HD4850 85oC IDLE...!?!?!?

[afk46]

Hello,

My computer is equipped with a Sapphire HD4850. The card gets to 85C with a load of 0% and fan speed at 40% (if I set it to 60% I get 75C IDLE...) I know that these cards are designed to run hot but are such numbers normal, even for a 4850? (I.E. is there something wrong with its cooling system?) Games (ETW) seems to work fine at first altought I get some slowdowns after an hour our two. The rest of my case stays cool; CPU being at 25 and mobo at 34.

Aside from setting the fan speed manually with CCC is there something else I could/should do?
Are there some risks to letting the card manage its fan speed? Could it fry?
I read about VGA cooling systems such as Arctic Cooling S1, Zalman VF-1000 and ThermalTake DuOrb. Whould they be any good for this card and most important, are they easy to install on such a card? (I have changed some computer parts in the past but never installed a cooling system...)

Thank you very much for your help.

Jim

Specs:
CPU: Intel Q9450
Mobo: Asus P5Q
Ram: 4GB PC6400
Video card: Sapphire Radeon HD4850 512MB
PSU: Antec 500W
Case: Antec Sonata III

 

[blackhawk1928]

hmm very hot card. check in your case if there is any airflow going through it, if not maybe you might have a problem.
here are your first fundamental steps.
-Check the rear and bottom grills of the cards where air is exhausted, are they blocked in any way?, is there plenty of space behind the computer for exhausted air to leave?
-Try to take off the side panel of your computer and see what happens...(i took my side panel off and ever since my computers side is open and my card runs 15 degrees cooler)
-Maybe your heatsink isn't in its proper seating, try while the card is on, carefully press on the side of it and or on the top and bottom and see how temperature changes (it might burn you but be carefull with your card and yourself)
-Until the problem hase been fixed increase you fan speed to 80-100 percent becuase such high temps aren't good for it
-VGA and PCI Slot coolers are extremely helpful

-Try those and see what happens, if no results and we will further trouble shoot.
If your card has warranty and nothing is helping it then RMA it.

 

[edeawillrule]

Is it a single slot version?

 

[afk46]

Yes, I think it is a single slot version...

Also, just to add to the temps I already measured, I just hit 115C after playing Empite Total War for 15 mins... That's scary knowing that I played this games for 3 hours last night.

I'll double check that airflow but the 120mm fan right above the card seems to do a decent job for the rest of the components...

Oh, and BTW, my card seems permanently underclocked to GPU 500mHz and Memory 750mHz... Is the card damaged or its just trying to protect itself?

Thanks for your help!

Jim

 

[edeawillrule]

Clean the card's cooler out with compressed air and check the temps after that. Anything 110 and over can and most likely will cause damage to the gpu.
If the temps are still high definitely RMA it.

 

[evolve60]

its throttling back to keep itself from being damaged from the intense temps, so its just trying to protect itself

 

[NuclearShadow]

There is no logical reason why it should be running so hot. I would RMA it. I honestly can't imagine the card being that hot from dust alone. At 0% load being at 85C is unacceptable. I suppose it could be the heatsink but I wouldn't bother just send it back.

Also a quick question what are you using to get your CPU @ 25C that seems a bit low...

 

[afk46]

Thank you all for your help...

I added a 120mm fan just in front of the card and that lowererd the temps by... 3C!!!

I will install an aftermarket cooler on it but I am not interested in paying more than 30 bucks for it... Here in Canada, one of the things I could get for that price is the Zalman ZF700. I know it is fairly old but would it do a decent job on the card? (Say at least 60 IDLE and 80 LOAD). In any case, I doubt it could be worse than what I have for now and I do not plan to overclock...

Thanks you for your help!

To NuclearShadow: Well 25 seems to be for all CPU... Each core goes now between 30 and 35 now that I have 2 120mm fans.

 

[afk46]

Also, I was wondering, most VGA coolers only come with 8 ram heatsinks, Is it enough? Ppl at the hardware shop told me that it would since the stock cooler had only 8, but I read that some ppl installed 12. Again, I am only interested in getting that GPU temps back to normal and I do not intend to overclock it. Thanks!

 

[EXT64]

Just a couple notes. 500/750 are the 2-D clocks for the card (when not in game/use).

I got the Akasa Vortexx cooler (with only 8 ramsinks) and it dropped idle to around 40C and max load to about 60C. There are only 8 ram modules on that card I think, so I'm not sure what the point of 12 would be unless you put some on the VRMs (which is something that should have some cooling on them).

 

[blackhawk1928]

Okay if the 120mm you said only lowered it by 3 degrees then that almost certainly pinpoints to the heatsink as being your culprit. IF its not in its proper seating then there can be no cooling. However I may be wrong so dont interpret my post as being a fact. I would RMA it ASAP.

 

[EXT64]

Yes, it also good to note that removing/changing the cooler voids the warranty. So if it is still under warranty, it may be best to go that route first. Up to you though.

 

[afk46]

Thanks a lot ppl!

Unfortunately I cannot RMA the Card... so I'll just go with the Zalman cooler. As for the VRAM heatsinks, I confused them with the VRMs, I have heatsinks for my 8 VRAM chips but none for my 4 VRM. Are heatsinks for the VRMs essentials (there are none included with my cooler...) Thanks

 

[blackhawk1928]

Thanks a lot ppl!

Unfortunately I cannot RMA the Card... so I'll just go with the Zalman cooler. As for the VRAM heatsinks, I confused them with the VRMs, I have heatsinks for my 8 VRAM chips but none for my 4 VRM. Are heatsinks for the VRMs essentials (there are none included with my cooler...) Thanks

Well...there are many really good custom coolers so make sure to buy a good one that will do the job and make sure you buy one that wont break the day after you buy it.

-Best of luck

 

[EXT64]

Well, for my cooler they said as long as there is airflow over them they will be ok, but I attached a heatsink to them anyway. I'd say that as long as something moves air over them, you should be fine at stock settings, though I wouldn't recommend OCing just to be safe.

 

[afk46]

Thanks EXT64 for your explanations.

What kind of heatsink would you recommend for this? All I have for now are some cheap electronics heatsinks for "TO-220" and an old 486 heatsink. I heard ppl talking about "recycling" the one that came with stock cooler. Has anyone tried it?

Thanks!

 

[afk46]

Also, a Northbridge heatsink from Zalman seemed to have pretty much the same size as the stock cooler. Is it something that could do the job? Has anyone tried it? Thanks!

 

[EXT64]

I've seen people just cut off the back portion of the stock cooler and I think that works ok. It is probably just aluminum so it shouldn't be too hard. I bought a Zalman aluminum heatsink designed specifically for 4850 VRMs (though I did have to cut it down a little to fit under my heatsink/fan). You might be able to find the steps and pictures online if you search for 4850 aftermarket cooler installation.