Please help me keep my GPU temp down

[zrike]

I just found out about bitcoin, and I'm really excited about it.
Ive got everything set up to use my GPU, an HIS Radeon HD 4830, but every time my GPU's temp goes up past 100.

I just ran a test with the lowest clock settings in CCC, and the -v -w128 flags(what do these do anyway?), and checked my GPU's status 5 minutes later.

It was hovering at around 110 degrees, and 98% activity, and the rest off my desktop was pretty sluggish.
Thats way to hot for me to feel comfortable.

Admittedly, the only things cooling related in my PC are the power fan, the GPU fan/heatsink, and the CPU fan/heatsink, but there's gotta be a way to lower the resources being used.

I'd love to get a hard cooling solution but money is really tight right now, so unless it really cheap, I need to do something on the software side of things.

So any idea how I can keep my GPU temp down?
Any help is appreciated.

[FatherMcGruder]

Open your case and point a fan at it?

[compro01]

I just found out about bitcoin, and I'm really excited about it.
Ive got everything set up to use my GPU, an HIS Radeon HD 4830, but every time my GPU's temp goes up past 100.

I just ran a test with the lowest clock settings in CCC, and the -v -w128 flags(what do these do anyway?), and checked my GPU's status 5 minutes later.

It was hovering at around 110 degrees, and 98% activity, and the rest off my desktop was pretty sluggish.
Thats way to hot for me to feel comfortable.

Admittedly, the only things cooling related in my PC are the power fan, the GPU fan/heatsink, and the CPU fan/heatsink, but there's gotta be a way to lower the resources being used.

I'd love to get a hard cooling solution but money is really tight right now, so unless it really cheap, I need to do something on the software side of things.

So any idea how I can keep my GPU temp down?
Any help is appreciated.

the -v and -w flags control how the GPU is told to do the calculations.

are you meaning 110 fahrenheit or celsius?  also, what are you using to measure this temperature?

sluggishness is normal, though you can help with that by using the --frames flag and setting it to a large value (several hundred).

typical fans are quite cheap.  just look in your case and find what you have for fan mounts and buy the appropriate size.  you can get fans for under $5.  it's only for special things (especially quite, especially large, especially fast, etc.) that it gets expensive.

if even that isn't an option, try using rivatunerand cranking up the GPU fan speed.  setting the fan on my 8800GTS to 100% full time dropped the temperature by over 20C

[zrike]

I'm using Catalyst Control Center for the temp measurements, and I'm pretty certain its Celsius since there's a C next to the number it gives me.

After some experimenting, Ive got it holding at about 91C with -v -w32 -f100000000 (no clue if -f even works that high, but it seemed to help the higher i set it), and I set my fan to 100% with rivatuner. though I only get about 13/14 Mhash/s.

Is it safe to let it work at that temp?
I'll look into fans, $5-$10 I can handle.

Also, thanks for the help so far.

[SmokeTooMuch]

Hmm, with 100% fan speed my 4870 doesn't heat up over <80°C. (reference cooling system)
Something has to be wrong with your system, maybe you need another case fan that blows out the hot air.

btw: afaik -v isn't advantageous for the 4xxx series because they aren't that good at vector calculating (at least not for hashes).

[Distribution]

I use MSI Afterburner which has an option to automatically control the fan. It keeps my GPU around 82 degrees at 85% fan speed. But like it's been said, it could be your case.

[bitjet]

My cards were hitting like 85 - 90c, and the fans were so loud. I finally just moved it to the basement where I dont have to hear it anymore and the temp down there is around 50F so the cards mow stay 65-70c

[rezin777]

No case fans. Bingo.

The hot air is trapped inside your case. The only fan that is helping at all is the PSU fan, and those normally don't move much air.

Your temperatures are too hot for my taste, but shouldn't damage the card. Then again, they are high enough that if the fan was to stop working, temps would shoot up rapidly and possibly cause problems.

As suggested, buy some cheap case fans. Try to have more air pushing into the case than pull out of the case creating positive pressure inside the case. I find my temperatures are lower this way and it also helps to fight dust.

[zrike]

HOLY-

I just opened my case to do some maintenance, and open a few ports. There was dust everywhere!

I cleaned it as best I could without a can of air, but there's still a lot in the nooks and cranny's...

Heh, also found out a 500GB hard drive I had left unused for forever was dead.

Anyway, I'll be heading to out later today to pick up a can and two case fans(all my case has room for).

How careful do I need to be while using the can? The main areas I need to use it are the heatsinks.

[compro01]

How careful do I need to be while using the can? The main areas I need to use it are the heatsinks.

1. don't hold the can upside down.  it'll freeze stuff when sprayed (that's a fun trick to cool off a drink though).
2. don't breathe in from the can.
3. when spraying a fan, be sure to hold it still with a finger or you can damage the bearings from overspinning it.

[gigabytecoin]

How careful do I need to be while using the can? The main areas I need to use it are the heatsinks.

1. don't hold the can upside down.  it'll freeze stuff when sprayed (that's a fun trick to cool off a drink though).
2. don't breathe in from the can.
3. when spraying a fan, be sure to hold it still with a finger or you can damage the bearings from overspinning it.

4. Be sure to hold the can at least 6 inches away from whatever you are dusting off.

[zrike]

Didn't realize how much time had passed.
I got 2 80mm fans, and a extension slot fan. After cleaning the dust and installing them, it stays cooler at higher loads.

One thing I feel silly about, is that there is a spot for a larger fan in the front, and I didn't notice until i was installing the ones i bought.

Thanks for all the help, I just have a few final questions.

How important is the large front fan?
What is a safe temp to aim for?
And lastly, is it safe to have it going 24/7?

Once again, thanks, and these should be my last questions.

[compro01]

How important is the large front fan?
What is a safe temp to aim for?
And lastly, is it safe to have it going 24/7?

Once again, thanks, and these should be my last questions.

in general, larger fans are better, as they can move more air while making less noise.  but if your temps are already fine and your noise level is acceptable to you, there's no particular need for another fan.

I would consider 70s to be the maximum i would want it running at on a continuous basis.

and with proper cooling, there's no problem with running it 24x7.

[PiGames]

I've been running my 6850 ~22/7 and havent seen it jump above 71degrees C.
I dont really have any special cooling going on either.
5(ish) case fans and the on-board GPU fan.
I also have all my expansion bay slots opened up for some airflow and I try to dust it out once every other day (sits @ ground level and I have a dog =/ )