Posting this because it's way too late for me to do research on dialup, and I have absolutely no idea of anyone else who has one of these cards installed. Please pardon my typing skills, as I've had a few beers in me at this point.
I'm running an ATI x1900 series Radeon card 512mb DDR3 in my Core2Duo machine with 4gb RAM, 500watt PS etc. All my hardware is packed into an Antec Nine Hundred gaming case, which if anyone's seen one of those before is basically a wind tunnel of a computer case. (if not, search "Antec Nine Hundred" on newegg, and you'll get instant pics)
Seems every time I try running Crysis or other games (I seem to remember this happened while playing FEAR with all settings on max) I can hear a CMOS beep, and I get a popup window telling me the core temp of my video processor is running at an unsafe temp etc, lowering clock speed to bring unit down to a safe temp. It also recommends making sure card has good airflow and no case fans are being blocked. I allowed Crysis to select optimum settings for my system, as my original settings proved to be too high for the hardware I had, which was kinda disappointing. Anyways, this would tell me I'm not pushing it too hard setting wise.
About this time 2 things happen... I'm personally thinking "WTF?" seeing as how my case constantly stays frosty with all the fans it's got in it. Second, the card is a double dimm PCI-E card; bottom slot being exhaust. Placing my hand on the vent reveals the thing is pretty darn warm.
Which leaves me with all kinds of questions... is this normal? Quirk of the Catalyst software? Do I need to crank my video settings down further to avoid this? (which would be really weak) Is it a load of BS that I should ignore?
What worries me most I guess is in my previous rig I had my ATI Radeon 9800Pro AIW melt out of it. Yes, melt. It literally melted the cooling fan out of it, leaving it to drop out and rest on top of my sound card by the time I opened up the tower. Needless to say, this new development leaves me a little fearful for the state of the card, and the safety of the rest of my machine.
Simply put, if this thing melts and takes my rig with it... I'm plain 'effed. No more gaming for me.
I know this post is long, but any input or insight to help me shed some light on this situation would be greatly appreciated.