 minute rest was about 50C.

3) Pulled card, cleaning off old GPU grease and reapplied. Put GPU fan back on auto speed. After a 45 minute gaming session 48C and 35% fan speed.

I then started up the graphics version of FAH, which gives a GPU load of 99%. Temps climbed pretty fast-within a minute or two it was up to 77C fan speed 54% then turned off FAH graphics.

Air circulation in the case seems decent (midsize tower). PSU is an Antec 430.

Does this seem normal? Should I give up trying to run the graphics card version of FAH? Any more suggestions?

 

[Zap]

92°C is on the hot side, but 77°C is fine.

 

[Thump553]

92°C is on the hot side, but 77°C is fine.

I just tried FAH graphic unit again, starting at 69 C 35% fan (just finished gaming) and it hit 95 C 100% fan in about a minute and still climbing, so I shut FAH down.

 

[Termie]

UPDATE:
...
2) Installed and ran Afterburner-only change from default was to set GPU fan at constant 100% (very marginable noise increase, still almost dead silent).

After several 45 minute gaming episodes, high temp was 71C
...

3) Pulled card, cleaning off old GPU grease and reapplied. Put GPU fan back on auto speed. After a 45 minute gaming session 48C and 35% fan speed.

...
Any more suggestions?

You netted a huge decrease in temps by reapplying thermal paste. You went from 71C at 100% fan to 48C at 35% fan. That's about as good an improvement as I've ever seen with any type of tweaking. I think that settles it right there. You're good to go on gaming, not so much on folding.

I just tried FAH graphic unit again, starting at 69 C 35% fan (just finished gaming) and it hit 95 C 100% fan in about a minute and still climbing, so I shut FAH down.

Yeah, I'd say this card just isn't made for that kind of load.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Hi VL wasn't that the 4 card setup you had a while back? If it is , I remember reading about that and that rig, at that time was pretty impressive on the PPd you were getting. Seems to me that with the more card setup, the more maintenance.

Yes, a quad-GPU folding box does require more maintenance. I have no idea if they fixed that issue with Precision, forgetting fan speeds and defaulting to lowest speed. In fact, I have no idea whether the problem was even that program, or the drivers themselves.

Maybe it only happened with multi-GPU rigs?

I dunno, one of the GPU fans makes a lot of noise now (the one that got to 105C, probably the max it registers, could have been hotter), and I don't run the quad-GPU rig so much anymore. (Mostly because my two desktop rigs combined, with GPU + quad-core CPU, get around 32K PPD, and the quad-GPU rig only got 15-16K PPD, and the desktop rigs are much quieter.)