Overheating 9800 Pro?

[Wblane]

While I was running the C&C Generals: Zero Hour opening screen for
a couple of hours the display became completely corrupted but the game didn't
crash. I was still able to exit normally to the desktop. It's been unusually
hot lately so I was thinking this might have something to do with it. Would
fitting a large fan (say an old Pentium/K62 ball-bearing heatskin fan) to the
9800 Pro heatsink cool it more effectively than the tiny fan it ships with?
-Bill (remove "botizer" to reply via email)

 

[Cuzman]

" Would fitting a large fan (say an old Pentium/K62 ball-bearing heatskin
fan) to the 9800 Pro heatsink cool it more effectively than the tiny fan it
ships with? "

Arctic Cooling VGA Silencer: http://tinyurl.com/2aj45

 

[Dark Avenger]

While I was running the C&C Generals: Zero Hour opening screen for
a couple of hours the display became completely corrupted but the game didn't
crash. I was still able to exit normally to the desktop. It's been unusually
hot lately so I was thinking this might have something to do with it. Would
fitting a large fan (say an old Pentium/K62 ball-bearing heatskin fan) to the
9800 Pro heatsink cool it more effectively than the tiny fan it ships with?
-Bill (remove "botizer" to reply via email)

Zalman makes fans that can be hung over cards..from the side ways! So
it can either suck air over the card..or from the card..whatever you
wish.

But...you say hours? ... that seems rather slow for overheating..but
possible!

 

[Wblane]

I shouldn't of said hours. Maybe an hour or slightly less. Do the 9800 Pros
have the same shim setup as the 9500 Pros? I'm worried that if I put the fan on
and apply too much pressure I might crack the core so I'd like to know what I'm
gettin g into before I do it.

Zalman makes fans that can be hung over cards..from the side ways! So
it can either suck air over the card..or from the card..whatever you
wish.

But...you say hours? ... that seems rather slow for overheating..but
possible!

-Bill (remove "botizer" to reply via email)

 

[Dark Avenger]

I shouldn't of said hours. Maybe an hour or slightly less. Do the 9800 Pros
have the same shim setup as the 9500 Pros? I'm worried that if I put the fan on
and apply too much pressure I might crack the core so I'd like to know what I'm
gettin g into before I do it.



-Bill (remove "botizer" to reply via email)

Mmm I had my 9800 Pro die on me just days ago.. memory overheated.
Happily the shop knew it was a weak serie ( then why sell it? ) and
said I could RMA it.

If it's under an hour..it might be just overheating. Ya know, it has
to do with that those videocard brands think the standard minimal
cooling ati recommends is good enough.... it aint!

 

[John Lewis]

Mmm I had my 9800 Pro die on me just days ago.. memory overheated.
Happily the shop knew it was a weak serie ( then why sell it? ) and
said I could RMA it.

If it's under an hour..it might be just overheating. Ya know, it has
to do with that those videocard brands think the standard minimal
cooling ati recommends is good enough.... it aint!

It has never been on the high performance ATi cards ! Ati committed
to a single slot cooling design, so there is no physical constraint on
any user putting another card in the adjacent PCI slot, with the
result of almost completely throttling any meaningful air circulation,
plus sub-optimal-size heat-sinking. Why do you think that most of the
latest Ati cards have no thermal monitoring ? Thus, the owners daily
play Russian Roulette. Depending on individual chip timing margins,
an overtemp chip might show artifacts before catastrophically
failing ( if you are lucky), while another might fail without warning
(if you are unlucky, and it had excellent timing margins to
start with ). You obviously bought the short straw. I would suggest
supplementary cooling forcing air from the rear by using a slot-fan
mounted in the adjacent PCI slot with your next card.

John Lewis

 

[Dark Avenger]

It has never been on the high performance ATi cards ! Ati committed
to a single slot cooling design, so there is no physical constraint on
any user putting another card in the adjacent PCI slot, with the
result of almost completely throttling any meaningful air circulation,
plus sub-optimal-size heat-sinking. Why do you think that most of the
latest Ati cards have no thermal monitoring ? Thus, the owners daily
play Russian Roulette. Depending on individual chip timing margins,
an overtemp chip might show artifacts before catastrophically
failing ( if you are lucky), while another might fail without warning
(if you are unlucky, and it had excellent timing margins to
start with ). You obviously bought the short straw. I would suggest
supplementary cooling forcing air from the rear by using a slot-fan
mounted in the adjacent PCI slot with your next card.

John Lewis

Well.. you are partly right..ati should.. in the high end card
market..look at better cooling. Come on..that little heatsink is a
joke! Sigh, anyhow I have a Salman heatsink ready if the RMA is
succesfull. Just hope I this time don't get overheating memory...
memory at 340 DDR and ofcourse no heatsinks...not only ati has to
learn a little lesson!

 

[GTX_SlotCar]

9800Pros do have a shim, but I don't know if it's the same as the one on the
9500 Pro.
The old Pentium fan may work, but it might be hard to mount.

Here's a suggestion. First, find out whether it's the core or the memory
that's overheating. I don't know which 9800Pro you have, but many of them
don't have ramsinks (memory heatsinks). Get an overclocking tool like ATI
Tool and try underclocking you memory and run it. If the problem goes away,
consider adding ramsinks. If the problem persists, put it back to default
and try underclocking the core. If that takes care of it, remove the core's
HSF and see if the thermal compound has dried out, effectively becoming
useless. Whether it has or not, changing the compound may help. AS5 works
well. To clean the old stuff off the GPU, don't scrape it. Use a Q-tip and
try alcohol first. If that doesn't work, try lighter fluid (or goof-off,
same thing). If that doesn't work, try nail polish remover (a small amount
on the Q-tip). Always finish with alcohol and then a water damped paper
towel, then a dry one.

I'm not sure if "it's been unusually hot lately" means the card or the
weather. It you mean the card, this may help. If you mean the weather, you
might want to install a VGA Silencer and ramsinks.

Gary