hd 6950 crazy temps ?!

[Jack of Diamonds]

92c is normal only on a 6990 core or a 5970 core. 102 is unstable for any GPU.

Your 6950 should stay at 65-80c if you add a simple table fan next to it.

Or download MSI Afterburner and set the fan speed to 100%.
You can also do this in Catalyst control center.

[nebiki]

reference design is probably the best bet because the air goes straight from the card to outside the case. if i hear you speaking about 100%, i get the chills. 50% was so damn loud, i couldn't imagine going for 100%. for dedicated rigs in a different room, it's okay, but having the fans blow at 100% in the room you browse the internet is way too loud.

[goxed]

reference design is probably the best bet because the air goes straight from the card to outside the case. if i hear you speaking about 100%, i get the chills. 50% was so damn loud, i couldn't imagine going for 100%. for dedicated rigs in a different room, it's okay, but having the fans blow at 100% in the room you browse the internet is way too loud.

I am using this Vantec tornado fan on the top of my Lian Li case. It's loud like  jet engine but sure does keep the cards cool. It has tremendous airflow, even at moderate rpms.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811999612&cm_re=vantec_tornado-_-11-999-612-_-Product

[Man From The Future]

I run everything at 100% and sleep in the room

And of course, an additional fan pointing at the case is required.

[onis_uk]

right ive sent them back ! and got these instead...

http://www.sapphiretech.com/presentation/product/?cid=1&gid=3&sgid=1041&pid=1235&psn=000101&lid=1&leg=0

hopefully dual fans and a better cooler will do the job ! 

[Auspician]

Be careful running your fans at 100% all the time; anything over 70-80% will dramatically reduce the fans lifetime and could very possibly burn out the card if the fan dies but the card continues running (especially with the single-fan reference models).  Playing with my build a bit, I'm now working with the following settings:

Non-reference 6950's with the duel-fans and a side panel fan.
Core Voltage 1049mV
Core Clock 870MHz
Mem Clock 650MHz
Fan Speed 70-80% curve
Temps on both Cards 70-72 C consistently.

As I mentioned in a previous post, heat has more to do with the voltage and less to do with the clock speed - as long as the voltage is high enough to stably support your clock speeds, you're g2g.

[onis_uk]

i'll report back when i get the sapphire cards tomorrow !

[Big Time Coin]

if fans blow down from the top is best, imo.  2nd best is from the back towards the front, but make sure fresh air is getting into the card fan in any case.

[Coaster]

theres only 1 way to keep the heat down when everything else fails..

[Big Time Coin]

i lold