XFX 7950 Double D excessive temps

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Kueller

Supreme [H]ardness
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I purchased one of the XFX 7950 Double Dissipation models in the recent Newegg sale.
Performance is nice, card is quiet...but temps are terrible.

During stability testing I noticed artifacts appearing, I suspect due to these high temps:
1125MHz@1149mV 1500MHz Mem
Idle: 60C @40% fan speed
Load: 89C @97% fan speed - Artifacting

Ambient is 76F, which is warm...but is it enough to cause these temps?
I don't think it's a case airflow issue, I'm only running the one 7950 in a CM Storm Sniper with plenty of fans.
[H] didn't get anything close to these temps using a fair bit more voltage in their XFX 7950 Double-D Black review. 1195MHz core@1231mV reaching only 76C@75% fan speed.


I'm wondering what other users are experiencing. I've heard removing the stickers to unscrew the heat sink can void my XFX warranty so I'm reluctant to just take it apart myself and start replacing TIMs and paste.
 
Not sure if the black edition has a cooler running VRM design which could effect over all PCB temperature.


Black edition is not the same card so its really not a good way to compare heat.

I don't think your ambient temps are that hot to effect the operation of the card.

I wouldn't run it hotter than 80C.


Try lowering your voltage to cool it off and lower clock speed if you have to.
 
SonDa5 said:
Not sure if the black edition has a cooler running VRM design which could effect over all PCB temperature.


Black edition is not the same card so its really not a good way to compare heat.

I don't think your ambient temps are that hot to effect the operation of the card.

I wouldn't run it hotter than 80C.

Try lowering your voltage to cool it off and lower clock speed if you have to.
Click to expand...
Everything I've read indicates the Black Editions are simply overclocked, and that it's the Double-D models that supposedly have better cooling.

I know how to solve the immediate overheating problem, I want to determine the underlying cause though: Do I have a defective card or is XFX Double-D cooling just ineffective?

I may find out soon! Upon further investigation it seems the "warranty void if removed" stickers I'm seeing do not apply here in North America but are intended for some other market. I think I'm going to take my brand new card apart now.
 
The black and Double D are the same cards except the black edition is overclocked. Same cooler though.

Here is a review of the standard double d card:

http://www.vortez.net/articles_pages/xfx_dd_r7950_review,9.html


What's interesting is, they claim this is the coolest card they've tested. If you look at the charts there, it is indeed running very cool.

"The XFX card was the coolest we have had the pleasure of testing here at Vortez - testament to the fantastic GHOST cooler. At stock speeds with the latest BIOS revision the card topped out at a mere 58C which is unreal for a card of this calibre. Even when overclocked to a mammoth 1100MHz the card barely broke a sweat.
"


I also bought this card from the newegg sale, I'll be testing mine out soon and will report back here on how it goes.
 
those are very high temps.Idling at 60c. something is definitely wrong. first check the card at stock voltage and defualt settings. check idle and load temps in a game like BF3.

http://www.hardocp.com/article/2012/03/01/xfx_radeon_hd_7950_black_edition_video_card_review/9

XFX HD 7950 DD black edition - idle at 39c at 20% fan speed. load - 77c at 53% fan speed
I have a ref design XFX HD 6950 and I idle at 42 - 45c and in game temps are 65 - 70c. check with xfx customer support and see if you need to get a replacement.
 
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That doesn't sound good at all, idle at 60c? Are you sure about that? 40c is about as high as you should ever hope to see at idle. The 79xx cards do run quite warm when overclocked but something doesn't sound right there.
 
Just got mine yesterday too and installed it. I didn't overclock mine yet.

It was 95 F yesterday here.

My idle temp was 47-48C with fan speed 35% and when in Dirt Showdown for 30 minutes it was around 62-63C with fan speed 50%.


Even though I'm running at stock, I wouldn't think overclocking it should make temps spike that much over my temps? My ambient temp was probably higher than yours since it was 95F yesterday...maybe around 80F.

I replaced 4870's in CF...they routinely idled at 62C on a hot day like yesterday, but under load could get up to 88-90C. FYI, I have an HAF 932.
 
I think the high idle temps are due to my multi-monitor setup. 20-30-20 HDMI->DVI/DL-DVI/miniDP->DVI. I seem to remember something about AMD cards running hotter with multiple displays connected due to memory clock speeds not lowering as they should in 2D.
 
