Curse

wolf-rayet · Nov 10, 2007, 01:28 AM // 01:28

I'm looking for a program that shows or alerts me to when my graphics card will overheat. Any such easy to read and free programs out there excluding speedfan which i cant even understand?

Biostem · Nov 10, 2007, 01:41 AM // 01:41

I'm not aware of any programs for video card temp - I use motherboard monitor for my general pc & cpu temps.

Is your card overclocked? Have you tried removing the card and cleaning its fan/heatsink of dust? What about changing out its fan & heatsink?

wolf-rayet · Nov 10, 2007, 01:47 AM // 01:47

My card doesnt have a fan and i dunno what overclocking or a heatsink is.

Biostem · Nov 10, 2007, 02:10 AM // 02:10

If you aren't familiar w/ overclocking, then we can rule that out. Do you know what make/model your graphics card is? A heatsink is a little metal piece (sometimes w/ a fan) that helps to cool the device it's attached to.

wolf-rayet · Nov 10, 2007, 02:25 AM // 02:25

ATI Radeon 9550

Biostem · Nov 10, 2007, 02:42 AM // 02:42

That's not too bad at all. Why are you concerned about heat? Can you feel that the computer is running hot? Are you getting weird graphical anomalies (stray pixels, distorted graphics, etc)?

I would recommend starting by powering off the computer, removing the card, and blowing it out or cleaning it w/ q-tips and rubbing alcohol (make sure it is thoroughly dry before powering it back on).

wolf-rayet · Nov 10, 2007, 02:53 AM // 02:53

The reason I'm concerned about heat is my pc has shut down a couple of times and I think it was because I played on it too long without a break (Around 8 hours straight at max graphics). Secondly I've never had any weird graphical anomalies.

Biostem · Nov 10, 2007, 02:58 AM // 02:58

OK. Here's what I would suggest - take off 1 side of your pc case and play like that for a while - see if there's any difference. Typically, if it's an issue w/ the graphics card, you'll notice some graphical mess-up's prior to a crash. It sounds like you may have a general pc overheating issue, or possible a power supply issue. Keep in mind that most computers will shut down as a precaution if they get to hot. On that note, does the pc reboot or does it flat-out turn off?

In my case, I upgraded my heat sink, changed to a case w/ a front & side fan, and got a better power supply to resolve my overheating issue - the graphics card was never touched.

wolf-rayet · Nov 10, 2007, 03:05 AM // 03:05

My pc flat turned off a couple of times and wouldn't reboot for over 10 minutes. Also my pc's shell has a fan on the side of it to take air in and a fan on top to take the air out.

Biostem · Nov 10, 2007, 03:23 AM // 03:23

It sounds like the pc itself is overheating - not the video card. Take the side off the case & put a table fan on it - see if it helps. Get a program like motherboard monitor (mbm) and run it - it puts a little temperature icon w/ readouts on the taskbar.

What is the rating on your power supply? If it is being overworked, it will run hotter, and that can cause all sorts of problems...

WLlama · Nov 10, 2007, 03:40 AM // 03:40

Hey wolf-rayet,
Unfortunately, as far as I know, no 9550 have mounted heat sensors so you are out of luck with a direct measurement. Before you turn the housefan on your computer, I would suggest making sure both your GPU and CPU heatsinks are free of dust. Most heatsinks are excellent collectors which causes them to heat up over their life span since they can't dissipate the heat as well after dust bunnies attack. Also, make sure the front vent ports that help airflow through your case are clear. Not only will these help the air flow past your CPU and GPU, they will probably cool off your hard disk(s).