# Did i burn up my GPU??? (Nvidia Go 7900 GS)



## Ivanfrost (Oct 7, 2007)

Hello Everyone...

I recently unlocked my Nvidia go 7900 GS and read a bit and dl the ati tool...

I started with finding my max i ended up at first around 600 700 then i noticed it was getting too hot around 92+ and i was losing FPS  so i brought it down to 500 600... still no go was still getting hot even with a reboot... ofcoarse this is running ati tool with the 3d going...  i brought it back down to default mode... and it still is staying hot when i use the 3d cube... 92 93... i reinstalled atitool and no difference...  Did i do something to my GPU?  What did i do wrong?  

Thank you in advance for your help...


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## GLD (Oct 7, 2007)

The 3D cube in ATi tool is a gpu stresser. When I run it my gpu temps. rise also. I bet your 7900GS is OK.


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## Ivanfrost (Oct 7, 2007)

Bump


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## Tatty_One (Oct 7, 2007)

Ivan, what idle temps are you getting in ATiTool without the cube running?


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## Ivanfrost (Oct 7, 2007)

I just turned on AtiTool and without the cube... my temp is 65


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## DOM (Oct 7, 2007)

whats your fan speed % at ?


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## Tatty_One (Oct 7, 2007)

DOM_ATI_X800XL_PCI-E said:


> whats your fan speed % at ?



Lol that was to be my next question


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## DOM (Oct 7, 2007)

Tatty_One said:


> Lol that was to be my next question



lol I was waiting for you to ask


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## Ivanfrost (Oct 7, 2007)

DOM_ATI_X800XL_PCI-E said:


> whats your fan speed % at ?



How do i check this?


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## DOM (Oct 7, 2007)

its the one at 0% below fan speed cuz im on water


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## Ivanfrost (Oct 7, 2007)

ok...


(dont know how to get a more clearer image on)


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## DOM (Oct 7, 2007)

Ivanfrost said:


> ok...


 its at 0% is the fan spinning ?


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## Ivanfrost (Oct 7, 2007)

yea the fan is moving... very low tho... 









ok


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## Ivanfrost (Oct 7, 2007)

Yea its moving at low speed i have I8kfangui as well...


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## DOM (Oct 7, 2007)

Click on settings then go to Fan Control and take post a pic of it


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## Ivanfrost (Oct 7, 2007)




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## a111087 (Oct 7, 2007)

lol 92c is really bad for gpu, try not to go there


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## Ivanfrost (Oct 7, 2007)

There doesnt seem to be an option for it


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## DOM (Oct 7, 2007)

Ivanfrost said:


>


click on manual fan control see if you can change it there


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## Ivanfrost (Oct 7, 2007)

Your ati tool program looks different than mine is there another dl of the one that you have??
i put the fans on force when i put them on manually they shut off in a few sec...


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## Ivanfrost (Oct 8, 2007)




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## DOM (Oct 8, 2007)

Ivanfrost said:


> Your ati tool program looks different than mine is there another dl of the one that you have??
> i put the fans on force when i put them on manually they shut off in a few sec...


its the same its my card 

what brand is your card ? and what are your system specs ?


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## DOM (Oct 8, 2007)

wait this is a laptop right ?


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## Ivanfrost (Oct 8, 2007)

Dell Inspiron 9400 T5600 2.0 Gigs RAM 100 Gig Hard Drive 7200 Nvidia Go 7900 GS 256 Meg 84.63 Driver 17" Ultra Sharp Screen


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## DOM (Oct 8, 2007)

Try this one see if that have the fan control 

0.27 Beta 2


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## Ivanfrost (Oct 8, 2007)

i cant get that beta to run...



i will install the version i had back on...

look at my other post if you can as well...

i had a blue screen of death happen when i tried to get max core aswell


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## Ivanfrost (Oct 8, 2007)

i have the .26 very wierd no fan settings


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## DOM (Oct 8, 2007)

well I found some pic of the card but dont know if its the same layout of the heatpipes cuz its for a XPS M1710 & Precision M90 Notebooks so thats why it doesnt have fan speed control


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## cdawall (Oct 8, 2007)

check with rivatuner?


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## DOM (Oct 8, 2007)

You might need something like this Notebook Cooler Pad with 3 built-in 60mm Fans


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## Ivanfrost (Oct 8, 2007)

Well that is sweet yea there are 2 fans in my laptop so i can adjust that...


