High idle temps on a GTX 980 reference model.

[daynwsowulf]

Hello Tom's Hardware experts, thanks for visiting my thread.

I just got the GTX 980 for a cheap price, it's brand new on the box, and it's the reference model, with a blower fan.

It's great perform very well and all. But the temps are scary.

When playing it reaches to 74c it's okay, since my old GTX 960 used to reach the same temp.
But when idle it sits at around 52/55c while my previous GTX 960 would go all the way down to 42c.

Is it normal? Could it be that the thermal past on this videocard is not well placed? Should I open it and tinker around?

 

[Gnuffi]

reference cards run hotter than non-reference, thats normal, on top of that the 980 is a "hot beast" so to speak" so seems normal so far, all depends on your case cooling
(ofc if you have arctic northpole style case cooling those temps are not alright 😉)
a reference card benefit very strongly from a side panel fan at/below the gpu for a fresh cool intake to the poor reference cooler
check/improve case airflow/add side vent fan, then check temps again
also what ar your ambient temps? (a guy in sahara need better cooling than a guy in alaska 😉 )

 

[junkeymonkey]

and it maybe different bios set fan profiles between the cards and that the 980 is a more powerful card and may heat up a bit more ??

''When playing it reaches to 74c it's okay,'' 80/85c is when it will start to look to throttle 74c is fine

I would check your idle fan speeds and be sure your total case air flow is adequate for low fan rpm cooling needs

[for what its worth]

'' The default fan profile for 780/980 series is set for ~80C at which point the GPU will begin to throttle unless you use a custom fan profile''

http://forums.evga.com/GTX-980-SC-Fan-Curve-for-maximum-performance-BIOS-Update-m2237047.aspx

though I don't yet see or recall a reference card having that -0- fan thing that the fans don't spin up until the card reaches say 60c ?? it could be something like that , who knows ?

''I just got the GTX 980 '' what card do you have exactly ??

 

[JackNaylorPE]

The reference 980 should run at about 33-36C, 79-80 under load

http://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/nvidia_geforce_gtx_970_and_980_reference_review,8.html
https://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/NVIDIA/GeForce_GTX_980/30.html

So no, it's not normal ... how is case cooling ? ... a good starting point is one 140mm fan for every 100 watts of load

The GTX 980 throttling point is 80C on reference cards

 

[junkeymonkey]

'' 52/55c while my previous GTX 960 would go all the way down to 42c.''

I mean the 960 is getting to 42 ??? makes my think case air flow or ambient room air temps are hot to start with ?? heck my clogged up 7850 stays at 33c here in s texas with out ac running

now sounds like high room temps and poor air flow to me

 

[daynwsowulf]

@Gnuffi I live in Brazil, and it's hot autumn here, day temps reaching to 34/36c. Yeah it's hot here.

@junkeymonkey It's pretty hot here on certain seasons,Like the current one, so the idle temps can be pretty high, at around +10c compared to the ambient. If it's 36c ambient, the hardware may heat up a bit more to, let's say, 42c. It's normal here, we brazilians consider 42c a "cool" temp! haha

About the case flow, it has 2 120mm front fans, and one 120mm back exhaust fan. Side panel is made out of glass, there is no way to make an air entrance on the side, only if I remove the side panel, which will dust the hardware real quickly.

Just to note, my i7 4790 (Stock cooler (I know, ew, I will fix that real soon).) sits at around 45c idle, and hard drives are always around 36/38c. It sounds normal to me, but the 54c on the GPU is what worries me, it may decrease the life span of the GPU.

I'll consider this not normal then, I'll make a custom fan curve, and see if it resolves, it will make some noise, but I'm okay with it. Just wait for the winter, when it gets around 11/15c ambient temps, and everything should be ok by then.

Sorry, I'm new to this site, so I don't know how to directly reply.

 

[Gnuffi]

@Gnuffi I live in Brazil, and it's hot autumn here, day temps reaching to 34/36c. Yeah it's hot here.

@junkeymonkey It's pretty hot here on certain seasons,Like the current one, so the idle temps can be pretty high, at around +10c compared to the ambient. If it's 36c ambient, the hardware may heat up a bit more to, let's say, 42c. It's normal here, we brazilians consider 42c a "cool" temp! haha

About the case flow, it has 2 120mm front fans, and one 120mm back exhaust fan. Side panel is made out of glass, there is no way to make an air entrance on the side, only if I remove the side panel, which will dust the hardware real quickly.

