Asus EAH6850 Temperatures

T

tenub

Limp Gawd
Joined
Mar 20, 2008
Messages
355
I have two 6850s in CrossFire and just with the default voltage and clock speeds the temperature on the main card climbs up to 87-88C after 5-10 minutes of Kombustor and the fan is going at 90-100% around this peak temperature with my near-default user fan profile. So much for a "cool" card. At least it idles at 47-48C. I can run 900/1100 just fine but the temperature is even higher. I have no idea what temperature my second card is at because it just sits at 44C all day long in Afterburner. Time for an RMA?
 
The lower card idles ~5C cooler and peaks at least 10C cooler. I think this must be because of the lack of space between the two cards where the first card is trying to push air. Oh well, woe is me. :(
 
I ran the Heaven BM for one full pass, me temps hit a high of 69c. Thats about all I have used to check temps. My sound card is even semi blocking the fan on my card, there is still space there for air of course.
 
I would work on some air flow. I have 2 480's and they idle at 42 and under kombuster they get to 72-74. Got the core at 850 mem at 100 MHz over stock. Those temperatures seem very warm.
 
my 2nd 6850 also is 10C warmer than the top card but im only maxing out at 55c with fans on auto and OC of 820/1140
 
I'm assuming you have the custom ASUS 6850 with the "DirectCU" heatsink on it.
It should probably be getting better results than the other 6850's (in response to benchmark temp results).
 
UtopiA said:
I'm assuming you have the custom ASUS 6850 with the "DirectCU" heatsink on it.
It should probably be getting better results than the other 6850's (in response to benchmark temp results).
Click to expand...

I don't think they make another 6850 other then the DirectCU card.
 
DirectCu disappoints:
http://hardforum.com/showpost.php?p=1036341546&postcount=19

I recall a 5770 DirectCu that was epic fail as well, but I can only locate the 5830 DirectCu:
http://www.hardocp.com/article/2010/04/19/asus_eah5830_directcu_video_card_review/9
http://www.hardocp.com/article/2010/04/19/asus_eah5830_directcu_video_card_review/10

Basically DirectCu seems to perform worse than reference coolers. That appears to be the case with the 5xxx and 6xxx cards so far. ASUS' real advantage was their voltage tweak capability but I don't pay much attention there since I don't like straying away from stock voltage. Only cooling interests me.
 
Well i returned my xfx 6850, which was way too loud and hot for my linking (idled at 49c, load temp was 79c). but that was at 100% fan speed, which was unbearable.

Got an Asus 6850 instead, much much quieter, in fact i cant even hear it over my case fans. The temps are much better as well, idles at 35c, max's out at 66c.
 
After 30 minutes of playing Metro 2033 with CrossFire enabled and all settings maxed out (except AAA instead of 4x) and an overclock of 900/1100 on stock voltage, the maximum temperature of GPU 1 was 87C and GPU 2 was 68C. Either the cards being that close to one another does make that much of a difference (which I doubt), my top 6850 is defective (a possibility), Afterburner is only applying the overclocks to GPU 1 and GPU 2 sits at default speeds (possible), Afterburner isn't reading my temperatures correctly (possible but doubtful), or CrossFire uses GPU 1 more so than it does GPU 2. I guess I could set the clocks back to normal and see what temperatures I get to rule out the third possibility. Any other input from you guys would be helpful as well.
 
Xzyrus said:
epic fail
Click to expand...
A failure in cooling, or noise (we'll assume = fan speed).
The 5830 review clearly stated the ASUS was quieter.
And the Gigabyte has two fans.

I'll agree it may not cool the best, it probably can't compete with dual fans, but you can't comment on its total potential when you ignore the fanspeed. The Gigabyte could be as loud as all hell, and the DirectCU might cool better when used with comparable fan speeds (or just plain noise levels).

I always assumed the ultimate goal of a video card cooler was to keep the card within acceptable temp levels, while being as quiet as possible. If your goal is to cool as best as possible and ignore noise, than the stock fan profile benchmarks don't give you valid results.
There are also multiple models, some with 2-pipe others with 3. Every review I've seen of DirectCU (On any card, google "DirectCU review") has shown excellent results, including the 6850 ( http://www.vortez.co.uk/articles_pages/asus_eah6850_directcu_review,9.html ).

Anyhow, I haven't heard anything bad about the DirectCU until now.
I don't own one but was considering it for my 6870 (whenever they release it). May have to look at the other options now...
 
Last edited:
My experience with Xfire is that the top card is usually going to over heat because of limited air flow and heat rising from the lower card.

I have been able to eliminate most of the top card heating by using afttermarket heat sinks and lots of air flow in case.

This is the set up that has worked for me.

With 2 HD4770s.

