What's your video card? How's it kept cool?

[Haruko]

Since I kept out some useful details from my question to allow it to fit the subject line, here is a rephrase: What video card(s) do you use for your computer(s)? How do you keep your video card(s) cool?

Before I answer my own question to start this thread off, a little background: My old computer could not be considered "decent" to anyone who used his computer for anything more than web browsing and word processing even at the time it was manufactured. However, I recently got a new computer; budget gaming computer, sure (500$), but good enough for a casual gamer wanting to play some of the latest games. Anyways, my point is that my interest in what video cards you guys use (and how you keep them cool) stems from my purchase of a new computer, the time I spent researching a video card upgrade for it, and the time I spent thinking about how to get it a few degrees below the 50C mark at idle (the point that crosses into territory the "SpeedFan" and "GPU-Z" temp-monitoring software consider "hot").

The video card I chose is the EVGA GeForce GTX 260. I have it running on a PCIe x16 slot in a Sagitta 2 computer tower. To keep it cool, there is a 120mm intake fan on the side panel and a 120mm rear exhaust fan. Additionally, I have an "expansion slot cooler" called "VCool" near the bottom of the computer; serving as a second intake fan, it takes up two slots at the rear of the computer, sits near the bottom of it, and blows upward toward the video card. I took into account that my new video card is covered except for the fan on the end facing down, but the air in my room is cool to cold. Also, my understanding is that cool air sinks, while hot air rises, so an intake "expansion slot cooler" made sense to me, while the exhaust alternatives not so much. I do not pretend to be anywhere near competent in proper cooling, but I do know that the VCool brought my video card temperature down from 52C idle to 46C idle. The difference in temperature that the VCool brought is even more dramatic when the video card is working hard: it used to average low 70C, but now averages low 60C.

Finally, I had the option of adding an additional 120mm fan to the front, but the hard drive cage would get in the way. I have been thinking about reorienting it, but have not acted upon it, and with my video card already sufficiently cool at idle, I am not seriously considering other cooling options at this time.

[Bounty]

ATI Mobility Radeon 7000, kept cool by hope and a construction of LEGO bricks that keep the laptop up on stilts so the air intake holes have a bit more clearance.

[weemadando]

I've got a 4850 IIRC and it's cooled by virtue of having a CM690 case. You know. With airflow and shit.

[Joviwan]

I have a Radeon 3870 with 512 memory. I don't really keep it cool, as I could leave the thing in Arizona sunlight while cranking out full-bore on Crysis and it wouldn't get above 50c, but the REST of the components, an intel quad-core at 2.33 GHz, 4 gigs of ram, and two hard drives, are kept cool with this.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6811124114

There is one fan on that case, and it is 250mm. It's got a switch for exhaust or intake, and it's set to exhaust. If I ever upgrade my video card, I'll snag a few 120mm fans to support the big one, but right now it gets the job done.

[Darth Mall]

I have a HD4870, which came with the stock cooler, and ran at around ~60C. I replaced it with a thermaltake t-rad2, and tems never go above 45, no matter what I'm playing, and with the card OCed as high as it can go.

For the rest of my computer, I have a lian-li case, currently without side, and a deskfan pointed in it, as the only real space for it in my room is in the closet on a dresser. I have an ultra-120e on the E8500 thats clocked up to 3.86. That hovers around 60C

[starslayer]

You really didn't need the VCool. Your previous temps were absolutely fine and well within standard operating conditions. If you were worried, you could have turned up the fan speed (on an EVGA 260, it runs at 40% all the time by default, regardless of whether it is under load or not), but even that really isn't necessary on most machines.

I have an EVGA 260 Core 216, in a stock Antec P180 case (new generation, so it's exactly like a P182, except silver), all fans set to low, and it hits 50C idle and about 70-75C under load, which is just fine. My system runs nice and quiet, except when the hard drives or DVD drives spin up.

[Stark]

The amount of additional (largely useless) cooling he jammed into that case is actually quite remarkable.

[Haruko]

You really didn't need the VCool. Your previous temps were absolutely fine and well within standard operating conditions. If you were worried, you could have turned up the fan speed (on an EVGA 260, it runs at 40% all the time by default, regardless of whether it is under load or not), but even that really isn't necessary on most machines.

Ah, that's good to know. I was worried that the card being just above the "running hot" line would notably shorten the life span of my video card.

I downloaded the EVGA Precision software which allows me to overclock the card and control its fan speed. I was concerned that permanently setting the fan speed at a higher setting could affect the life of the card. I am aware my fears may be completely unfounded, but I have never messed with the settings of a video card before.

The amount of additional (largely useless) cooling he jammed into that case is actually quite remarkable.

If you mean me, the only additional cooling I added was the VCool (12$ at a local Staples); the two 120mm fans came with my case.

[Starglider]

The working life of video cards for gamers is what, three years at best? Over that time span you could run them at 80 degrees C with no noticable effect.

The most powerful video card I have ATM is actually in my laptop (Radeon 3870), and even that was the lowest spec you could get on that model, since I've hardly played any PC games (certainly not new ones) since I got an Xbox.

[Stark]

If you mean me, the only additional cooling I added was the VCool (12$ at a local Staples); the two 120mm fans came with my case.

And it's useless. Your card was running fine temps anyway and it's unlikely to die (without a fault) before it's obsolete anyway. I can't even be fucked putting my side panel on and nothing in my system even looks like it's going to overheat. The whole 'must focus airflow omg' thing is just a boondoggle.

