Possible GPU Cooling Problem

[Skid]

Need a quick check list, its recently got hot in my area lately which triggered me to see what effect it was having on my CPU and GPU. CPU was fine but my GTX 295s were idleing between 80-90C for the main and 75-80 for second card. Now I'm fairly sure an increase in ambient temperature of 5-7C (from 21,22 to 26-28) shouldn't cause them to hit 100C when running the Vista Aura screen saver so I need a list of things to check when I get home. Current list is:

Check the GPU intake and vent for dust.
Check case intakes and vents for dust.
Check Power Supply isn't getting hot (running a HAF case which has the PSU at the bottom under the graphics cards, sucking air in via the carpet)
Check both GPU fans are running.
Check drivers (I'm running the ones that people said fryed there cards, but as they was fine when I installed and checked them I left them)

Any other ideas are welcome.

[Skid]

Its amazing what a good cleaning will do, there was way more dust in there then I expected, although the ambient temp has drop back down to 22C so thats not very helpful, still its idling below 70C now on my main card. I wish I had taken some pictures, they should show what happens if you don't properly clean out a HAF case in over half a year in an area where it'll gather allot of dust. It also doesn't help I only vacuum my little 2 room apartment every 3 weeks, cleaning is such a drag.

[Gilly]

such a slacker! :P

[whismerhill]

had the same "problem" with my GTX285
I generally have to clean the air filters every 1 or 2 weeks & clean the interior of the Antec P182 case every 1 or 2 month

these days with the exterior temperature going up, I had a crash with sacred 2 & then I noticed the GTX285 was idling near 70°C instead of 40~50°C
opened the case and saw that I probably forgot to clean it last month or something, once cleaned I was back to 50°C idle ...

it doesn't help that my current apartment is in a very dusty area ...

[Abram]

I took a peak into my HAF 922 a couple weeks ago and noticed that the 200mm side fan brought in a surprising amount of dust. I stretched a leg-hose (ho? hoe? I dunno..) across it and it's keeping a lot out, while barely blocking airflow. I just vacuum the front of the case every time i vacuum the room, and blow on the top fan with it at max speed, and it fires more dust out. I too, have my PSU sucking air from the bottom, but my case is about 40cm off the ground and is on a wooden stand, so it's still quite clean. All-in-all, I'm pleased at how clean my HAF stays, now.

Yay for womens' clothing and fan controllers. And my big, finger-shopping industrial fan for cooling the room when it gets eventually gets hot outside.

For teh record, my ambient rarely goes above 22c and my GPU temps are around 45c idle, 70c load.

[johnnyvd]

Yeah those HAF cases are real dust-suckers.. I clean my HAF932 each 4 weeks, and then i have everything watercooled! Can imagine how air cooled cards would look like after some dust-sucking time :mrgreen:

[johnnyvd]

Its amazing what a good cleaning will do, there was way more dust in there then I expected, although the ambient temp has drop back down to 22C so thats not very helpful, still its idling below 70C now on my main card. I wish I had taken some pictures, they should show what happens if you don't properly clean out a HAF case in over half a year in an area where it'll gather allot of dust. It also doesn't help I only vacuum my little 2 room apartment every 3 weeks, cleaning is such a drag.

By the way, how did your PSU look like? Did it gather a lot of dust? I got some "noise" problems with my BeQuiet 850 and maybe this could be "dust"-related..

[thales100]

Yeah those HAF cases are real dust-suckers..

qft :lol:

[Skid]

[quote]Its amazing what a good cleaning will do, there was way more dust in there then I expected, although the ambient temp has drop back down to 22C so thats not very helpful, still its idling below 70C now on my main card. I wish I had taken some pictures, they should show what happens if you don't properly clean out a HAF case in over half a year in an area where it'll gather allot of dust. It also doesn't help I only vacuum my little 2 room apartment every 3 weeks, cleaning is such a drag.

By the way, how did your PSU look like? Did it gather a lot of dust? I got some "noise" problems with my BeQuiet 850 and maybe this could be "dust"-related..

The PSU was fine for the most parts, but that might be because its only just above the carpet or it might just not draw allot of air. In fairness the PSU is a closed loop in my HAF case.

[MobsterOO7]

its only just above the carpet

Found the source of your dust problem, bro.

[Skid]

[quote]its only just above the carpet

Found the source of your dust problem, bro.

What the carpet? Because as I said, the PSU is a closed loop, it sucks air in from the bottom, it goes into the PSU and straight out the back, doesn't enter the body of the case. Besides, I found the problem it was more the front intake then anything else, and it was down to me not giving it a proper cleaning for a good number of months.

[MobsterOO7]

Sorry, I was focused too much on being a smart-alec. What I meant to say was that I find that computers seem to collect a lot more dust when kept on the floor as opposed to on a table at waist height.