Any ideas on the heat problem with using the 3d cube at default settings?


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## DOM (Oct 8, 2007)

Ivanfrost said:


> Well that is sweet yea there are 2 fans in my laptop so i can adjust that...
> 
> 
> Any ideas on the heat problem with using the 3d cube at default settings?



might be not enough air flow to cool it down


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## doggghouse (Oct 11, 2007)

Hey Ivanfrost,

I have a very similar notebook, and experienced the same problems with ATI Tool.  There's three reasons that the GPU gets so hot, even at stock speeds:  3DCube stresses the GPU way more than any game would; the heatsink only has 1 heat pipe (XPS systems have 2); and Dell's default fan settings are way too low (to conserve power?).

I found that the best option is to use I8kfangui to force just the 2nd fan to high at all times.  You can choose just the 2nd fan in the options.  This fan blows directly on the heat pipe for the GPU.  I just leave the 1st fan alone, since it blows on the heat pipe for the CPU, and Dell's normal settings keep it cool enough.

I think the 3D Cube still gets the temps up there, but with the fan on, it takes a lot longer to build up the heat.  I've read that the GPU is designed to run pretty hot anyway.  85C is what most people consider the max temp for these 7900s.

I've also heard that the Notebook Cooler Pads really work... so if you have heat issues while overclocking, you may want to look into that.


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## Ivanfrost (Oct 11, 2007)

doggghouse said:


> Hey Ivanfrost,
> 
> I have a very similar notebook, and experienced the same problems with ATI Tool.  There's three reasons that the GPU gets so hot, even at stock speeds:  3DCube stresses the GPU way more than any game would; the heatsink only has 1 heat pipe (XPS systems have 2); and Dell's default fan settings are way too low (to conserve power?).
> 
> ...




Thanks for the post dog... (sent you a pm as well)
What notebook cooler pads have you used any recomendation?


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## doggghouse (Oct 12, 2007)

For notebook coolers, I heard that the one at Best Buy was good, but the reviews make it sound pretty cheap: 
Targus - Notebook Chill Mat - Silver

You could look into the one that DOM mentioned in this thread also...

I flashed an unlocked BIOS on my card, and have it set to 500/575 with the default memory timings (more aggressive, less overclocking but faster anyway).  I tinkered with the BIOS file and set it to use 1.05V instead of 1.24V, and it seems to stay a little cooler.

I just finished a game of Civ4 while overclocked; the peak temp was 85C.  I have the 2nd fan constantly on, as well.  I think it's a bit hot so I may try lowering the speeds a little.  I didn't have any problems in the game though.


EDIT: When I turned off the forced fan in I8kfangui, the laptop fans came on when the GPU got too hot.  It just waits for really high temps before the fans turn on.  It's probably not even necessary to use I8kfangui, except to track the temps while making adjustments for overclocking.  If you see peak temps over 85C (or whatever you're comfortable with), you may want to tune down the overclocking some...


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## gustahot (Nov 5, 2007)

*Forget about the coolers. I had the same problem!*

MY SOLUTION FOR YOU.

Hello (sorry for my english) 

I had the same problem as you with almost the same laptop (mine is Dell E1705 with 7900 GS) is the same design and I had exactly the same thing. High Temps on 3D and low performance on 3D games and 3Dmark06 score. I tried everything to solve the problem and nothing. Even setting the fans to high speed all the time and no change with the problem...

If you can open your laptop and see directly the fins of the cooler of the GPU you will see that will be 100% cover on dust and that part is critical because the fan send air to those fins and the dust avoid that the air go to the right place. Maybe is a design problem but I have only 9 months with this laptop and my apartment is not dusty at all but is a very small space and will be full of dust very quick (I think we need to check that and clean the fans and the fins at least one each 9 months).

Important note: The design of the CPU Fan/Cooler is exactly the same as the GPU so in my case that Fan/Cooler was cover of dust too (clean that side too!!!)

Once I cleaned everything my laptop was just like new in performance and temps! and the overclock is working perfect with no artifacs and no high temps!

Hope this help you.


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## newconroer (Nov 5, 2007)

So...you started 'unlocking' and overclocking before you even figured out how to find or adjust the fan speed?

Lol...some people.



This seems convulted.


If he didn't check the fan/temperature(s) before running the ATi tool, then it may have well been running that hot, how would he know either way?
Now he's done the artifacting tool and is not comfortable with the temperatures and seems to think that by knocking the clocks back to default that it should make a noticeable temperature difference. Which..may not be the case, it IS a laptop .... 