Kueller said:
I think the high idle temps are due to my multi-monitor setup. 20-30-20 HDMI->DVI/DL-DVI/miniDP->DVI. I seem to remember something about AMD cards running hotter with multiple displays connected due to memory clock speeds not lowering as they should in 2D.
Click to expand...

I definitely notice this with my XFX 5850. I go up almost a full 10C adding a second monitor, and another few more with my third.
 
Kueller said:
I think the high idle temps are due to my multi-monitor setup. 20-30-20 HDMI->DVI/DL-DVI/miniDP->DVI. I seem to remember something about AMD cards running hotter with multiple displays connected due to memory clock speeds not lowering as they should in 2D.
Click to expand...

Yes with multi monitor you should see atleast 10c higher temps at idle and load.

here is another eyefinity user with a sapphire HD 7950 950 Mhz edition who had higher temps and solved it by adding 2 120mm fans which blew cool air from the side right onto the graphics card.

http://www.overclock.net/t/1268397/radeon-7950-or-gtx-670-for-5760x1080/10#post_17517652

http://www.overclock.net/t/1268397/radeon-7950-or-gtx-670-for-5760x1080/20#post_17525733

I suggest that you try to get fans blowing cool air on the graphics card directly from the side. Also for a start stick to stock voltage overclocking. Keep temps below 75c under load. If you can hit 1 Ghz at stock voltage thats decent. Once thats stable in games increase voltage slightly and try to get incremental clock speed improvements while watching out for temps under load. You should be able to strike a balance at 1050 - 1100 with very less voltage increase and heat/temps increase.

and lastly if these won't solve the problem you might have to spend the extra money on a custom cooler like Accelero Xtreme 7970. That would really help you with voltage OC and getting to 1150 - 1200 Mhz without any problems.

http://www.arctic.ac/en/p/cooling/vga/502/accelero-xtreme-7970.html?c=2182
 
I just installed my HD 7950. I have idle temps of 31-33C and load temps of 65C. I have a fairly well cooled case.

I guess your temps must be from running multiple monitors. I'm running a single 24 inch display@ 1080p.
 
I'll be getting and setting up a third monitor on my XFX 7950 next Tuesday...I'll report back with my idle/load temps then.

I'm expecting it to bump up my temps a few degrees if that's the case for multi-monitor setups.
 
It wasn't mentioned in the original post about running multiple monitors but I still think 60c is just too damn hot at idle. That's full load temps for many games on a card like that.

89c at 97% fan speed is WAY too hot. I still think there's an issue there.
 
P6210496m.jpg

So that's my die after removing the stock HSF...I'm gonna go out on a limb here and guess the 25% surface area covered in shiny spots with no paste on it isn't a good thing.

Compare to hardware.fr's XFX 7950 Double D (only shot I found of my same card w/stock paste on it):
http://www.hardware.fr/medias/photos_news/00/35/IMG0035017_1.jpg
 
That doesn't look good. Some of the paste may have got stuck on the heat sink though so you may only be seeing half of what was on there.
 
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i remember reading somehwere that XFX had a bios update for these cards.

I havent gotten mine just yet but that is what ill be looking into. I have the same sniper case also.
 
SonDa5 said:
That doesn't look good. Some of the paste may have got stock on the heat sink though so you may only be seeing half of what was on there.
Click to expand...

There was some paste on the HSF itself obviously, but those shiny bits aren't shiny because they had paste on them and it got pulled off, there would be gray residue. They're shiny because they were never touched by thermal paste. Do you see any shiny spots on the Hardware.fr XFX 7950 DD pic with the HSF removed? No.
 
Kueller said:
There was some paste on the HSF itself obviously, but those shiny bits aren't shiny because they had paste on them and it got pulled off, there would be gray residue. They're shiny because they were never touched by thermal paste. Do you see any shiny spots on the Hardware.fr XFX 7950 DD pic with the HSF removed? No.
Click to expand...



Could just be some odd special formula TP that sticks together and that is why you don't see any on the die.

I have had good results with IC Diamond if you need a good TP.
 
SonDa5 said:
Could just be some odd special formula TP that sticks together and that is why you don't see any on the die.

I have had good results with IC Diamond if you need a good TP.
Click to expand...
If it is so special that it pulls off cleanly, why did it not pull off cleanly on the Hardware.fr card then?

