ATI Radeon X800 XL Overheating Problem (GPU Temp Over 105 C !!!)... Please Help!

cdsnutz202cdsnutz202
edited September 2006 in Hardware
I bought an ATI Radeon X800 XL vid card about a year ago. Since I have had the card, all the games that I would play would freeze temporarily and then ATIs VPU recovery program would kick in saying that it had reset the card and I could continue playing for ~30 minutes until the same thing happened. I never really followed up with this until now and I believe I found that the problem is due to overheating. I installed ATITool to monitor the GPU temperatures and it seems to be reaching over 105C before the vid card would reset itself. I then installed the latest drivers (Catalyst 6.8) and took the vid card out, cleaned the heat sink, forced the fan speed to 100% in ATITool, and reapplied new thermal grease. I did some further testing and cleaning the heat sink and increasing the fan speed seemed to help minimally. Also since upgrading to the newest ATI drivers, my computer freezes and the VPU recovery does not kick in so I can do nothing other than press the reset/power switch. What I find strange is that when I open the "3D view" in ATITool that is when the temperature shoots through the roof. At idle the GPU temperature is between 50-60C. Within about 2 minutes the GPU temperature will reach over 100C while that little furry cube is spinning in the ATITool 3D view. At this point I'm not quite sure what else to try other than replacing the PSU which is 400W and is connected through a 20-24 pin adaptor since the mobo is the newer 24 pin and the PSU is the old 20 pin form. Just another piece of information is that my mobo/processor are running normally between 40-50C at full load. Does anyone have any suggestions or experienced anything similar and fixed the prob? Thanks in advance!!!

Comments

  • lemonlimelemonlime Canada Member
    edited August 2006
    That is very odd.. The X800XLs generally run pretty cool (110nm design). My X850 hits 80'C at its worst load, and thats a much hotter chip. I'd definitely take a close look at the fan while in operation. Is it spinning OK at load? I would expect to see temps like that with a malfunctioning fan or bad GPU contact. How does the imprint look from the thermal grease? Is it making good contact with the GPU?

    Worst case.. you may want to RMA your card. If it is built-by-ATI.. it may still be under warranty.
  • WuGgaRoOWuGgaRoO Not in the shower Icrontian
    edited August 2006
    i would just buy a new cooler for it...see what that does...
  • cdsnutz202cdsnutz202
    edited August 2006
    lemonlime wrote:
    That is very odd.. The X800XLs generally run pretty cool (110nm design). My X850 hits 80'C at its worst load, and thats a much hotter chip. I'd definitely take a close look at the fan while in operation. Is it spinning OK at load? I would expect to see temps like that with a malfunctioning fan or bad GPU contact. How does the imprint look from the thermal grease? Is it making good contact with the GPU?

    Worst case.. you may want to RMA your card. If it is built-by-ATI.. it may still be under warranty.

    It seems to be spinning, although I'm not quite sure that it really is spinning at its full potential even though ATI Tool says it is. I read on some forums that the fan is rather loud when running at 100%, but mine doesn't seem to be very loud at any speed. I can feel hot air being blown from the fan and I can see it spinning. However, it seems almost like poor design since the card and the heatsink/fan point directly downward when the case is upright. The contact with the GPU seems to be decent, and I added new thermal grease which did help about 5C at idle.

    It is built by ATI but it's an OEM model from Newegg and it's just over a year old so I don't think I could RMA it through ATI or anyone else. :-/
  • cdsnutz202cdsnutz202
    edited August 2006
    WuGgaRoO wrote:
    i would just buy a new cooler for it...see what that does...
    I'll try that next... do you think my power supply could cause this overheating?
  • lemonlimelemonlime Canada Member
    edited August 2006
    cdsnutz202 wrote:
    do you think my power supply could cause this overheating?

    It is possible, however unlikely.. If your voltage rails are low, your components will be straining a lot more and heat output will increase. That will usually cause instability before heat is ever an issue though. What are your voltage rails like? (in particular the 12V and 5V)
  • WuGgaRoOWuGgaRoO Not in the shower Icrontian
    edited August 2006
    wouldnt overvoltage also cause a higher temp?
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited August 2006
    Video card power regulators are fairly efficient. Most overvolts are moderated to a nominal level.
  • cdsnutz202cdsnutz202
    edited September 2006
    lemonlime wrote:
    It is possible, however unlikely.. If your voltage rails are low, your components will be straining a lot more and heat output will increase. That will usually cause instability before heat is ever an issue though. What are your voltage rails like? (in particular the 12V and 5V)

    How much fluctation in voltage is an issue? My 12V rail changes between 11.8V and drops as low as 11.3V. My 5V rail actual seems to fluctuate between 5 and about 5.3V.
  • lemonlimelemonlime Canada Member
    edited September 2006
    cdsnutz202 wrote:
    How much fluctation in voltage is an issue? My 12V rail changes between 11.8V and drops as low as 11.3V. My 5V rail actual seems to fluctuate between 5 and about 5.3V.

