How to cool a 6870?

[chilypepper]

I was playing the bf3 beta today and the game crashed presumably because the card hit 91c and so how might I be able to cool the card? for less than 20$ and also will crossfire cool it down a bit because the load would be evenly spread?

 

[PartialGenious]

First off list your PC specs as this will better help determine how to cool your card better. Next, although 91c is pretty hot depending on the card it is not to the point of shutdown temps (I believe, others here may know a little better) there is the possibility something else could have cause the shutdown. Do you have temps of your CPU as well?

Anyways, not knowing any details my first suggestion would be to clean out your PC with canned air. I actually just had a similar issue. After reading here about CPU/GPU temps I decided to check my temps and my CPU was running around the upper 90's degrees C. After cleaning the HSF everything runs fine on the BF3 beta at around 60 degree temps. If that does not work look at more case fans would be my next suggestion.

Last but not least is crossfire is an absolute no-go with temps that high. Crossfire may actually balance the load across both cards but you still have added more power which returns more heat in your case. Plus two newer cards together running side by side decreases air flow which also increases heat.

Hope this helps.

 

[phishy714]

OP: Yeah we definately need to know the other specs in your case and also which 6870 you have.

AMD cards are known to run a little cooler than their Nvidia counterparts, so its definately something in your case that is causing this high of temps, and like Partial said, 91C is not high enough to cause a shut down, though it definately doesn't help.

And yeah.. xfire is a big no no for you at this point

 

[chilypepper]

I have a sapphire 6870 on a 990xa ud3 motherboard

1 500gb hdd
a Pii x4 965 Oced to 3.8 (runs around 51c while playing bf3)
and four case fans

 

[PartialGenious]

First off did you check your case for cleanliness as I suggested above? Next, you still didn't list your PC specs well. I wanted to know model numbers of case, power supply etc. Regardless the first thing I would do is take the OC off my processor to rule it out of causing problems. Also is that 6870 fanless? I believe a lot of sapphire models are because they are made to be very quiet. If so that is why your GPU runs that hot (they were essentially made to run that hot). With specific info we could better help troubleshoot your problem if your still having issues.

Lastly I just re-read your post and if the BF3 beta was all that crashed then you should have no real worries. As it is a BETA which means it has issues. Also AMD just put out some new drivers that were supposed to help fix BF3 beta crash problems when loading.

 

[yummerzzz]

Download MSI Afterburner and try put up the fan speed to....45%.

My max temps at 45% are around 70-76.

I play at 35% and my temps are around 80-85c.

 

[Djentleman]

Get MSI after burner. Use that program to control your fan speeds. It even has a automatic button, so the program will adjust the fan speed in accordance.