Worrying GPU temps

[Sigmund Av Volsung]

Recently, I "finished" PC, (got a new GPU, PSU, Monitor, Keyboard & Mouse), so I thought that the best way to celebrate it would be to benchmark it in The Witcher 2!

To my dismay, the temps were bloody ridiculous; constant 90-100C (Ultra settings; non-cinematic DoF disabled, V-sync Off, no Ubersampling or Motion Blur), whilst the game looked down right gorgeous, the temperatures are pretty worrying.

My specs are:
Intel i5 3470 @ 3.2Ghz
Zotac GTX 670 2GB DDR5 (Non-AMP!, ref model, as can be seen here: http://www.scan.co.uk/products/2gb-zotac-gtx-670-overclocked-28nm-pcie-30-(x16)-6008mhz-gddr5-gpu-954mhz-boost-1033mhz-cores-1344-d)

2x4GB Kingston Hyper X RAM 1333Mhz
Msi z77-G43
Coolermaster RS600 PSU(80PLUS Bronze, 85% eff)
Acer G236HLBbid 1920x1080.
Coolermaster Elite 430 w/ front intake fan.

As a side note, there is a spaghetti mess of cables inside the case, but none in front of the GPU's fan, the PSU's fan is facing the GPU, and otherwise, the ventilation is okay.

I was also running the game with MSI afterburner in the backround, with user define fan speed enabled.

With other games such as Shogun 2, I get temps of around 75C, at the highest settings.

 

[Starnerf]

Have you tried setting the fan speed back to automatic? If this is only happening in one game then it's unlikely to be a bad card. It's probably just the user-defined fan speed isn't high enough for the load that The Witcher 2 presents. Reference cooler designs always run pretty hot and rely on controlling the fan speed to cool properly.

Do you know the idle temps? That should really tell you if the heatsink is loose or the fan is running slow.

 

[Ender910_v1legacy]

It could be your GPU brand. It's a newer brand, and from some of the reviews it sounds like it might be of cheaper construction (which usually means it might heat up faster):

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=14-500-270&SortField=1&SummaryType=0&Pagesize=10&PurchaseMark=&SelectedRating=-1&VideoOnlyMark=False&VendorMark=&IsFeedbackTab=true&Keywords=%28keywords%29&Page=1#scrollFullInfo

^That's what I'm basing my findings on. It's not the exact same model, but it's the closest I could find on there.

 

[Bad Jim]

As a side note, there is a spaghetti mess of cables inside the case, but none in front of the GPU's fan, the PSU's fan is facing the GPU, and otherwise, the ventilation is okay.

Well you've got an easy way for air to get away from the GPU, but how is air getting into the GPU? What happens if you benchmark with the case open?

 

[Itchi_da_killa]

Make sure you have your fan's directions set efficiently. For example...

On my tower I have my front 120mm fan blowing in/120mm back fan sucking out. On the side I have a 200mm blowing in/ 200mm on top sucking out. And two 120mm fans on the side under the 200mm. They spin at max speed.

Try cable management as well.

 

[Sigmund Av Volsung]

Have you tried setting the fan speed back to automatic? If this is only happening in one game then it's unlikely to be a bad card. It's probably just the user-defined fan speed isn't high enough for the load that The Witcher 2 presents. Reference cooler designs always run pretty hot and rely on controlling the fan speed to cool properly.

Do you know the idle temps? That should really tell you if the heatsink is loose or the fan is running slow.

That could be true: I remember alt+tabbing out and seeing 54% fan speed when the gpu was at 97C.

As for the idles, they're around 28-12C, depending if I am watching videos and whatnot.

EDIT: I lied, I misread the readings, in actual fact, my idles are about 30-38C.

It could be your GPU brand. It's a newer brand, and from some of the reviews it sounds like it might be of cheaper construction (which usually means it might heat up faster):

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=14-500-270&SortField=1&SummaryType=0&Pagesize=10&PurchaseMark=&SelectedRating=-1&VideoOnlyMark=False&VendorMark=&IsFeedbackTab=true&Keywords=%28keywords%29&Page=1#scrollFullInfo

^That's what I'm basing my findings on. It's not the exact same model, but it's the closest I could find on there.

Really? From the reviews I've seen, they said that Zotac are pretty good at factory overclocked GPUs, hell the AMP! editions are usually the best versions of a given card(and oft, the most expensive).

As a side note, there is a spaghetti mess of cables inside the case, but none in front of the GPU's fan, the PSU's fan is facing the GPU, and otherwise, the ventilation is okay.

Well you've got an easy way for air to get away from the GPU, but how is air getting into the GPU? What happens if you benchmark with the case open?

I think that it's around the same, but the case is positioned in such a way that the window is facing the side of my desk, so the circulation might not be that great.

Make sure you have your fan's directions set efficiently. For example...

On my tower I have my front 120mm fan blowing in/120mm back fan sucking out. On the side I have a 200mm blowing in/ 200mm on top sucking out. And the two 120mm fans on the side under the 200mm. They spin at max speed.

Try cable management as well.

I could try to buy additional fans, but my previous card(asus GTX 550 ti) never had such wild temperatures.

