x1900 Overheating?

[Revox]

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.

[{OF}Barney_B]

Let me start by saying I'm not an expert. Having said that, I've had the 9800 series card and I've got an X1950Pro now in an Antec 900 case. You're right on the wind tunnel comment. If the 9800 card had one weakness, it was the fan...either it just wasn't up to the task or was prone to failure. With my card, I more than likely damaged the fan when I blew the dust out of it; effectively forcing dust and debris into the bearings causing it to gum up and slow down. Unable to cool itself, it burnt itself out. It was damn near impossible to find a replacement fan so I went with Arctic Cooler for the win. That card is still kicking butt in one of my 'puters. Now off to the the 1900. Same deal here as you can hurt the fan by a misdirected air blast and all that shielding can trap dust, hair and lint in it making it worthless. Also you can actually blast the heatsink paste out from between the heatsink and video chip if you're not careful. I'd just take a look at the fan as it runs and see if it is slowing down or not running at full potential. I'm not sure if you can get an aftermarket cooling setup for this card...not that I think it unlikely, I've just not looked for one. If you've got a pet or some other sort of hairy beast in the vicinity of your 'puter, remember that the Antec 900 is the next best thing to an air filter/vacuum cleaner you can get without buying one.

Here's what I'd do to help sort it out.
Carefully check the card for dust and clean it up, if you have to take it out do so.
Check to make sure the fan is up to the task and that it's working properly.
Make sure you don't have cables blocking those wonderful 120s from doing their job.
Consider putting the additional 120 on the sidepanel (there were several versions of the Antec 900 and mine didn't come with the sidepanel fan although the mount for it was there).
Aftermarket cooling-check with Arctic Cooling. They seem to have their poop in a group.
If the card does check out ok after all is said and done, perhaps Crysis is just too much for the 1900 series of cards. I understand that this game is a gut ripper on hardware but I'll know more about that once I get the game myself. In the end you might just have to get a newer card that can handle the demands placed upon it...sorry to say.

One other thing, in "my" experience, I'd turn off the Catalyst overclocking thingee and run it at stock speeds. I tried it out once for g-whiz and it raised the temperature of the card to what I'd consider scary levels. You could of course beat it to death and send it back in for warranty replacement. Not sure how that works.

Check out the easy stuff and wait for Chem to chime in. He's got alot more "know-how" than I.

[Revox]

Thanks for the reply! =)

One of the first things i did with the nine hundred was grab another Antec 120mm fan for the side panel. I will admit my cable management in this case is not very good at all. Simply because I don't want to get hardcore with it for the simple fact that this power supply is on its way out. The fan in it barely spins, it's got too many extra cables, etc. What do ya want for $27 dollars? hehe Once bertha is replaced, I will tie that case down pretty well.

I don't have any pets here, but my 2 year old did manage to destroy both of my LG DVD burners. This prompted me to get the tower out of the cubby in the desk, and sit it on the top of the desk right next to my monitor... so she's up off the floor as well. I have 2 PC grip stands for both of my towers (with wheels) that lift them up off the floor for when they are down low.

I dunno... other than a few minor things, I felt like for the most part I was doing everything right. But, you're right... if the cooling system is just not that great, there's nothing I can do except circumvent it.

I guess Chem would be the reply to wait for to make sure all my bases are covered...hehe =)

[Revox]

Forgot to mention...

While I do have the Catalyst software running in the BG, I never use it. I have never told the card to OC nor do I want to. I had disastrous results with an older card when doing the same thing.

I did find this thing made by Arctic Cooling:
Arctic Cooling

Seems that would be the solution to keeping her cooler.

As for power supplies... I will have to check out at the store what I can get on employee discount. I do like the PSU's that have multiple cables that you can selectively plug into the unit, thus eliminating cabling you do not need.

Our store carries Antec, BFG, and our store brand Dynex/Rocketfish. I paid $27 for my current Dynex 500w PSU...lol. I know I can most likely get a good discount on either of the BFG 600w or 800w PSUs that have lifetime warranties. Not sure about the Antec boxes, but I believe we don't have anything more than a 520w in Antec.

Thoughts?

[ChemicalWarrior]

A game is never to much for a video card, the heatsink should be up to the task of cooling it. The only issue I could see here is that the card needs to be cleaned. So open it up and make sure the fan and heatsink are fine.

There might be an issue with the PSU but 500 watts is plenty but the amperage on the rail for the video card might cause an issue. If I was you'd I go a new PSU soon just because I don't trust a Dynax.

Once I get home I'll have more time to think about it, but I would certainly just make sure there are no issues with dust in the heatsink.

[Revox]

Okay, as far as power supplies go...

I can pick up a BFG 650watt PSU at the store for a pretty decent penny. My question is... fellow friends & gamers I hear all the time running 700w, 800w+ power supplies. Is this really necessary?

I plan to drop in two 500GB SATA HDDs into this unit, at least 8gb of RAM, and run Vista Ultimate 64bit. I guess what I'm asking is do I need a PSU heftier than 650w?

I would think 650w would be large enough, but in completing the build on this machine, it would be the most powerful machine I've ever personally built. As such, I really am not sure if I'd need any more.

What do you think?

[ChemicalWarrior]

This stupid idea of needing a PSU over 600 watts really annoys me. You know it takes to load up fully a 600 watt PSU? A extremely OC'd quad core, 8 GB of RAM, two 8800 Ultras, and many hard drives all under load, while two optical drives are reading data.

Now think about what I have. A Core 2 Duo E6300 at 3.2Ghz (that's over a 1Ghz OC, 1.4Ghz, in fact), a 8800GTS 512MB, three hard drives, two optical drives, a sound card, and 2GB of RAM pulling more voltage than their default. All of that on a 450 watt PSU that is not even near it's load. In fact, it's around 300 watts AT THE WALL (meaning only at 80%~ efficiency).

Oh, I seriously doubt you need over 4GB of RAM, let alone 8GB or more (no non-server board right now will address over 8GB anyway). And finally, 650 watts is overkill for your system, but its 12+ rail is all that needs to be concerned about, and it should be easily up to the task.

If anyone ever say you need over 650 watts on your system never take computer advice from them again, they don't have a real clue...

[{OF}Erad]

I chatted with Revox last night about the PSU. I told him 500w would be more than enough. His problem is, he works for a place where he gets a discount on parts, and the lowest wattage "Good" PSU that they have is a 650w BFG PSU. He asked if he should spend double the $$$ on an 800w one, and I said heck no! The Only 400w PSU that they carry where he works is a Dynex branded one... I felt his best option from the choices he listed was the 650w BFG PSU.

As for myself, I run most of my PCs on PSUs that range from 400w to 550w, and they all run fine. I've never seen a need for anything higher.

[{OF}Barney_B]

I've heard that lower wattage power supplies directly affect your testosterone levels.

[dudio]

Low power wouldn't cause overheating tho,
and I get the impression (from what he said
about the exhaust temp) that it is a heat issue.

Does your motherboard support vid card temp
that you can confirm?

I'd be tempted to look at aftermarket cooling for your card.