[The_Saint]

Overclocked Athlon 1800+ and Geforce3 Ti200 in an Antec P182 case... runs fine with all stock cooling. Not the kind of information you were after though

[Haruko]

And it's useless. Your card was running fine temps anyway and it's unlikely to die (without a fault) before it's obsolete anyway.

Well, yeah; thanks to you and Starslayer, I have realized the error of my ways. Fortunately, my choice of the VCool was influenced primarily by it being a cheap solution; also, I can still use the VCool on my old computer, which only has a single 80mm exhaust fan in the rear.

[Stark]

Well yeah, you only spent $12. It's just funny how things get stuck in the nerd consciousness; at one point it was important to manage your case's heat with stock coolers (because they sucked). It's just not really important anymore.

Like how RAM timings used to be important.

[Starglider]

The whole 'must focus airflow omg' thing is just a boondoggle.

It's relevant if you've overclocked your CPU and/or GPU to the point where you have to raise voltages to keep it stable. Personally I prefer water cooling in that situation, much quieter and more effective.

Like how RAM timings used to be important.

Also relevant for some categories of software - RAM latency has a big effect on some large AI problems that I run with nonlocal access patterns - but not, I guess, for most users.

[Stark]

It's relevant if you've overclocked your CPU and/or GPU to the point where you have to raise voltages to keep it stable. Personally I prefer water cooling in that situation, much quieter and more effective.

Even then not always; replacing a CPU cooler is one thing (especially the awful P4 coolers) but the whole 'plot your airflow' thing was pretty much never necessary for general use and is less so now, although it's infected everyone anyway.

Overclocking = lol.

[Starglider]

Overclocking = lol.

Mild overclocks are simply free performance - particularly core unlocks on the AMD X3/X2 processors. As for higher overclocks, it's rarely worth the effort, but I don't begrudge people their hobbies. For me personally, in the past I have been able to (stably) overclock some Intel processors by over 50%, and that is really quite useful when running a CPU-bound research problems.

[Stark]

Look, upclocking a processor that was only clocked down so the manufacturer could sell a 'mid market' version isn't really 'overclocking'. 'Overclocking' is where you waste time and money (and stablity) to get your P4 up to 4GHz for NO REASON.

[CaptHawkeye]

And it's useless. Your card was running fine temps anyway and it's unlikely to die (without a fault) before it's obsolete anyway. I can't even be fucked putting my side panel on and nothing in my system even looks like it's going to overheat. The whole 'must focus airflow omg' thing is just a boondoggle.

It's actually pretty funny that video cards these days need such elaborate built in cooling. I remember pulling an Nvidia 5600FX out of my old comp a while ago only to find that its tiny cooling fan had been dead for years. Not that it mattered, it ran like new all the time even though it was obsolete. It even ran again after I left it under a shelf collecting dirt for another year.

[Stark]

The modern trend to actual cooling (ie heatpipes, sizable radiators, properly-positioned and larger/lower rpm fans, etc) is largely why modern video cards don't just crap out and die like they used to. Remember the 9700s ATi put out? Ugh. Tiny fan + 50% headsink = OH DEAR.

[Starglider]

It's actually pretty funny that video cards these days need such elaborate built in cooling. I remember pulling an Nvidia 5600FX out of my old comp a while ago only to find that its tiny cooling fan had been dead for years.

Yeah, and my Amiga 1200 runs without any fans at all, so it's obviously superior to your PC.

[CaptHawkeye]

. Remember the 9700s ATi put out? Ugh. Tiny fan + 50% headsink = OH DEAR.

What's that smell? Is someone cooking rotting rubber hot dogs?

I figured the cards just hit a point where they needed built in cooling systems due to the exponential growth in GPU capabilities during the 03-06 period. A time when Nvidia also managed to temporarily corner the market because of their ridiculously good 7000 series cards. ATI got a bit arrogant and didn't really put out anything impressive during the time. It was pretty funny to put my old 5600FX aside and then pull the book-sized 7800GS out of the box. The radiator and fan must have been 2/3s of the card's weight and mass.

And personally, I know plenty of people who know way more about computer hardware than I do, and none of them have ever recomended over clocking for any reason. The performance gains are minimal for what is basically cutting the lifespan of your system in HALF.

[Stark]

Well let's be honest; Starglider wants to play Il-2 on a projector. He's got problems.

[CaptHawkeye]

Il-2 on a projector? But that game came out before Anti-Aliasing. On a projector it's going to look like a documentary on Lego!

I tried overclocking my 5600FX back when I was young and dumb. I was fairly moderate about how much I boosted it but I could still be pretty cruel to it. I'm amazed that card still works after what i've done to it.

[Starglider]

Il-2 on a projector? But that game came out before Anti-Aliasing. On a projector it's going to look like a documentary on Lego!

Gah. How many times to I have to keep saying this. THE CONSOLE VERSION IS A REMAKE. The graphics probably won't be top tier but they seem to be a major improvement.

And personally, I know plenty of people who know way more about computer hardware than I do, and none of them have ever recomended over clocking for any reason. The performance gains are minimal for what is basically cutting the lifespan of your system in HALF.

There is basically no reliability impact if you a) don't increase the voltage and b) don't let the temperatures get above 70 degrees C. Letting the temperatures get higher or using significant voltage increases will shorten lifetime, but possibly not enough to matter, given that CPUs can easily last decades and the average overclocked system is unlikely to be used for more than three years or so.

[Stark]

You can force hardware AA anyway. Let's hope the console version has... y'know... textures.

Man that's awesome.

On a projector, the texture artefacts would be BIGGER THAN MY HEAD.