    If those readings are indeed accurate, I'd consider that to be an unsafe amount of fluctuation--especially on the +12V rail. Is this just during idle? I'd be curious to see what happens while you have ATITool running the 3D test. Do you have a spare PSU around anywhere that you could try?

    If your PSU is a no-name brand 400W unit, I'd recommend buying a name-brand native 24-pin PSU. Something from OCZ, Mushkin, Fortron-Source, PC Power and Cooling, Corsair, Silverstone, Antec or Enermax would probably be your best bet. It is a good way to help protect your investment. PSUs are the main cause of system failure and hardware damage. Never good to skimp in this area.
  • cdsnutz202cdsnutz202
    edited September 2006
    lemonlime wrote:
    If those readings are indeed accurate, I'd consider that to be an unsafe amount of fluctuation--especially on the +12V rail. Is this just during idle? I'd be curious to see what happens while you have ATITool running the 3D test. Do you have a spare PSU around anywhere that you could try?

    If your PSU is a no-name brand 400W unit, I'd recommend buying a name-brand native 24-pin PSU. Something from OCZ, Mushkin, Fortron-Source, PC Power and Cooling, Corsair, Silverstone, Antec or Enermax would probably be your best bet. It is a good way to help protect your investment. PSUs are the main cause of system failure and hardware damage. Never good to skimp in this area.

    The 12V fluctuation was during the ATITool 3D test. Also I have a thermaltake CPU cooler that has a manual speed adjustment feature and I had it set to 100% which spins > 5000RPM so that was sucking a lot of power at the time. I don't have anything more powerful than my 400W power supply sitting around, but I'm wondering if I should try a new GPU cooler before getting a $100 PSU or buy both.
  • LeonardoLeonardo Wake up and smell the glaciers Eagle River, Alaska Icrontian
    edited September 2006
    How much fluctation in voltage is an issue? My 12V rail changes between 11.8V and drops as low as 11.3V.
    That's terrible! I don't know if an unstable voltage delivery would affect the GPU temperature or not, but that PSU needs to be replaced.
  • Mt_GoatMt_Goat Head Cheezy Knob Pflugerville (north of Austin) Icrontian
    edited September 2006
    Leonardo wrote:
    That's terrible! I don't know if an unstable voltage delivery would affect the GPU temperature or not, but that PSU needs to be replaced.
    Leonardo is absolutely correct about the PSU needing to be replaced. But I seriously beleive that while it is contributing to overall system instability it is the the cause of your GPU overheating. I have the exact same card and the temp never goes over 67C as reported by ATI tool. What kind of case is your system in and what kind of fans are in it including the direction of flow? I have found that the vast majority of GPU overheating problems come from poor case ait flow. But please replace that power supply with a new unit of reputable manufacture ASAP.
  • cdsnutz202cdsnutz202
    edited September 2006
    WuGgaRoO wrote:
    i would just buy a new cooler for it...see what that does...

    I bought this vid card cooler from Newegg:
    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16835186129
    AND now the temps don't go over 60C at full load!!!

    I'm still considering the new PSU because of all the recommendations. What do you all think of this one?
    http://www.compusa.com/products/product_info.asp?pfp=BROWSE&search=power+supply&N=200089&search_redir=1&product_code=336407&Pn=600_Watt_ATX_12V_2_01_PC_System_Power_Supply
  • PirateNinjaPirateNinja Icrontian
    edited September 2006
    I wouldn't go with that psu. If it's not Enermax you are taking a risk, so says an Enermax fanboy but with good reason.

    Regardless, your temps being that high are not caused by the psu. The psu is only going to cause slight variations in your temperatures.

    I'd be willing to bet that the fan on your card is dead (I know it's obvious, but have you checked?) or that you just have awful air flow in your case.

    I'd also just underclock the card a little if possible.