Regardless, this isn't a discussion on what the thermal paste application might have been like in some picture of a card online. It's my first hand account of what the thermal paste application on my card actually was: Piss poor.
 
ya I was gonna say it sounds like the heatsink isn't making good contact with the cooler, but you already figured that out.

good luck with the new paste, bet that fixes it.
 
Looking forward to the results with new past applied. It sure didn't look very good in the picture, looked dark and dried up. I would expect improved performance for sure with decent paste, I just hope that's all it was.
 
I have two of these cards in crossfire. They do not run hot at all. I keep them overclocked at 925 (won't go higher than 950 without volts upped). Mine stay below 75 degrees celcius when it is 85 fahrenheit in the room. I use automatic fan speed. They do get loud. I also have a Lian Li PC-A71F for good airflow. I also have 4 monitors connected at the moment.
 
My XFX ref. card artifacts at 1150mhz at default volts (1.175) adding max voltage (1.3) only gets it to 1175mhz, in 6 months it has never crashed or black screened, but thos are the points where it artifacts. I changed the cooler, and temps never exceed 50c. Although I know of someone with an Asus Top model that extended his overclock range by switching to the Accelero, he said he artifacts above 70c ? I did use the pre-applied paste on the Accerero, so I may try changing it or trying the second bios
 
RaDeonXtreme said:
i remember reading somehwere that XFX had a bios update for these cards.

I havent gotten mine just yet but that is what ill be looking into. I have the same sniper case also.
Click to expand...

I thought I saw a mention of a bios update too, but all I see at XFX for this card is a USB_Format.zip file which appears to only be a usb flash drive format file and doesn't include a bios file.
 
yossarian said:
I thought I saw a mention of a bios update too, but all I see at XFX for this card is a USB_Format.zip file which appears to only be a usb flash drive format file and doesn't include a bios file.
Click to expand...

If you registered your card on XFX, it will show a link to the bios update. It also says that it is only to help with fan speeds so it is not so loud. Mine are loud as hell, but I wear headphones and have a good case, so I could care less.
 
Hey, I talked with XFX about the bios pdate. for me it only shows the USB_format.zip and no bios. through the support ticket they gave me a bios to try and it bricked me.

Can any of you guys make a backup of your bios? sorry for hijacking the thread, i also made my own thread, but feelin pretty bad not being able to use my new 7950... should have backed up....... hate myself for it.
 
I already posted in your thread. I have the bios backed up and ready to send to you.
 
With 3 monitors on a 97 deg F day, my XFX 7950 (stock) temps are 48c idle and 66c load (Dirt Showdown)...an extra monitor didn't really change much for my temps.
 
I found this thread googling about excessive temps on this card. My temps were almost identical to the OPs, so I did the same thing and removed the cooler. Like his, the die probably 20% or so shiny where no paste had been touching. Cleaned it off, replaced it and now still idling kind of high at 55C, but at load only getting up to about 70C or so. That's at stock speeds with the fans at about 60%. Using two monitors, one @ 2560x1440, one @ 1920x1080.

Since the OP never responded about the success or failure of replacing the thermal paste, I thought that I'd post my own experiences in case someone else finds it via google.
 
I've got the same thing going on, temp wise, with this card. Idling is fine (36c with a single monitor, 53c with two monitors). Running stock the load temp is 71c. Doing a medium OC (see specs below) the load temp get's up to 93c. Have any of you re-applied paste and then seen how the temps were when overclocked?

Also, power usage certainly does increase when overclocking. Mine jumped up a good 150 watts under load.

Single Monitor Idle:

- 36 celcius
- 0.806 v
- 300 Mhz core
- 150 Mhz memory

Metro 2033 10 Run Pass AAA stock:

- Temp: 71c
- Avg Framerate: 49.00
- Peak 345 watts

Metro 2033 10 Run Pass 4xMSAA stock:

- Temp: 71c
- Avg Framerate: 39.20
- Peak 330 watts

OC settings:

- 1.149 v
- 1075 Mhz core
- 1375 Mhz memory

Metro 2033 10 Run Pass AAA OC:

- Temp: 93c
- Avg Framerate: 59.20
- Peak 510 watts

Metro 2033 10 Run Pass 4xMSAA OC:

- Temp: 93c
- Avg Framerate: 48.20
- Peak 490 watts
 
so are the power draws, are those total system power? or just the card?
 
