Advice For Overheating GPU

[mello_newf]

Have a issue here that I haven't encountered before. After hours of fiddling I'm gonna throw up my hand and ask for help.

NOTES
CPU and GPU's are on water
One card is running super hot idle & stress, then it was fine, then it ran even hotter...

GPU = EVGA 680 X2 (1 running at 45-90C when main) (1 running at 25-52C)
CPU = 2500K (OC 4.6)
MOBO = Asrock Z77 Fatality

EK GPU Blocks + Backplates + SLI Bridge (dual parallel)
Rainstorm CPU Block
D5 + Tube Res Combo
1X 120 + 1X 240 rad (60mm thick)
Noctua Industrial fans 3000RPM


FULL STORY
Alright so I upgraded my SLI GTX 480's with SLI GTX 680's. After finishing the loop I did some bleeding and GPU temps looked fine at Idle 25-30C Load 42-47C CPU was low 50's (10min 3dmark loop) (NO O/C on CPU or GPU's)

Few hours later I go to run some 3dmark benchmarks still at stock and I notice things are shuddering, cut it short and look at HWM that was running in the BG. My card hooked up to the monitor was reading 85C the other 35C. I immediately check the card in question with my hand and it's hot as all hell. I check the loop for air pockets by loosening my bleed port, get some bubble action and notice the flow back into the res had increased and water level had dropped quite a bit. Shut down the system and topped up the water supply.

On the restart temps were back to the original Idle 25-30C Load 42-47C ran through the benchmarks without issue at stock, O/C'd my CPU and more benchmarks all good (cpu temps increased a few degrees to 55-60C)

Again a few hours later I decide to play some COD4 and see what the quality difference might be. After a few minutes I get a little shuddering (thought it was the server) 10 min other players give me a heads up that im the only one having issues. close and look at HWM and the main had gotten up to 90C the other 35C

Now I figured I had more air in the loop again so I start working on it..... Nope after 3 hours and fiddling I concluded the following

- No air in the loop
- No kinks
- Pump is running
- SLI Bridge is correctly hooked up
- Switched monitor to other card and idle is 28C for the main 45ish for troublesome card doing nothing. Load was 38C (95%) for the main and 52C for the other with (10-15% usage)
- Enabling disabling SLI made negligible difference in the temp issues.


Thoughts? Suggestions? My next move was to take the loop apart, pull the hot card, remove the block and see if I can see something. Obviously would like to avoid that if im just missing something stupid....

UPDATE

GPUs are used, came mounted to ek blocks. Fedex left them outside and they were ice cold when I got them, condensation was forming on tops of blocks. (I let them sit for over 24hrs and blasted them with a blow-dryer for 20min before putting in) This is something that has gotten me a little worried.

Im looking to see if anyone has had a card run hot without it being a cooling issue. Would condensation damage to the PCB for example ever result in abnormal temps? I have a few days till I will get replacement thermal pads.

 

[LordEC911]

The first thing is the dual parallel SLI link. Are you sure you are using the correct port for inlet and outlet?

Another possibility is some sort of debris that is getting stuck and moved around in the loop but that doesn't seem right going by the order of what was affected. GPU - CPU - GPU and that it is only doing it to one GPU.

The only other thing I could think of is a bad heatsink mount on the GPU.

Edit- While not likely, since it sounds like you know what you are doing, it might be helpful to take a picture of your loop and list the loop order.
Example Res-Pump-Rad-CPU-GPU-Res

 

[Dayaks]

Parallel doesn't buy you much but makes it harder to evacuate air. Have you tried tilling the case upside down & ect to see if you can tilt air out of the block (on it's side would be my first try)?

Like Lord mentioned it doesn't sound like your first rodeo but I had to comment.

 

[mello_newf]

@Dayaks

Hey mate thanks for the response.

Loop order and bridge are good 100%
Parts were flushed before 680's were added
CPU temp increase was expected as I over clocked it quite a bit in those benchmarks.

Order of issues
Went... All good - 1X GPU temp issue - All good after bleeding - 1X GPU temp issue (now wont go away)

GPUs are used, came mounted to ek blocks. Fedex left them outside and they were ice cold when I got them, condensation was forming on tops of blocks. (I let them sit for over 24hrs and blasted them with a blow-dryer for 20min before putting in) This is something that has gotten me a little worried.

