Comments on my new GTX 260 please

C

cantankerous

Gawd
Joined
Nov 15, 2006
Messages
655
Hi.

I just purchased a GTX 260 yesterday. I got one of those weird future shop Superclocked+ models. I came from an 8800 Ultra that ran very hot, even with 100% fan. There was nothing else I could do to keep it cool. I wanted the extra performance anyhow so decided to just get a new card. Since the GTX 260 was found for a great price, and doesn't seem to have as many issues as the GTX 280 in terms of temperature, I decided to grab this card.

I am wondering where I sit in terms of temperature at rated fan speed. This card is very different from my 8800 Ultra in that respect. Let me know if I am below average, average, or above average in terms of what my temperatures should be.

To start, this card is running superclocked+ stock speeds. 621/1296/1026.

IDLE - 40% fan speed - 54c. I heard of some people getting in the 40's? Is this true? If so how?

CRYSIS LOAD - fan hits up to 46%, temperature at 76c.

FURMARK LOAD WINDOW MODE, NO AA- 12 mins in - fan hits up to 54%, temperature at 80c.

FURMARK LOAD FULLSCREEN 8XAA - 41 mins in, fan hits 59%, temperature at 84c.

Does this seem ok? I know my card isn't a bad one as it doesn't shoot up to 105c like problem cards do. I am just wondering if I am doing alright besides knowing I don't have a dud. What are some others getting with their 260's?

BTW, this card WHINES just like my 8800 Ultra did on load. Bah. Was hoping to finally be rid of that noise.

I have not done any overclocking yet, nor have I tried to set a manual fan speed. I want to get a feel for the card for a little while first to be sure it is 110% alright before I start bumping clocks. I would like stay below 80c, even overclocked. I am already right at 80c with furmark so am unsure how much headroom I will have. I hope this card is a good clocker. I ALWAYS seem to get crappy clockers when it comes to video cards.

Any input please do share.

Thanks!
 
you could try some different thermal grease. I did that for my 8800gts and the temps dropped almost 10c on load. Maybe try some compress air on the fan to stop the whining but that has only really helped me with older fans that had some dust.
 
Those temps are slightly higher than mine with the same card. I did reapply the thermal paste with some AS5. Idle in the 47 range, furmark after 10 minutes bounces between 80 and 76. all under autofan settings.

Sounds completely normal to me.

Haven't noticed any capacitor whining though...perhaps its a little starved for power with all your other components?
 
My GTX 260 is similar, with lower idle temps

But I use Rivatuner's Scheduler Tool to change fan speed based on temperature intervals

For example:
<60C = 40%
62-72C = 55%
75-88C = 70%
>90C = 86%

This way, when IDLE, the fan is basically always at 40%, even in low power 3d modes, and I the fan doesn't kick in until I start gaming, which is no big deal really.

Also, my card is running @ 675 core, 1430 shader, 1200 memory (I have the FTW edition with a slight additional overclock)

My average idle is usually 45C, but when my AC is off, my room is rather small so it heats up quickly which obviously raises the idle temp into the 50s

Also, my temps were higher, but I moved 1 of my 2 hard drives into the 5.25" bays on top of my dvd burner, and put a fan at the back of my video card to help cool the ambient air it sucks into the card
 
I found running mine at 50% gave me almost the same temps as autofan, and none of the noise. Gets toasty under full load - mid 80s, but it got hotter than that with autofan so I'm happy. Is the whining the fan, or capacitor whine? I had the latter for a few days and then it went away - the card had to break-in or something.
 
Thanks for the replies guys. It sounds to me that my card is slightly hotter than it could be, but nothing alarming correct? I seem to still be in the safe mode, and it does run cooler than my 8800 Ultra did, while also being faster.

One thing I didn't mention. My idle clocks are from the drivers NOT downclocking. I am running full 3D clocks 24/7. The 177.92 drivers are not downclocking my card like they should be. Any ideas? I assume this would also attribute to slightly higher idle temps of mid 50's. If the clocks went way down like they should on Idle I am sure I would be below 50.

And no, the noise is not fan noise, the fan is actually not that bad at all. Everyone had me thinking it was going to roar. All I hear really is air swoosh. The noise I am hearing is capacitor/turroid whine. I am sure my 750w Silverstone should hold up fine. Under load my 12v rail reads 12.02 when checked with a multimeter.
 
It MIGHT be that your PSU isn't giving it enough amps. If you can, try to borrow a PSU that has a crap load of amps or one that works fine with a 260 and see if the sound goes away. I had the same wine on my old 8800gts with my old Hiper 580w PSU. Once I upgraded to my Mushkin, the sound went away. If it isn't this, then it's a capacitor on the board.
 
Caps do not whine/ squeal, it's the chokes or torroid coils that do it. It is a result of either dirty power which is making them work harder, or they are poorly isulated and/or poorly wound.

Cleaner power with a high quality power supply and suitable UPS (one with high enough out put to suit the PSU), or some soft heat shrink tubing over the offending choke, can reduce if not eliminate the problem.

But consider the sound may be coming from a choke in the PSU itself, or even on the motherboard, due to increased draw of the new card.
 
Well my PSU is a single railed Silverstone at 750w, 60a. Definitely no slouch. It is a well rated psu with plenty of power.

I am also running the system off a APC UPS rated at 1200.

System runs fine. No crashes and what not, just the squeal on gpu load.

If only I could get the gpu clocks to idle properly however.
 
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