Hot card-will it melt wires?

[mickeddie]

I just installed a new GPU that is idling at 81c. Is this too hot, and will it melt the wire insulation for some cables touching it?

 

[blackwidow_rsa]

Holy sh..t! What gpu is it? Idling at 81c is very high, you might want to check the circulation in your case

 

[mickeddie]

IT's an ATI hd4850 (Asus). Accdording to Asus tech support an 80c idle is not uncommon.

 

[Nik_I]

the 4850 idles very hot, so it's not uncommon. and i think it depends on where the wires are touching the card. not all parts of the card are actually all that hot.

 

[robx46]

IT's an ATI hd4850 (Asus). Accdording to Asus tech support an 80c idle is not uncommon.

Just because they say it is common doesn't make it OK. Nothing should idle at 80c. But I would be even more worried about your load temps because that is where the damage would really be done. Not sure what 3rd party coolers there are for the 4850, but I would get one. Or at the very least crank your fan to 100% all the time if you haven't already.
The 4850 is a nice high performance bargain card, but it would have been nice if ATI had focused a bit more on cooling rather than cheaply made cards and good benchmarks.

 

[ro3dog]

My over clocked 4870 idles at 73-79c ,at full load at 93c.Played Hellgate for more than 4 hours.

 

[evongugg]

My Northbridge idles at 81º. The heatsink is only warm to the touch.
I have not had any problems with it.

 

[blackwidow_rsa]

Wish amd would get their drivers in order so that there isn't any more hot gpu threads

 

[rammedstein]

idling at 80oC is fine, as long as the load temps aren't unbelievably high, people say "oh noes, idle temps of 80oc!!!" but they forget that the fan is essentially not spinning at all and that at load the fan will spin up and keep the gpu cool. My cards are running off cocaine and a nuclear reactor, they idle at 85~oC but their load temps are no different.

 

[rodney_ws]

I guess it depends on what metal you're trying to avoid melting...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_elements_by_melting_point

 

[aziraphale]

No it definitely won't melt the cable insulation.

 

[nickr336]

Increase the fan speed a bit and it will idle at 54C. Google it. You are not alone man. It's been discussed a million times. It won't melt the wires, but you want it to run cooler to last longer. So, go and increase the fan speed. Nothing else to talk about here.

 

[timaahhh]

Zip tie your cables so they don't touch stuff.

 

[dhvd79a]

Is this too hot, and will it melt the wire insulation for some cables touching it?

I think the melting point of the modern polymers used for wire insulation is in the neighborhood of 200c - 300c.

Your 81c temp wont even phase them.

dave

 

[fugben]

Interesting... Mine idles at 48 C and loads at 56 C with fan set at 30 %. hmm

 

[invisik]

OH WOW and i thought my 9800gx2 (2 cards in 1)at load 84c was scary thats ur idle. there seems to be something wrong it supposed to idle i believe 60c but 80c rma the card. But wait im not sure cuz i dont own one but i dont think thats its supposed to get that hot.

http://www.guru3d.com/article/amd-ati-radeon-hd-4850-review-force-3d--powercolor/7
"No flashy graphics here as there was no time for it, but the 4850 as a single slot product will get hot. Idle temps are roughly 50-60 Degrees C, yet when the GPU is fully utilized it'll reach 85 Degrees C quite fast and easily. You can physically burn yourself if you touch the cards copper parts during a stressed session."

 

[mickeddie]

Increase the fan speed a bit and it will idle at 54C. Google it. You are not alone man. It's been discussed a million times. It won't melt the wires, but you want it to run cooler to last longer. So, go and increase the fan speed. Nothing else to talk about here.

I finally did that, Nick...my idle now is 52. Thanks!

 

[sabot00]

dont worry my 7300GT got to 110c and it didnt melt a thing

 

[gamerk316]

dont worry my 7300GT got to 110c and it didnt melt a thing

My old Pentium D DID get that high, and I melted a USB hub.

 

[th_username]

this is best cooler for you gpu thermaltake duorb

 

[drumr1829]

if you're really worried about the temps try using some arctic ceramique on the GPU chip...just a little dot though. If you're not worried about shorting out anything use arctic silver 5....what kinda case do you have? If there's a slot for an intake fan on the side near the graphics card I'd stick one there. Most graphics card fans stay around 20-30% (i think) use speedfan or other utility to throttle just around audibility of all other fans. This happens to be 60% for me. :/

 

[mineral]

You can increase the fan speed or buy and after market cooler and have some room for ocing

check this out:
http://www.nvnews.net/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=115365

http://www.hardwarecanucks.com/foru...eon-hd4870-512mb-graphics-card-review-21.html

 

[copasetic]

I read in one of the reviews that ATI puts the maximum safe temperature of the 4800's at 120C. 80C isn't going to damage anything, it won't even make it unstable, but it's always nice to have it run cooler.

I have mine set to 30% fan speed for normal use, 45% in games. Keeps the card at about 54/73 idle/load.

 

[TheGreatGrapeApe]

Zip tie your cables so they don't touch stuff.

+1 FTW. [:thegreatgrapeape:6]

Seriously if not for asthetics, just the airflow issue is enough, especially if you're worried about a hot case/card.