Also, I have no fan controller, the 120mm fan at the front was there when I bought the case by default.

 

[GoaThief]

I wouldn't worry too much as the operating temp under load from Nvidia themselves is 97c.

Just because you have room around the fan it doesn't mean you have good airflow either, as suggested above run with the side off and see what it's at. It's also worth noting that past a certain point some cases cool better with the side on as it creates a continuous steady flow which is better than pulling in static surrounding air. Where do you live, is it hot there?

 

[Weaver]

GPU's just basically get ridiculously hot. I know it seems high, but I wouldn't worry about those temps that much (unless the card is rated WAY below that).

GPU temps are one of the main reasons why PC gaming makes the room so hot .
You can't even touch a GPU heatsink if it's been under load for awhile because it will burn your hand like it's a hot pan (been there).

 

[Ender910_v1legacy]

Really? From the reviews I've seen, they said that Zotac are pretty good at factory overclocked GPUs, hell the AMP! editions are usually the best versions of a given card(and oft, the most expensive).

Yeah... I might've jumped the gun a little. I'd never heard of Zotac until now, and assumed it was a more obscure brand. (Turns out it's actually Sapphire's nVidia brand, which isn't bad, though they do sometimes run a little warmer).

Could be that the game is running without a framerate cap. I had the same issue with FTL when I wanted to testrun my new mobo+RAM (almost cooked my CPU in the process).

 

[Sigmund Av Volsung]

I wouldn't worry too much as the operating temp under load from Nvidia themselves is 97c.

Just because you have room around the fan it doesn't mean you have good airflow either, as suggested above run with the side off and see what it's at. It's also worth noting that past a certain point some cases cool better with the side on as it creates a continuous steady flow which is better than pulling in static surrounding air. Where do you live, is it hot there?

North London: suffice to say, no, it isn't hot at all.

I guess I could leave the case open, but I dont want any dust from the carpet(its close to one) getting inside.

 

[Sigmund Av Volsung]

Really? From the reviews I've seen, they said that Zotac are pretty good at factory overclocked GPUs, hell the AMP! editions are usually the best versions of a given card(and oft, the most expensive).

Yeah... I might've jumped the gun a little. I'd never heard of Zotac until now, and assumed it was a more obscure brand. (Turns out it's actually Sapphire's nVidia brand, which isn't bad, though they do sometimes run a little warmer).

Could be that the game is running without a framerate cap. I had the same issue with FTL when I wanted to testrun my new mobo+RAM (almost cooked my CPU in the process).

How would I enable an fps cap in The Witcher 2?

I guess I could run it with V-sync on, I suppose(hopefully that wont rid me of that 60fps goodness).

GPU's just basically get ridiculously hot. I know it seems high, but I wouldn't worry about those temps that much (unless the card is rated WAY below that).

GPU temps are one of the main reasons why PC gaming makes the room so hot .
You can't even touch a GPU heatsink if it's been under load for awhile because it will burn your hand like it's a hot pan (been there).

I thought PC Gamers made the room so hot because of our natural muscular figure, tanned skin and golden mane.

And I have touched the GPU under load; it wasnt too bad, only started hurting if I left my finger on it for more than 10 seconds.

 

[GoaThief]

I wouldn't worry too much as the operating temp under load from Nvidia themselves is 97c.

Just because you have room around the fan it doesn't mean you have good airflow either, as suggested above run with the side off and see what it's at. It's also worth noting that past a certain point some cases cool better with the side on as it creates a continuous steady flow which is better than pulling in static surrounding air. Where do you live, is it hot there?

North London: suffice to say, no, it isn't hot at all.

I guess I could leave the case open, but I dont want any dust from the carpet(its close to one) getting inside.

Put a sheet down if you need to but I wouldn't fret about dust just from an hour's testing or so.

Vsync will cap at 60fps usually so I wouldn't worry about losing anything, it will introduce input lag however which I absolutely despise with a keyboard and mouse - can only play with a controller whilst it's on. Try one troubleshooting step at a time so you know what will help and/or how much. As said though, official figures put it at 97c under load so you're not miles away by a long shot.

 

[Sigmund Av Volsung]

I wouldn't worry too much as the operating temp under load from Nvidia themselves is 97c.

Just because you have room around the fan it doesn't mean you have good airflow either, as suggested above run with the side off and see what it's at. It's also worth noting that past a certain point some cases cool better with the side on as it creates a continuous steady flow which is better than pulling in static surrounding air. Where do you live, is it hot there?

North London: suffice to say, no, it isn't hot at all.

I guess I could leave the case open, but I dont want any dust from the carpet(its close to one) getting inside.

Put a sheet down if you need to but I wouldn't fret about dust just from an hour's testing or so.

Vsync will cap at 60fps usually so I wouldn't worry about losing anything, it will introduce input lag however which I absolutely despise with a keyboard and mouse - can only play with a controller whilst it's on. Try one troubleshooting step at a time so you know what will help and/or how much. As said though, official figures put it at 97c under load so you're not miles away by a long shot.

So, if I am at the official max. tdp, there's nothing to worry about?

