Where does GPU heat go?

[gimmethedonut]

On a card that has been fitted with a cooler that isn't Nvidia's or AMD's (like Sapphire's Tri-X cooler) where does the heat from the card go? To the sides or directly up and through the fans?

 

[JQB45]

Air is brought in from the top and it is exhausted out the sides and back on that style of card. Most of the hot air ends up back in your case.

 

[hackingman]

truth is it will go allover the edges of the card where it finds a gap, so is very important to have a good directional airflow in the case to take it away quickly before it builds up.

 

[cst1992]

The fans blow air DOWN, not UP.
One type of card blows air out through the back of the PC(blower type), another releases it in the chassis(normal fans).
A reference NVIDIA GTX 970 card is the example of the first type, whereas the Strix version of the GTX 970 is an example of the second.

 

[XiPH3R]

Reference cards from AMD/Nvidia use blower type cooling solution. in that case there is a single fan in the gpu that pushes the hot air outside of the case. The air comes out of the vents from the back(where you have the DVI/HDMI slots)

Now many companies use their own type of coolers to cool the card. In those cases the fans blow air directly to the graphics card's heatsink and the hot air comes out from the sides and vents of the Graphics card. The hot air eventually ends up inside the case. So you will need your case to be well ventilated.

Watch this video and you will have all your doubts cleared:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nAKyh-qqQCw

 

[XiPH3R]

So basically a reference card from AMD/NVIDIA will run hotter but the temperature on your case will be lower which means lower cpu and motherboard temps. Aftermarket coolers may run the card much cooler but the temps inside your case may rise significantly