Simviation Forum - Heat problem with Radeons

Dec 11^th, 2003 at 7:42am

Delta_ Offline
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The heat problem is not due to drivers, it is due to the heatsink not beaing fitted correctly. I have just spoken to someone who heard this rumor and decided to strip his 9800xt and found that the heatsink was not fitted the correctly there are air bubbles in the compound and it is really thick.

I am currently trying to find out if 9600 have this problem aswell.

My system:Intel Q6600@3.6GHz, Corsair XMS2 4GB DDR2-6400 (4-4-4-12-1T) , Sapphire 7850 OC 2BG 920/5000, X-Fi Fatality, Corsair AX 750, 7 Pro x64

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Reply #1 - Dec 11^th, 2003 at 7:55am

Nexus Offline
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Well, since most companies (Saphire, Hercules etc) designs their own type of heatsink, I'm very curious to know which brand(s) who has these problems ???

Myself has a Hercules Radeon 9800XT, and I'm not suffering from any heat related problems.

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Reply #2 - Dec 11^th, 2003 at 8:13am

Delta_ Offline
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I had a feeling this thread would get moved

My system:Intel Q6600@3.6GHz, Corsair XMS2 4GB DDR2-6400 (4-4-4-12-1T) , Sapphire 7850 OC 2BG 920/5000, X-Fi Fatality, Corsair AX 750, 7 Pro x64

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Reply #3 - Dec 11^th, 2003 at 10:23pm

svenpurple7 Offline
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So they have the internet
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I use the ATI 9800pro and haven't had any heating problems. Then again, I keep the inside of my case rather cold.

Since I am not having heating problems, I don't want to take off the fan and heat sink just to see if the compound is messed up. Otherwise I would check it.

If I have problems in the future, I'll be sure to post something. Also, if any one hears that this rumor is confirmed, could you post something as well to let the rest of us know?

Thanks.

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Reply #4 - Dec 12^th, 2003 at 3:47am

Delta_ Offline
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London, UK

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Don't fix it unless it is broke

My system:Intel Q6600@3.6GHz, Corsair XMS2 4GB DDR2-6400 (4-4-4-12-1T) , Sapphire 7850 OC 2BG 920/5000, X-Fi Fatality, Corsair AX 750, 7 Pro x64

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Reply #5 - Dec 12^th, 2003 at 6:26am

Magneto Offline
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Quote:

The heat problem is not due to drivers, it is due to the heatsink not beaing fitted correctly. I have just spoken to someone who heard this rumor and decided to strip his 9800xt and found that the heatsink was not fitted the correctly there are air bubbles in the compound and it is really thick.

I am currently trying to find out if 9600 have this problem aswell.

There was a design problem with Radeon heatsinks that began with 9700s. I had thought that these problems were fixed.
If you aren't familiar with this, the problem was that the R300 GPU had a copper shim that surrounded it, below the heatsink. The shim was supposed to keep the heatsink from accidently chipping the die on the GPU core, and to protect delicate components that were right under the heatsink.
This would not have been a problem, but the shim was too thick. The heatsink was actually sitting on the shim but was not touching the top of the die. To make up for this boo-boo, they added a thick thermal pad to fill the gap. Anyone who's messed with those thermal pads know that they get very hot and then melt in place. In this case, they would melt and leave a gap between the heatsink and GPU die.

Some people would remove the shim (tricky and dangerous), some would mod their heatsink by grinding out a channel on the bottom for the shim so that it would sit lower and touch their GPU.

I had one such card from Sapphire that burned down on me. My next card, I pulled the cooler and this shim was the right size. I installed a super-cooler on this card anyway, and was happy that I did not have to mod it to make good contact with the GPU die.

I would think that the shim problem has been fixed on 9800 series cards, but they all run HOT. A better cooling solution will lengthen the life of the card, and keep it running cool even during those "heated" sessions.

Mag...

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Reply #6 - Dec 12^th, 2003 at 8:03am

Silent Exploder Ex Member

this doesn't sound good.
i've got a 9700pro from sapphire and it works good since april. let's hope that this card hasn't got the failiure... Embarrassed

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