My Graphics card is overheating and I don't know why....

July 19, 2009 7:02 PM from

Hello everyone, about a month ago the fan on my geforce 9500 GT broke and it overheated and fried. I replaced it with a Geforce 7950 GT that had a much better fan on it. However, Today I was playing a mod for unreal tournament 3 called the haunting (really good mod if you have UT3 you should check it out), and I had been playing on and off for about 3 hours or so, when all of a sudden The screen announces it has no connection and goes to sleep, and the sound kept looping until I had to manually restart it. I unplugged everything, sat it on my bed with the side panel off for an hour or two until it felt sufficiently cool, and then plugged it back in and restarted the game. I started playing a round, and after about 1-2 minutes the same thing happened as before. I dont understand why it happened so fast that time. Anyone know what happened or how I can fix this? The fan on the 7950 is working perfectly fine so I dont know whats causing it htis time.

88,397 views 35 replies

Reply #1 July 19, 2009 7:27 PM from

WinCustomize Forums Top

just a suggestion, Have you tried increasing the RPM's of the fan?. Do a google search and see if you can find any of the software available that allows you to do this. It may help. Also have you removed the card from the PC and checked to make sure there are no blockages in the fan casing stopping the airflow?. My card was over heating and i removed it to find that the fan enclosure was totally clogged and once i had cleaned it out everything was back to normal again. Good luck mate

Reply #2 July 19, 2009 7:29 PM from

WinCustomize Forums Top

The simple question could be are the other fans (if there are more then one) in the computer working?

Is the computer case a decent size that allows for proper ventillation?

How is the CPU cooled, heatsink or fan?

Someone who has some real knowledge about this problem will more than likely answer

Reply #3 July 19, 2009 8:16 PM from

WinCustomize Forums Top

You could use GPU-Z and check your graphics card's temperature to see if that's what is really overheating. It's possible that it's not your graphics card at all and it's something else.. Wish I knew how to make a clickable link, but you can copy and paste the address.

Thanks Mr. Wizard.

Reply #4 July 19, 2009 8:23 PM from

WinCustomize Forums Top

Download EVGA Precision. LINK It will tell you what your fan speed % is,allow control of it, show gpu temp,as well as allow a few other tweaks. My 8800GT came with the fan set at 30% by default,far too low,imo.

Reply #5 July 19, 2009 9:03 PM from

WinCustomize Forums Top

If the problem is with the GPU fan replace it with a liquid cooled solution.

Reply #6 July 19, 2009 9:22 PM from

Demigod Forums Top

Quoting kona0197, reply 5

If the problem is with the GPU fan replace it with a liquid cooled solution.

i hope you are making a joke

Reply #7 July 19, 2009 9:24 PM from

Demigod Forums Top

Oh my god thank you wizard! The an was set at 30% by default and was idling at 62 degrees celsius

Reply #8 July 19, 2009 9:28 PM from

WinCustomize Forums Top

No joke. They have liquid cooling solutions out there for the video cards. Keeps the GPU nice and cool.

Here is an example:

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3071626&CatId=1054

Sorry - I can't seem to make the link clickable.

Reply #9 July 19, 2009 9:29 PM from

Demigod Forums Top

Quoting kona0197, reply 8

No joke. They have liquid cooling solutions out there for the video cards. Keeps the GPU nice and cool.

Reply #10 July 19, 2009 9:32 PM from

WinCustomize Forums Top

I'm not trying to make a joke here...

Reply #11 July 19, 2009 9:34 PM from

WinCustomize Forums Top

The an was set at 30% by default and was idling at 62 degrees celsius

That's a pretty high idle temp....doesn't leave much room for usage load before you'll get to a pickling temp.

Case airflow must be less than ideal....;)

Reply #12 July 19, 2009 9:35 PM from

Demigod Forums Top

Quoting kona0197, reply 10

I'm not trying to make a joke here...

i honestly can't tell if you are kidding or not. i hope you are. saying get water cooling cause one overheating complaint is just stupid

Reply #13 July 19, 2009 9:39 PM from

WinCustomize Forums Top

I was just offering a different view. It was not meant as a joke. If the fan based cooling system can't cut it then my advice was to get a water based cooling system. How is that funny?

Reply #14 July 19, 2009 9:52 PM from

WinCustomize Forums Top

Quoting Resist_The_Dawn, reply 7

Oh my god thank you wizard! The an was set at 30% by default and was idling at 62 degrees celsius

My fan speed is set to 0, but my card doesn't have a fan.

It runs at 62C normal and 70 or so under load (games, etc.). It's a Geforce 8500 GT (512MB). Never had any problems at all.

Also, thanks for the EVGA Precision link, Wizard.

Reply #15 July 19, 2009 9:54 PM from

Demigod Forums Top

Quoting kona0197, reply 13

I was just offering a different view. It was not meant as a joke. If the fan based cooling system can't cut it then my advice was to get a water based cooling system. How is that funny?

i may have misread, your first post gave the impression of liquid cooling the entire system, which is overkill

Reply #16 July 19, 2009 9:59 PM from

WinCustomize Forums Top

Nah. Just the GPU. Sorry.

Reply #17 July 19, 2009 10:03 PM from

Elemental Forums Top

Yeah my Evga 285GTX is preset to 40% fanspeed, though I usually dont use anything above 60%. ALWAYS get software for your heat/controls, etc from the maker. Learned that the hardway...

Reply #18 July 19, 2009 11:06 PM from

Demigod Forums Top

Okay well I turned the fail on full bear but still the same problem. This is strange because I've been using the same case and card for long enough that it shouldnt just be happening all of a sudden. I'm thinking that Maybe the first time I did overheat it, but now its just screwed up and cant properly cool itself once that happened. Anyways I'm running it off of the onboard 7100 which is less than ideal. But its all I can do atm. Anyone have any other ideas why this might be happening?

Reply #19 July 19, 2009 11:10 PM from

WinCustomize Forums Top

Motherboard overheating?

Reply #20 July 20, 2009 12:02 AM from

Demigod Forums Top

I don't think so. The GPU was extremely hot everytime this happened and I touched the MOBO to see if maybe it was overheating too and it wasnt cool. So no I'm 99% sure its the GPU.

Reply #21 July 20, 2009 12:20 AM from

GalCiv2 Forums Top

Hey, I downloaded the EVGA thing, but when I tried to run it after installation, it said "Failed to initialize NVAPI wrapper" I recently downloaded a new driver, but how could this mess it up. Can someone help me?

Reply #22 July 20, 2009 12:38 AM from

Demigod Forums Top

Maybe you should just try reinstalling it. That works more often than not haha.

Reply #23 July 20, 2009 1:19 AM from

WinCustomize Forums Top

Try a different video card. If it works ok then there is an issue with the one you hasve.

Reply #24 July 20, 2009 11:19 AM from

Demigod Forums Top

Yes well unfortunately I don't happen to have a spare video card lying around hah.

Reply #25 July 20, 2009 11:41 AM from

WinCustomize Forums Top

So no I'm 99% sure its the GPU.

If it's a used card,make sure it is clean,and airflow is unrestricted by wiring or other components. If you have other slots available,you may want to move it to one with better airflow. Also make sure it is firmly seated in its slot and any extra power connection is firmly attached as well.

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