Just to note, my i7 4790 (Stock cooler (I know, ew, I will fix that real soon).) sits at around 45c idle, and hard drives are always around 36/38c. It sounds normal to me, but the 54c on the GPU is what worries me, it may decrease the life span of the GPU.

Sorry, I'm new to this site, so I don't know how to directly reply.

if its that hot in your room, and you case fans are set up such,
a reference card running those temps idle, doesnt seem unreasonable.. remember they have bad cooling compared to non.reference
it should not decrease your lifespan, no worries, just dont let it hit 80+

 

[daynwsowulf]

if its that hot in your room, and you case fans are set up such,
a reference card running those temps idle, doesnt seem unreasonable.. remember they have bad cooling compared to non.reference
it should not decrease your lifespan, no worries, just dont let it hit 80+

I found the reply button, and thanks, now I know why this was such a cheap card compared to the others xD. Still it was worth it. And I'll make sure to never hit 80+

 

[junkeymonkey]

don't forget things like 144hz monitors and some of them NVidia programs like gsink or shadowplay or what ever there called can make cards run up and hotter then normal idle ? [ may look in to that]

thing is your full load temps at that 74/76c is not bad at all that's where it counts


read from ''sajin'' posts for a example

http://forums.evga.com/GTX-980-ti-Not-downclocking-when-idle-m2390607.aspx

 

[daynwsowulf]

don't forget things like 144hz monitors and some of them NVidia programs like gsink or shadowplay or what ever there called can make cards run up and hotter then normal idle ? [ may look in to that]

thing is your full load temps at that 74/76c is not bad at all that's where it counts


read from ''sajin'' posts for a example

http://forums.evga.com/GTX-980-ti-Not-downclocking-when-idle-m2390607.aspx

Thanks guys, shame I can't pick 3 of you as best answer, since all of you helped with good info, would be unfair to choose one after another.

Just one more question and it's done. Is it okay to leave the fan speed always high? I mean 80% or even 100%, should it decrease the fan life span? I made a fan curve where it will get to 100% when it reaches 80c. And it will stay at 80% fan speed when 74c.

 

[JackNaylorPE]

About the case flow, it has 2 120mm front fans, and one 120mm back exhaust fan. Side panel is made out of glass, there is no way to make an air entrance on the side, only if I remove the side panel, which will dust the hardware real quickly.

The card alone pushes 130 watts, the CPU about 90 ...add 40 for the MoBo, and 40 for everything else and you're at say 300 watts .... three 140mm fans would be recommended for normal 23 ish ambient temps.... I'd use four. Using 120mm fans you have to add 1/3rd more (75 watts per fan) ... so w/ 120mm fans, 4 fans is what I'd use minimum, more if concerned about noise or if local temps gave you more than 23C ambient.

So while yes, your card is running hotter than expected even given local conditions, it's in no way a problem as you are still below throttling temps. If you can't make it throttle while running Furmark, the extra heat has no real negative site effect and any "real" way that would affect your equipment during its anticipated service life.

 

[junkeymonkey]

maybe suited better in your environment

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814487144

I also seen guys claim them cases with the big fans in them can disrupt the cards fan air flow as well ?? I cant prove that ?? maybe experiment things around like reverse the push pull of the fans or something

 

[Gnuffi]

don't forget things like 144hz monitors and some of them NVidia programs like gsink or shadowplay or what ever there called can make cards run up and hotter then normal idle ? [ may look in to that]

thing is your full load temps at that 74/76c is not bad at all that's where it counts


read from ''sajin'' posts for a example

http://forums.evga.com/GTX-980-ti-Not-downclocking-when-idle-m2390607.aspx

Thanks guys, shame I can't pick 3 of you as best answer, since all of you helped with good info, would be unfair to choose one after another.

Just one more question and it's done. Is it okay to leave the fan speed always high? I mean 80% or even 100%, should it decrease the fan life span? I made a fan curve where it will get to 100% when it reaches 80c. And it will stay at 80% fan speed when 74c.

fan curve is always better
but depending on fan quality it might not make it last "much longer",

 

[junkeymonkey]

maybe increase the idle fan speed ?? say at idle the fan is at 20% bump it up to say 25/33 % at idle and that should nt affect the max speed you got set

for a reference card at full running load 74c is fine and dandy no issue there