Graphic Cards xfxf alpha dog 8800gt heat issues and how to solve it

ubergeek

Skilled
hey folks

i have a xfx8800gt oced edition which was bought during launch in the us i had my sister brign it for me to india when i first installed the card in my pc the idling temperature was 59degrees with fan speeds at 100% it has been 2 years now and my idling temps was increasing gradually now it idles at 70c :hap5:.

so inorder to bring the temps down i under clocked my card even then the core temps was at 70 idle :mad: i can play games like tf2 and others for like just an hour or 2 after that the system freezes and i have to restart it i guess the heat is the main problem here.

so can anyone please tell me how to bring the core temps down

i have zebby peace cabinet with a 120mm fan which sucks air and a 80mm fan just below it which blows hot air out i also have a fan on the top of the cabby which blows hot air out so if a fan has to be added in which part of the cabinet i have to place it and should it suck or blow?


me buying a third party cooler like hr 03gt is out of question cuz iam saving up for 4890 or gtx275 so please dont suggest me that


is there any way i can apply thermal compound to the core chip so that i can see a substantial decrease in the core temps iam prepared to dissect my
card,please tell me the safety precautions that i have to follow in order to prevent any mishaps.

since i saw no change in core temps i restored my clock settings to default that is the factory specified settings

thanks for going through the post i like to hold onto this card till i get a new one so guys please advise me on what to do.
 
Firstly is it a single slot cooler or dual slot?

This is single slot

XFX-Alpha-Dog-XXX.jpg


This is dual slot. I have this.

281h91u.jpg


This is what I bought - http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/coolers/display/xigmatek-auras-vga.html

05bafrre7.jpg
04bapwc5.jpg


Temps never cross 55*C mark.

Open and clean the card thoroughly, another thing you need is on the spot cooling.

Put a fan close to the card throwing air directly on it.

Take inspiration from here - http://www.techenclave.com/graphic-cards/pleasant-surprise-4850-owners-stock-coolers-125385.html

Hope this helps :hap2:

oh and use some good TIM.
 
dude mine is a single slot cooler and i cant buy any aftermarket coolers please read my post and one more thing please give me directions to apply some kinda like thermal compund on the gpu thanks for the reply btw
 
Yes, it definitely not wise to buy a cooler for ur card now.
Well, cleaning up the card n applying new thermal paste wud definitely bring the temps back to wat u had when ur card was new, infact with a better paste than the stock goop u may get a couple of degrees lesser.
Just one thng u need to be careful is the thermal pads spread all across the vrm and memory chips....these pads r most likely single use items, though if u remove the HSF very gently u'll most likely be able to retain them in proper place without any of them tearing apart/falling off.....keep in mind that these pads cant be replaced with thermal paste.

ref pic:
1zdmz4x.jpg


as u can see in the pic,while i removed my hsf, the thermal pad to the left of the pic tore apart and half of it stuck to the memory chip:p
 
hi,

ur pc restarts due to lack of proper power supply....try to buy a good smps...8800 gt requires a good smps

i have 9800 gt oc'd ...under load it will go to 80 degree....so dont care about the heat...u buy a good psu ...
 
@mithun

now thats the kind of answer i was looking for so all i aahve to do is be carefull with the thermal pads this is the first time ever iam gonna open the gcard heatsink how do i disconnect and reconnect the fans and also mithun can you please suggest a nice thermal paste please :thanks:
 
neojjjk said:
hi,
ur pc restarts due to lack of proper power supply....try to buy a good smps...8800 gt requires a good smps
i have 9800 gt oc'd ...under load it will go to 80 degree....so dont care about the heat...u buy a good psu ...

dude i have a vx450 which is more than enuf to power a 8800gt iam saying that the game gets stuck reight in the middle i have the HARD BOOT please read my post before answering :|
 
@ubergeek - I didnt say that you buy the cooler, i was just showing you what I've got :p

anyways now you know how to open up ur card. On the spot cooling will really help, even though you dont have a big HS.
 
You can remove the thermal pads too and order new ones from KMD, it something like 350 for 5, you need 10, hope that helps or you can opt for a Accelero, which you will be able to later use on the 4850!
 
I have same card, buy an Accelero S1 Rev2 for arnd 1700 shipped via KMD, or if u wna save money, then buy QQ Vga Cooler frm DealExtreme.

Accelero recommended as it may be compatible with 4890 too (Coz its compatible with 4870)

Temps never cross 45c mark!
 
Well, donno abt the current model of the accelero, but the one i got thru KMD, the S1 rev2, cant be said to be fully compatible with the 8800GT(ref). Mainly coz, it didnt have the proper VRM heatsinks...had to make em myself:bleh: ...and also one of the heatsinks for RAM came in the way of the heatpipes and had to be cut short in height.

And yes, u can buy thermal pads frm KMD, my point was, those cant be replaced by thermal paste, so buyin additional thermal pads will be necessary.

The fan is connected to the pcb by a 3 pin connector(like mobo fan header), and can be removed very easily.

As for the thermal paste, i guess the Tuniq TX2 that comes with the SCCF is both cheap n effective.....also AC MX2 is very popular.
 
AGAIN I CANT AFFORD TO BUY ANY AFTER MARKET COOLERS PLEASE KEEP THAT IN MIND btw thanks for the suggestions and also can some one please answer me on where to place an extra fan in my cabby???
 
dude ubergeek,, ive tried evrything on the XFX card:

1. Replacing stock fan with a 80mm high speed fan

2. Removing the black shrad off the card n applying a 120mm fan to it

3. Putting a 120mm underneath the card to blow air onto the stock heatsink

The 3rd ws comparitvely more effective



@sm1: Accelero is fully compatible with XFX 8800GT dude, no modifications wtsoever.
 
Disconnect your cad and remove all the dust thats build up inside it. If you want you can use a vaccum cleaner or a hair dryer but be careful that it doesnt build up any kind of static.
 
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