Question Why is my new ASUS RTX 3090 Strix OC hitting 91'C temperatures?

[SeriousGaming101]

I just installed my new ASUS RTX 3090 Strix OC and I am only playing on 1080p/144hz at the moment. I installed Call of Duty Cold War and I maxed out the settings at 1080p. As I am playing the campaign, the temperature of this GPU hits a red color from 86'C to 91'C (but 85'C is considered white/normal) and then the game crashes to the desktop.

Why is this top-of-the-line RTX 3090 hitting such high temperatures? I heard other RTX 3090s has a MAXIMUM temperature range of 65'C to 70'C while mine is hitting 91'C.

 

[spacejunk]

While there are 2 top fans, they are in separate compartments; there is essentially 1 exhaust available to the gpu in the front compartment.

This is still a chassis intended for custom liquid builds; all the radiator space and airflow is in the rear compartment, which is separated from the front compartment where the 'showcase' is.

Ahh I see. It's hard to tell what is going on with that case even when looking at that picture. Sounds like he has already tested the machine with an open case and is still approaching throttling temps. Surely that's a thermal issue with the card and not GPU claustrophobia ?

 

[Phaaze88]

Ahh I see. It's hard to tell what is going on with that case even when looking at that picture. Sounds like he has already tested the machine with an open case and is still approaching throttling temps. Surely that's a thermal issue with the card and not GPU claustrophobia ?

Hard to say, there aren't that many scenarios with cards oriented that way, so they don't turn up often.
Fans draw air in, after which it's blasted out the sides, after which multiple things happen all at once with that exhaust:
Side closest to the mobo
-heat absorbed by mobo
-heat circulates back into gpu cooler
-heat is pushed up past the gaps between the mobo and gpu, after which it's either taken out of the chassis by the exhausts present.

Side furthest from the mobo
-heat absorbed by the side panel
-heat circles back into gpu cooler
-heat circles up, after which it's removed by the exhausts present.
^That's what all happens normally with a horizontal card. With that chassis though, it should be much of the same...

I would suggest testing the card in another PC like you said, and then RMA it; it could take some time to get a replacement.

 

[SeriousGaming101]

Hard to say, there aren't that many scenarios with cards oriented that way, so they don't turn up often.
Fans draw air in, after which it's blasted out the sides, after which multiple things happen all at once with that exhaust:
Side closest to the mobo
-heat absorbed by mobo
-heat circulates back into gpu cooler
-heat is pushed up past the gaps between the mobo and gpu, after which it's either taken out of the chassis by the exhausts present.

Side furthest from the mobo
-heat absorbed by the side panel
-heat circles back into gpu cooler
-heat circles up, after which it's removed by the exhausts present.
^That's what all happens normally with a horizontal card. With that chassis though, it should be much of the same...

I would suggest testing the card in another PC like you said, and then RMA it; it could take some time to get a replacement.

RMA or request a replacement from Best Buy?

 

[J2312]

So I have the same case and had the same card. Also Had the same issue, my Asus 3090 Strix OC was a fireball. Idling at 50C with 80% fans. In game it was thermo throttling as it was hitting 93C within minutes (100% fan speed). My previous 1080TI Aorus always ran cool (max 76C). But then again it is not a power hungry card like the 3090s, so like many users I thought the issue was probably the case and airflow.
I am a very impatient person so I returned the card (full refund at Bestbuy) and started to look for a new one (I know, what are the chances right?). In talking to some people they told me Microcenter was receiving quite some stock so I went there at 9 am and they had 4 3090s (2 MSIs and 2 EVGAs). I bought an MSI SuprimX. Installed the card and it runs perfectly. Same case (thermaltake the Tower 900, yes I am planning to liquid cool the card in the near future).

Idle temperature: 35C-40C
Gaming under load temperature (cyberpunk ultra settings RTX and DLSS): 65C-76C

Frequency is 1860-1995mhz out of the box so it is running as advertised and like so many other reviews I read. I think the problem was how the Strix cards were assembled, probably in a rush and there is either bad contact with the heatsink, bad thermal paste or something else.

My advice is return the card and either get your money back or a brand new card. Hope this helps.