newb question!

[saper]

i dont really know much about computer but i recently upgraded my video card from a gf2 mx400 64mb to a AIW 9800pro 128mb...

after installing the card, my computer was making alot more noise (power supply?) and now 2 weeks after it is making even more noise
so i opened the computer to try to clean the power supply abit and to my suprise my new graphic card was burning hot.. i ran motherboard monitor 5 and it told me my cpu/casing was at 51/51 while gaming (i think the card was alot more hot then that lol)
should i be worried? or is it normal if a graphic card becomes really hot?
the only good news is that my pc seems to be doing abit less noise now!

any help would be appreciated

thanks

 

[ohnnyj]

Yes, higher end graphics cards will tend to get pretty warm. And 51/51 should not be anything to worry about (other may want to chime in though as I am not sure what the recommended temps are for a 9800 Pro). All I know is that I have my 6800GTs hitting the mid 60s on load and they are rated to go even higher.

 

[Fireplay5]

Odds are the extra noise you were hearing is that fan on that 9800 roaring. I would recommend getting an Arctic cooler VGA silencer for that and I believe you will notice great improvements with your cooling and possibly your gameplay. (ie. colors of graphics after extended gameplay)

edit.. Before you get the VGA silencer make sure you have an extra pci slot open for it because it will take it so it blows the heat out the back.

 

[ohnnyj]

Odds are the extra noise you were hearing is that fan on that 9800 roaring. I would recommend getting an Arctic cooler VGA silencer for that and I believe you will notice great improvements with your cooling and possibly your gameplay. (ie. colors of graphics after extended gameplay)

That's if you don't mind voiding your warranty.

 

[Fireplay5]

That's if you don't mind voiding your warranty.

Well, that is true; although, I feel that is a very stupid reason to void a warranty. Heck, the coolers improve on the card without really modding it. I mean I guess it is a mod but all you do is take off their fan and put the new one on. And I guess if for some reason your card did fail then you could always replace the VGA silencer with their factory crappy fan and send it back. I don't think that would be considered sleezy. But to each their own. IMO it is well worth the risk to change out the fan!

 

[ohnnyj]

Well, that is true; although, I feel that is a very stupid reason to void a warranty. Heck, the coolers improve on the card without really modding it. I mean I guess it is a mod but all you do is take off their fan and put the new one on. And I guess if for some reason your card did fail then you could always replace the VGA silencer with their factory crappy fan and send it back. I don't think that would be considered sleezy. But to each their own. IMO it is well worth the risk to change out the fan!

It would be considered "sleezy" if the person putting the cooler on didn't do it right and messed up the card themselves, or if the new heatsink/fan was to blame for its failure. I can understand the manufacturer's point of view in these matters as they must have some standard by which to operate. They provide a card with factory defaulted settings and components including the heatsink/fan which they have tested and proved to be adequate in keeping their card functioning properly. They cannot vouch for after market coolers and accessories. What would be nice, however, is if the companies would start to employ some sort of testing methodology to use other kinds of popular coolers and run them through rigorous tests to see if they hold up. It would be kind of like nVidia's SLI certification process, as each motherboard and graphics card must go through numerous tests to make sure everything is compatible and working nicely together. Then we would have a set of coolers that would be certified for use on certain graphics cards which could then even extend to CPUs and such. Of course all this promotes overclocking which also voids the warranty, but it is also good for having a quiet system. I suppose then that the only way the industry would adopt such a measure is if they had some way to monitor if people have overclocked or not. Otherwise people would be slapping on these aftermarket coolers, run their cards at insane levels, wonder why it broke, and send it in for an RMA. Definetely not a way to run a business let alone make any kind of profit. There would be the issue of how to get the coolers installed as well, since I am most certain that the graphics card companies would not allow end users to do the job since they know how many things can go wrong outside their controlled facilities. Thus it could become like an option on a car, something along the lines of choosing a cooler for your card when you purchase it and if you want one later on just take it to an authorized place or send it in to have it put on. This is all just wishful thinking, however, as I too would like to get a better cooling system going in my case, in fact I would love to have my SLI rig watercooled and I don't mind paying the price. But I just don't want to void the warranty.

 

[Fireplay5]

I agree 100% that if the failure was due to improper placement of the aftermarket cooler that it would indeed be sleezy to return it for the warranty. I was thinking more along the lines that if the card failed for another reason other than that due to the cooler than you could replace the original fan on the card and return it without it being sleezy. I think you said it very well that the card manufacturers should incorporate some type of cooling system much like that of the aftermarket's. I too can see the manufacturer's point of view in not wanting laymen to be changing out the fans; however, I don't see much difference in the process of adding a fan to your CPU (which must be done in all circumstances, short of water cooling) compared to changing the fan on a graphic card. In the end ATI makes the rules for their warranty so it makes no difference what I think, it is just my 2 cents.