 

[mello_newf]

Parallel doesn't buy you much but makes it harder to evacuate air. Have you tried tilling the case upside down & ect to see if you can tilt air out of the block (on it's side would be my first try)?

Like Lord mentioned it doesn't sound like your first rodeo but I had to comment.

I have tilted the case since it started acting up again and didn't see bubbles or a difference in temp.

I also did it when I first set up the loop. And while I was gentle Im wondering if the block got some separation from it...

 

[Rav3n]

@Dayaks

Hey mate thanks for the response.

Loop order and bridge are good 100%
Parts were flushed before 680's were added
CPU temp increase was expected as I over clocked it quite a bit in those benchmarks.

Order of issues
Went... All good - 1X GPU temp issue - All good after bleeding - 1X GPU temp issue (now wont go away)

GPUs are used, came mounted to ek blocks. Fedex left them outside and they were ice cold when I got them, condensation was forming on tops of blocks. (I let them sit for over 24hrs and blasted them with a blow-dryer for 20min before putting in) This is something that has gotten me a little worried.

I would remove the blocks, inspect, and re apply the TIM.

 

[Delitus]

I recall going through a very similar experience. In my case, it turned out that I had not applied enough thermal paste. I was overly concerned about putting on too much paste, that I ended up doing the exact opposite: putting on too little. The general advice of "as little as possible" does not apply as much with aftermarket GPU coolers it seems - which makes sense given how they deviate from the OEM's 'fail-safe' designs as well as being manufactured with looser tolerances. I now use the 'X method' for aftermarket GPU blocks, which seems to work well; in other cases, I apply about half a pea's volume of paste. This is a lot more than the 'rice grain' amount which I used to apply back then, but given how large chips are becoming these days, the extra paste does not seem like too much at all.

So yes... I would check to see that sufficient thermal paste has been applied to the core. Good luck with your issue!

 

[mello_newf]

I recall going through a very similar experience. In my case, it turned out that I had not applied enough thermal paste. I was overly concerned about putting on too much paste, that I ended up doing the exact opposite: putting on too little. The general advice of "as little as possible" does not apply as much with aftermarket GPU coolers it seems - which makes sense given how they deviate from the OEM's 'fail-safe' designs as well as being manufactured with looser tolerances. I now use the 'X method' for aftermarket GPU blocks, which seems to work well; in other cases, I apply about half a pea's volume of paste. This is a lot more than the 'rice grain' amount which I used to apply back then, but given how large chips are becoming these days, the extra paste does not seem like too much at all.

So yes... I would check to see that sufficient thermal paste has been applied to the core. Good luck with your issue!

Hey man thanks for the response. I have a few days till I can get new thermal pads shipped to me so im gonna play with things till then.

 

[mello_newf]

Im looking to see if anyone has had a card run hot without it being a cooling issue. Would condensation damage to the PCB for example ever result in abnormal temps?

 

[cyclone3d]

Im looking to see if anyone has had a card run hot without it being a cooling issue. Would condensation damage to the PCB for example ever result in abnormal temps?

I have seen cards where the voltage regulator starts to go and it causes the card to run super hot.

Currently, one of my 7970s runs about 10c hotter than the other. It has done this since I got it. It doesn't matter what slot it is in and the cards are double spaced.

I bought it used, and although I don't like the temp difference, it works fine so I haven't worried about it too much.

Reapplying thermal paste did not help my card one bit.

For all I know, it is normal for that card to run hotter due to differences in components used even though they are both reference design, but different brands.

 

[mello_newf]

I have seen cards where the voltage regulator starts to go and it causes the card to run super hot.

Currently, one of my 7970s runs about 10c hotter than the other. It has done this since I got it. It doesn't matter what slot it is in and the cards are double spaced.

I bought it used, and although I don't like the temp difference, it works fine so I haven't worried about it too much.

Reapplying thermal paste did not help my card one bit.

For all I know, it is normal for that card to run hotter due to differences in components used even though they are both reference design, but different brands.

Are you actually seeing the voltage jumps? They seem stable on mine but thats program readouts so you can take that for what its worth.

I have found my old pair of GTX480's had about that difference in temps 8-10 when on load. But that would flip flop when changing the main gpu im outputting from. Pretty sure it was just from how the dual GPU's are utilized in SLI

 

[Dayaks]

Is the backside of the card hot AND the full cover block? To me that would be a flow issue.

If the card is hot and block cold then it's a thermal paste issue.