R9290 with Arctic Accelero Xtreme III GPU Cooler MOD not working as expected.

[N3M1S1S]

Good day.

I bought the R9290 GPU with reference cooler. I got fed up with the noise of the GPU fan and did a lot of research about proper aftermarket cooling. I eventually after ready countless reviews decided on getting the "Arctic Accelero Xtreme III GPU Cooler"

Let me state my questions and explain why i have these questions.

1. How fast does the temperature of a GPU rise and how accurate is the monitoring software of GPU temps?
2. As an average overall of all the reviews this cooler should cool the card down to 15-20d/c cooler than the reverence cooler with no overclocking, why is it running so hot?


FAR CRY 3, 1920 x 1080, full graphics, fan speed @ 100% using MSI AFTERBURNER software
- no overclocking (temps are averages)
Reference cooler - 76d/c
AAXIII - 84d/c

Diablo 3, 1920 x 1080, full graphics,fan speed @ 100% using MSI AFTERBURNER software
- no overclocking
Reference cooler - 60d/c
AAXIII - 70d/c


When i run the monitoring software on screen 2 with far cry minimized on screen 1 the GPU usage is 0% with 50d/c. As soon as `n alt/tab and open the game the GPU usage climbs to 100% and the temp to 80d/c within 1-3 seconds. When i press alt/tab again to minimize the game the usage drops to 0% and the temp back to about 50d/c in 1-3 seconds.


1. Is that normal and is the software i am using correct in a sense that it monitors correct?
- can any one recommend other software for this purpose -
2. Why is it running so hot as all the reviews state it should be much cooler and i don't even overclock?

I am not dissing the cooler, i am trying to figure out if i did something wrong, or is my software i use faulty or what?!

Thank you in advance for the answers and advice.

 

[Superlp12]

The arctic extreme should run cool and almost silent even with fan at full. If the fans are spinning, I am certain that either the cooler is not properly mounted and or the thermal paste is incorrectly applied. Was using the 7970 variant of the cooler until i switch to the hybrid when i go crossfire.

 

[N3M1S1S]

The arctic extreme should run cool and almost silent even with fan at full. If the fans are spinning, I am certain that either the cooler is not properly mounted and or the thermal paste is incorrectly applied. Was using the 7970 variant of the cooler until i switch to the hybrid when i go crossfire.

Thanx for the replay, but this still does not answer my questions.
I made 110% sure all heat sinks are on correct, checked that the heat paste is correct as well.

The fan speeds are max and its silent but it still runs at 85-90d/c on Far Cry 3

What is the chance that my temp sensor is broken and how can i check this?

 

[Superlp12]

I have used the arctic cooler on various gpu and i have indeed consistently get around 15C to 20C lower temperature than the the stock cooler. If the unit is installed correctly, there is no way the stock cooler runs cooler. But the vrm temperature is a different story. It may be a real pain but you may want to put back the stock cooler and check the temperature again. If the sensor is broken, the temp should go up higher now.