Question Temperature and Stability Issues RX470

[segfault1]

My main issue is around thermals. Over the past couple months GPU temps have increased across the board. The card is now idling around 50-60, but spikes to 75 with typical desktop/browser use (lol). Most games are unplayable, it just overheats. The card is 7ish years old and has been cleaned, but not repasted.

Also, I used to undervolt this card because it's always run hot, but am no longer able to. Simply enabling voltage control in the AMD control panel crashes the card; I don't even have to adjust any voltages or clock speeds. This issue began last November when I used DDU to resolve a driver error. Reinstalling GPU drivers (different versions, with DDU and without) did not help. I also have a Ryzen 5 1600 in the system, and I know DDU can mess with chipset drivers as well; is that possibly what happened?

I'd appreciate any thoughts on likely causes, or if these issues might be related! I'm computer literate but not that experienced, and also light on time and money to fix this, so wanted to get some ideas before going in blind. Thanks!

 

[Metal Messiah.]

I know DDU can mess with chipset drivers as well; is that possibly what happened?

Nah, I don't think DDU might have messed up the chipset drivers.

DDU won't affect or alter any other driver on your system expect Video card drivers, i.e.. only graphics card drivers and packages from your system, including any/all leftovers like registry keys, folders and files etc, unless I'm mistaken.

Your GPU might be having issues on a hardware level. Might be on its last legs as well. What is the exact model number/brand of your custom AMD RX 470 card ? How many fans are there ?

How is the airflow inside your ATX cabinet ? Have you also tried ramping up the GPU's fan speed via any third-party GPU tool, like MSI Afterburner, when the card starts getting overheated ? Are the fans fully controllable ?

Which power supply unit/PSU do you have ?

Also, I used to undervolt this card because it's always run hot, but am no longer able to. Simply enabling voltage control in the AMD control panel crashes the card; I don't even have to adjust any voltages or clock speeds

Based on this observation/behavior one may even conclude that the GPU might be somehow unstable/faulty.

 

[segfault1]

Thanks so much for your reply! It is an MSI RX470 4GB. There are two fans, and airflow is sufficient inside the case, as the configuration hasn't changed from when the temps were fine. It's cleaned thoroughly. My PSU is an Antec Earthwatts 600 watts ish. It is about 14 years old at this point. I hadn't suspected it because the system does not crash under load, just gets really hot. The crashes are only when I enable voltage control.

Yes, the fans are fully controllable. Forgot to mention, I'm actually getting these temps even with a very aggressive fan curve (80%+ starting at 60C, ramping up).

Based on this observation/behavior one may even conclude that the GPU might be somehow unstable/faulty.

I hope this isn't the case! The GPU was stable in the undervolt until I used DDU.

Edit: to clarify the timeline. Last November was when the undervolt issue began. Temps were high but still within normal range. The card began to have spiky and abnormal temps starting this April.