[SOLVED] Graphics artifacts due to overheating?

acordeon

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Mar 12, 2015
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I have the Palit KalmX passive graphics card: http://www.palit.com/palit/vgapro.php?id=2823 which has a big heatsink but no fans. I bought it because I wanted a very quiet machine. I have a big case w/ 3 case fans which provide good airflow.

The machine is very quiet. But I am finding that the GPU quickly gets very hot under moderate load, and I'm seeing graphical artifacts (flashes, pixelization, random lines, etc.) These seem to occur mostly when the temp gets up around 70 C or higher. Sometimes it crashes the game. It's not generally causing lag or dropped frames, just the artifacts. I have buyer's regret, but too late to return it.

Based on articles like this http://www.playtool.com/pages/artifacts/artifacts.html my hypothesis is that the GPU memory is overheating. This problem is mentioned in this review of the card too: https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/passive-cooling-geforce-radeon-test,4960-5.html (which I hadn't seen before buying it)

What I've tried is adjusting the fan curves of my case fans to blow harder when CPU heats up. That helps a little. But since the CPU doesn't heat up nearly as quickly as the GPU, it doesn't help enough - it's not responsive enough to the GPU temp. And of course makes my machine less quiet, including at times when GPU isn't under load.

I could use advice on the best remedy here. Clearly I could buy a new GPU, but short of that the only thing I could think of would be to get one of these https://www.amazon.com/Nzxt-Channel-Digital-Controller-AC-GRDP3-M1/dp/B075BBJZG2 which I understand can throttle fans based on GPU temp. But it's one or the other, right? A single fan can't be responsive to both CPU and GPU temps? If that's true then I'd have some concern about overheating under CPU load.

If you have other ideas, I'm all ears. Thanks!

 

7664stefan

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Jul 18, 2013
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Hey, even for passively cooled GPUs a good airflow in your case is the pre-requisite.
If you asked me I would go for a low cost and very efficient solution by attaching a low RPM 120mm case fan to your GPU cooler. You can simply use cable ties for this and your issues will be solved.
 

acordeon

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Mar 12, 2015
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Aha, hadn't thought of that Stefan. If it is the memory on the GPU overheating, would you expect a slow fan on the heatsink give enough cooling to cool off the RAM? And do I not need to worry about the heat melting the zip ties?

Never done that sort of thing before. Can you give me or point me to instructions? Most examples I see online use two fans in a push/pull arrangement. If I'm only using one would you recommend push or pull?


 

7664stefan

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Jul 18, 2013
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Well, putting a 120mm fan on the GPU cooler will only improve the situation. Best if of course setting up the entire airflow in your case properly with at least 1 120mm intake, and 1 120mm exhaust fan. This is the very basic setup you need for a passive GPU where I would suggest to double intake and exhaust fans.

Check this out: https://www.tomshardware.co.uk/cooling-airflow-heatsink,review-32315.html
 
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