That'd be great, because the temp. is what is making me apprehensive about playing the game.

Also I dont think that there should be input lag on the Witcher 2; CD Projekt are really good engineers and have really good pc games and pc centric features.

 

[GoaThief]

I wouldn't worry too much as the operating temp under load from Nvidia themselves is 97c.

Just because you have room around the fan it doesn't mean you have good airflow either, as suggested above run with the side off and see what it's at. It's also worth noting that past a certain point some cases cool better with the side on as it creates a continuous steady flow which is better than pulling in static surrounding air. Where do you live, is it hot there?

North London: suffice to say, no, it isn't hot at all.

I guess I could leave the case open, but I dont want any dust from the carpet(its close to one) getting inside.

Put a sheet down if you need to but I wouldn't fret about dust just from an hour's testing or so.

Vsync will cap at 60fps usually so I wouldn't worry about losing anything, it will introduce input lag however which I absolutely despise with a keyboard and mouse - can only play with a controller whilst it's on. Try one troubleshooting step at a time so you know what will help and/or how much. As said though, official figures put it at 97c under load so you're not miles away by a long shot.

So, if I am at the official max. tdp, there's nothing to worry about?

That'd be great, because the temp. is what is making me apprehensive about playing the game.

Also I dont think that there should be input lag on the Witcher 2; CD Projekt are really good engineers and have really good pc games and pc centric features.

As long as it's not run at that day in, day out then you'll be perfectly fine for periods at 97c.

There will be input lag with Vsync, there's nothing you can do about it except reduce the maximum rendered frames from windows which reduces but not eliminates. There's nothing CDPR can do as it's in Vsync's very nature.

 

[Sigmund Av Volsung]

I wouldn't worry too much as the operating temp under load from Nvidia themselves is 97c.

Just because you have room around the fan it doesn't mean you have good airflow either, as suggested above run with the side off and see what it's at. It's also worth noting that past a certain point some cases cool better with the side on as it creates a continuous steady flow which is better than pulling in static surrounding air. Where do you live, is it hot there?

North London: suffice to say, no, it isn't hot at all.

I guess I could leave the case open, but I dont want any dust from the carpet(its close to one) getting inside.

Put a sheet down if you need to but I wouldn't fret about dust just from an hour's testing or so.

Vsync will cap at 60fps usually so I wouldn't worry about losing anything, it will introduce input lag however which I absolutely despise with a keyboard and mouse - can only play with a controller whilst it's on. Try one troubleshooting step at a time so you know what will help and/or how much. As said though, official figures put it at 97c under load so you're not miles away by a long shot.

So, if I am at the official max. tdp, there's nothing to worry about?

That'd be great, because the temp. is what is making me apprehensive about playing the game.

Also I dont think that there should be input lag on the Witcher 2; CD Projekt are really good engineers and have really good pc games and pc centric features.

As long as it's not run at that day in, day out then you'll be perfectly fine for periods at 97c.

There will be input lag with Vsync, there's nothing you can do about it except reduce the maximum rendered frames from windows which reduces but not eliminates. There's nothing CDPR can do as it's in Vsync's very nature.

I do plan to play TW2 and finish it this time, which will mean that I will probably play it up to 4/5 hours each day.

Is that a bad idea?

 

[GoaThief]

I wouldn't worry too much as the operating temp under load from Nvidia themselves is 97c.

Just because you have room around the fan it doesn't mean you have good airflow either, as suggested above run with the side off and see what it's at. It's also worth noting that past a certain point some cases cool better with the side on as it creates a continuous steady flow which is better than pulling in static surrounding air. Where do you live, is it hot there?

North London: suffice to say, no, it isn't hot at all.

I guess I could leave the case open, but I dont want any dust from the carpet(its close to one) getting inside.

Put a sheet down if you need to but I wouldn't fret about dust just from an hour's testing or so.

Vsync will cap at 60fps usually so I wouldn't worry about losing anything, it will introduce input lag however which I absolutely despise with a keyboard and mouse - can only play with a controller whilst it's on. Try one troubleshooting step at a time so you know what will help and/or how much. As said though, official figures put it at 97c under load so you're not miles away by a long shot.

So, if I am at the official max. tdp, there's nothing to worry about?

That'd be great, because the temp. is what is making me apprehensive about playing the game.

Also I dont think that there should be input lag on the Witcher 2; CD Projekt are really good engineers and have really good pc games and pc centric features.

As long as it's not run at that day in, day out then you'll be perfectly fine for periods at 97c.

There will be input lag with Vsync, there's nothing you can do about it except reduce the maximum rendered frames from windows which reduces but not eliminates. There's nothing CDPR can do as it's in Vsync's very nature.

I do plan to play TW2 and finish it this time, which will mean that I will probably play it up to 4/5 hours each day.

Is that a bad idea?

As long as it doesn't go over 97c I'd play it if it were me but others might not. Nvidia cards have run very hot for a while and I think some panic excessively and somewhat needlessly. I would look at reducing temps for the long run however, so probably best if you do some troubleshooting suggestions that have been given to you in this thread anyway.