    I'd also also get a second opinion on that temperature, maybe with rivatuner.
  • cdsnutz202cdsnutz202
    edited September 2006
    Gravite2090 wrote:
    I wouldn't go with that psu. If it's not Enermax you are taking a risk, so says an Enermax fanboy but with good reason.

    Regardless, your temps being that high are not caused by the psu. The psu is only going to cause slight variations in your temperatures.

    I'd be willing to bet that the fan on your card is dead (I know it's obvious, but have you checked?) or that you just have awful air flow in your case.

    I'd also just underclock the card a little if possible.

    I'd also also get a second opinion on that temperature, maybe with rivatuner.

    This Enermax looks pretty good: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817103437
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited September 2006
    Gravite2090 wrote:
    I wouldn't go with that psu. If it's not Enermax you are taking a risk, so says an Enermax fanboy but with good reason.

    Regardless, your temps being that high are not caused by the psu. The psu is only going to cause slight variations in your temperatures.

    I'd be willing to bet that the fan on your card is dead (I know it's obvious, but have you checked?) or that you just have awful air flow in your case.

    I'd also just underclock the card a little if possible.

    I'd also also get a second opinion on that temperature, maybe with rivatuner.

    Enermax isn't very good any more, sorry. I wouldn't even put them on the list with the best. Their voltages fluctuate wildly.

    HiPer, Masscool, Seventeam, PC Power and Cooling, Thermaltake, Mushkin, Corsair, BFGTech, FSP/Fortron.. They're really quite good. But Enermax? Not so much.
  • PirateNinjaPirateNinja Icrontian
    edited September 2006
    Thrax wrote:
    Enermax isn't very good any more, sorry. I wouldn't even put them on the list with the best. Their voltages fluctuate wildly.

    HiPer, Masscool, Seventeam, PC Power and Cooling, Thermaltake, Mushkin, Corsair, BFGTech, FSP/Fortron.. They're really quite good. But Enermax? Not so much.

    No apology necessary, its ok for your opinion to be different than mine. But maybe these guys would like an apology? Afterall their opinion matters because it is directly related to the credibility of their sites.

    How about reviews of the power supply he linked, which is a 5 year old psu revised? (That means if Enermax went downhill like you implied, this should not matter.)


    dansdata.com
    You've got to ask yourself this question: "Am I worthy?"

    ipkonfig.com
    All in all, if you are looking for a great power supply, don't mind spending good money on one, and stability is your main concern, this is the power supply for your home or office PC.


    about.com
    The Enermax/WaveSonic EG651P-VE is a all around good power supply for those with high-performance or low-end server systems. Its clean and stable voltage lines should work well for overclocking.


    ocworkbench.com
    If you're after a high end PSU for that high performing rig you're making them look no further than the Enermax EG651P-VE.


    Or reviews of Enermax's newer psus?

    pro-clockers.com on the liberty 620
    As you can see the voltages barely move once a load was applied. Providing for rock solid stability.


    viperlair.com on the liberty 620
    Enermax has entered the modular PSU market in a big way as the Liberty EL620AWT did very well in our tests and finished on top in the tests that count.


    tweaknews.net on the liberty 400
    Where PSUs have failed me in the past, the Enermax Liberty 400W PSU was a much needed solution.


    silentpcreview.com on the liberty 500 (in depth review here)
    There is always room for improvement, but the Liberty doesn't have any obvious weaknesses.


    bigbruin.com on the liberty 500
    The voltage rails were extremely stable between idle and load conditions, and I had to wait several minutes just to see one 0.01V fluctuation occur on one of the three rails being monitored. If rock solid voltage rails weren't enough, the Liberty's 120mm fan generates almost no noise and the unit has a classic style that I find far more attractive than so many of the units with "extreme" appearances.

    phoronix.com on the liberty 620
    This is yet another excellent unit. Enermax has not let down its reputation with its release of the Liberty. The voltage drops under load were minimal, and while under load, the rails did not fluctuate.

    systemcooling.com on the liberty 400
    During our tests the Enermax Liberty 400W high efficiency power supply delivered solid voltages with minimal AC ripple while operating at up to 78% efficiency under moderate to heavy loads.


    Here is enermax stomping on cleverpower, silverstone, skyhawk, and ultra:

    http://www.hardcoreware.net/reviews/review-257-11.htm


    Then there is my own experience which certainly is not credible, but I have never had a psu fail from Enermax, I have always had perfect stability, and I have never heard a noise. Just my thoughts.
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