GMSH50chipsetretouch.jpg
 
UtopiA said:
A failure in cooling, or noise (we'll assume = fan speed).
snip
Click to expand...

Fan speed and noise is a valid point with respect to cooling but [H]'s review mentioned the DirectCu was at 100% fan speed yet it still hit 95C. So DirectCu at 100% fan speed is quieter than reference at X% fan speed where X% is unknown (or I just haven't found it via quick skimming) but cools way worse. Whether or not the reference card's fan was running at 100%, you could still have lowered the fan speed to get equally horrid cooling at a quieter volume but whether it reaches DirectCu's quietness is questionable.

The 5830 example is extra harsh on the DirectCu since it hit 100% fan speed so you have no choice to improve cooling by cranking it up and bearing the extra noise. At least other cards have the option. I may be doing the DirectCu injustice by extending the 5830 results to the 6850 after seeing 1 bad review since the coolers could very well be different, but given ASUS' pricing and this lurking notion of its questionable cooling capability, you might as well get the XFX 6850 which is shown to cool quite well too and with a better warranty.

I'm happy with my Sapphire 6850 which as shown in one of those reviews is similar to the Gigabyte in cooling and quietness. My card reaches 74C in Furmark and hits 60% fan speed which is where it starts to become noticeable as it becomes louder than my worst case fan: http://++++.com/products/?sku=33852&vpn=D12SL-12-RED/BLACK&manufacture=Yate Loon
I have a slightly higher tolerance for noise I guess.

I've rambled on enough so in order to get back on topic, I suggest you to swap your card's positions to determine whether or not your card is defective in cooling. I doubt this since, like SonDa5 says, the heat of one card affects the air that cools the 2nd one.
 
I confirmed it by switching the cards around and the temperatures were around the same as before with the top card being nearly 20C hotter under load. Unfortunately it seems it's just poor airflow for the top card between the two cards.
 
tenub said:
I confirmed it by switching the cards around and the temperatures were around the same as before with the top card being nearly 20C hotter under load. Unfortunately it seems it's just poor airflow for the top card between the two cards.
Click to expand...
I've done the same with my Gigabyte 6850's. The top card is usually 15-20C hotter than the bottom, even at idle.

It doesn't help that my computer is in a cabinet type enclosure so heat tends to stick around more than it should so I'm forced to have a big air circulator pointed at that area.:(
 
Last edited:
http://www.anandtech.com/show/4002/amd-radeon-hd-6850-overclocking-roundup-asus-xfx-msi/8

I guess ASUS' cooling isn't so bad, but it still lacks direct comparison to Sapphire and Gigabyte in that roundup although I don't think those would cool better than the louder XFX. If they cool similarly well at a cheaper price it's all good.

@tenub: I don't think you have much of a choice but to watercool if that's your situation since I don't think increasing air flow in the case will help much, but damn that's a big difference between top and bottom cards... but then that defeats the purpose of getting a "value" 6850 setup somewhat.
 
that Anand article suggest the Asus is the most balanced with cooling and noise, interesting
 
Stupac said:
that Anand article suggest the Asus is the most balanced with cooling and noise, interesting
Click to expand...

To be fair, they needed to test more cards, but I know they didn't get other cards in time for the deadline.
 
I really wish the gigabyte was in that roundup- would love to see how it compares. Its the one I've currently got, and my XFX should show up tomorrow :)

EDIT-
I wonder if they had the BIOS fix in for the XFX in that article? I also wonder, if they DON'T have the BIOS fix in the article, if it would have made a difference in the power usage as well...
 
Flyinfinni said:
I really wish the gigabyte was in that roundup- would love to see how it compares. Its the one I've currently got, and my XFX should show up tomorrow :)
Click to expand...

The Gigabyte is one of the cards I MIGHT get if I go Crossfire. I would run it as the top card for the dual fans. Then I also wonder if straying from Asus if I can get both cards to hold the same OC and still do it using the CCC. I know having 2 cards period I might get one that wont OC as high, but knowing my Asus lets me get 950/1150 using the CCC also factors in.
 
Yeah- my gigabyte easily hits 950/1200 without trouble at all. Gotta use MSI Afterburner, but yeah. If I can get both easy at 850/1200 or whatever, I'll be pumped.
 
Just bumped mine up to 1200 on the memory, passed the CCC overdrive test and one pass in Heaven.
 
Sounds like a tight case and not a lot of space. My gigabyte board has an entire slot between my 5770's so they cool a bit better but, can really heat up when benching.
 
Flyinfinni said:
Yeah- my gigabyte easily hits 950/1200 without trouble at all. Gotta use MSI Afterburner, but yeah. If I can get both easy at 850/1200 or whatever, I'll be pumped.
Click to expand...

Did you bump your voltage at all cause i cant get that with my gigabyte 6850's :( I can do 900/1175 give or take before crash.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top