Sort out your fan control, then run some real world applications. If it runs the same temperature as it does using the ATi tool test, then you have a problem. If it runs cooler, and there's no performance issues, then the card is fine....


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## JamMcFar (Dec 2, 2007)

gustahot said:


> MY SOLUTION FOR YOU.
> 
> Hello (sorry for my english)
> 
> ...





Im running an XPS m1710 with a geforce go 7900gtx. That sounds the exact same as the problem im having now!

Do you mean the "fins" at the top corners of the laptop that the fans pass air through before leaving out the back?

Also did you open up the laptop or did you just spray compressed air in the vents?

Thanks!!


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## gustahot (Dec 3, 2007)

JamMcFar said:


> Im running an XPS m1710 with a geforce go 7900gtx. That sounds the exact same as the problem im having now!
> 
> Do you mean the "fins" at the top corners of the laptop that the fans pass air through before leaving out the back?
> 
> ...



I opened the laptop. You need to know how to do it but is not too difficult. Just remove every screw in the bottom, remove the long plastic piece that have the power button, remove the keyboard and you will see the fans and the fins (I mean the fins those IIIIIIIIII of aluminum where the air flow from the fans). YOu need to clean everything very good and you will have your computer running fast again.


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## JamMcFar (Dec 3, 2007)

Thanks gustahot, you've answered a problem i've been struggling with for the last few months and fried my GPU twice!


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## JamMcFar (Dec 3, 2007)

Just gave the fins a clean and it certainly helped, but it only slows down the speed at which the temperatures creep up.

They are still hitting 94degrees celcius after only 4 minutes of playing portal(or any other game for that matter).

The GPU thermal assembly takes advantage of both fans in the laptop by having fins placed infront of both of them.I noticed there was fewer fins on the thermal assembly on the left hand side than the right (33 versus 49 fins).

Could the company that fixed it last time for me have given me a crappy assembly? Or is it more likely the problem lies with how the GPU and the thermal assembly are  connected? Thamks


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## Fuse-Wire (Dec 3, 2007)

hmmm, seems like your laptop doesn't like being pushed, have you opened it while the power was on to see where the heat is coming from??


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## JamMcFar (Dec 3, 2007)

No I haven't. I can't think its coming from anywhere else though. The CPU is running just fine, as is the memory and chipset temperatures according to I8kfanGUI anyway.

If I crack her open again where should I be suspicious of extra heat coming from? Could it be a power leak or something similar?


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## WeeeBob (Dec 18, 2007)

gustahot said:


> MY SOLUTION FOR YOU.
> 
> If you can open your laptop and see directly the fins of the cooler of the GPU you will see that will be 100% cover on dust and that part is critical because the fan send air to those fins and the dust avoid that the air go to the right place. Maybe is a design problem but I have only 9 months with this laptop and my apartment is not dusty at all but is a very small space and will be full of dust very quick (I think we need to check that and clean the fans and the fins at least one each 9 months).
> 
> Hope this help you.



I had this with my Inspiron 9400 when I first got it (well was from the outlet store!)

Temps constantly rocketing and hitting the thermal shutdown limit (94 degress I think with the original Geforce 7800 card i got with it) opened her up as i thought the thermal paste seal may have been broken, only to find the machine caked with dust, in areas that are not immediately noticeable on opening the machine, 
 but why try and paint you a mental image, when I can show you the pics :

http://picasaweb.google.com/yussuf.khan/20070307MyDirtyLaptop

I've since got my hands on the Geforce 7900 Go GS, and overclocked it to 600/600 !! sweeetness, but my god the temperature!!  With fans on full and playing crysis it pushes to 95 degrees constant!! but still holds together!! Been like that for 6 months now.


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## JamMcFar (Dec 29, 2007)

By coincidence I did just the same procedure with arctic silver 5 yesterday. The damn penny pinching company I bought the laptop from from used a crappy thermal pad as i had suspected.

Unfortunately there was a gap between the GPU and thermal assembly when i put it back together (even though it was screwed on real tight). When I tested it with Portal it lasted about ten seconds before it started flickering blue and yellow tinges onscreen, an ailment which is now permanent.

Unless anybody says otherwise Im gonna presume it got a little fried. Anybody know where I can find a Geforce go 7900 gtx for cheap? I would ask Dell but don't have the cash for a super pricey repair.


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