Yep, single monitor temps. Power draw is measured from the wall with a Kill-A-Watt meter. The OC temps are way to high. Annoying to say the least. Not sure what to do though. Going back to stock is not an option and spending $100 on an aftermarket cooler is not an option. Guess when it melts I will send it back under warranty...
 
I have the exact same issue! But mine is worse!

On stock settings, when checking with Unigine Heaven, the card will reach around 70-73C and will stay there when the GPU is on full load. Idle temp is fine around 35-37C

When overclocking on stock voltage, the card reaches around 83C with the same settings.

However, as soon as I apply voltage to the card to around 1.150-1.200 the card will reach close to 100C with the fan on 100%. I checked with OCCT one time and it reached 100C and shut itself down.

I then turned down the voltage to 1.150 and ran Unigine and the card again rose to 98C, again with the fan on 100%, I had to shut down the test in fear that the card would be damaged.

This particular card was reviewed by a local Hardware website and they sold it to me, the guy who reviewed it reported that the temps were around 80C on full load at the review, this is after he removed the cooler for the review and bolted it back.

This really worries me, I have a very well ventilated chassis, Corsair Obsidian 650D, and with 100% fan, the card runs really hot.

I think that perhaps he didn't apply thermal paste well or that perhaps something is wrong with the card.

I've already emailed XFX and I'm waiting for their reply, in their website they advise to clean the card with compressed air which I'm going to do, but I really want to remove the cooler and check for thermal paste.

I tried to remove the cooler, removed all the screws to see if there is thermal paste but the card would not lift.

Aside from all the screws in the card itself, are there any more screws I need to remove to check this?

Also, can you tell me if your temps improved after applying new thermal paste?

Thanks
 
Zach_ said:
I have the exact same issue! But mine is worse!

On stock settings, when checking with Unigine Heaven, the card will reach around 70-73C and will stay there when the GPU is on full load. Idle temp is fine around 35-37C

When overclocking on stock voltage, the card reaches around 83C with the same settings.

However, as soon as I apply voltage to the card to around 1.150-1.200 the card will reach close to 100C with the fan on 100%. I checked with OCCT one time and it reached 100C and shut itself down.

I then turned down the voltage to 1.150 and ran Unigine and the card again rose to 98C, again with the fan on 100%, I had to shut down the test in fear that the card would be damaged.

This particular card was reviewed by a local Hardware website and they sold it to me, the guy who reviewed it reported that the temps were around 80C on full load at the review, this is after he removed the cooler for the review and bolted it back.

This really worries me, I have a very well ventilated chassis, Corsair Obsidian 650D, and with 100% fan, the card runs really hot.

I think that perhaps he didn't apply thermal paste well or that perhaps something is wrong with the card.

I've already emailed XFX and I'm waiting for their reply, in their website they advise to clean the card with compressed air which I'm going to do, but I really want to remove the cooler and check for thermal paste.

I tried to remove the cooler, removed all the screws to see if there is thermal paste but the card would not lift.

Aside from all the screws in the card itself, are there any more screws I need to remove to check this?

Also, can you tell me if your temps improved after applying new thermal paste?

Thanks
Click to expand...

There's two screws on the front plate next to the dvi port that have to be removed. Once those are removed, as well as all of the screws on the bottom, it should just lift up from the back. I had to pull a little harder than I was comfortable with to break the seal of the thermal paste, but once I did, it easily separated.

My temps dropped from 90C at full load in BF3 at stock speeds to around 70C after I replaced the thermal paste.
 
Ok, WOW.

I removed the cooler and there was virtually NO paste on the card at all! Just a thin nearly invisible layer... I applied a nice amount of MX4 on both the chip and the heatsink and presto, temps are now down to 55-65C load on stock (Was 75C before) voltage and clocks and when I applied 1.2V to the card and OCed it to 1150/1600 it ran at 82C on average on full load when running Unigine Heaven with the fan on 82% as opposed to 98C and fan on 100% before, amazing! To complete the maintenance, I'm gonna take it to a local computer shop tomorrow and clean the cooling ribs with compressed air. That should shave another few degrees on full load.

So much better!

One more question, I think my card has the quiet fan profile set in the BIOS, since the website who reviewed it also added this feature in their review, how can I verify that I have the quiet fan profile and if so, how do I flash the BIOS to the Gamer profile with higher fan speeds? My fan runs at 3400RPM on 100%, I think it's too slow...

Thanks
 
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