9800 Pro suddenly overheating

[Evilmage]

My 9800 pro has been working fine for about a year now, but a few days ago, after a restart, the computer kept freezing during games. I opened the case, to find that while the other parts aren't hot at all, the 9800 burns on touch.

Why the sudden heat change? I'm running on a shuttle, which isn't the ideal cooling situation, but it's been fine for a year. It's never gotten this hot before.

You think my card is about to go fubar?

I was using artic cooling was it? Also switched back to stock incase the fan wasn't working properly, but no go.

Thanks for any help.

 

[wallis]

possibly dust build up

 

[dguy6789]

Either there is dust slowing the gpu fan down, or the fan is just dieing. Clean out the heatsink and fan for it, and see how it does. If it still crashes, buy like an ATI Silencer or some other good cooler. If that still doesnt fix the problem, then it is not the video card.

If your shuttle does not support 2 slot video cards, there are also a few good singleslot coolers you can get.

 

[Evilmage]

Oh, I forgot to mention. I already cleaned it out.

I don't understand why the heat would jump so much. It was never close to being this hot until a few days ago. Unless both stock and the iceberg 4 (just looked at it) are broken, which I doubt, I don't see why a new cooler would help.

 

[Cheesetogo]

If there is a warranty, just call them up and tell them it broke, and do not change heatsink as that will void the warranty.

 

[Fern]

Maybe check the AGP voltage in BIOS or MBM5? Which IIRC s/b @ 1.5v

If the cooler has no dust and the fan is spinning up to proper RPMs can't really think of anything else. Unless your fan "lost" some blades, which seems unlikely.

You say the HS is hot, so it sounds like it's making good contact and the TIM is OK.

Wierd

 

[Brian48]

The smaller heatsink on the 9800Pro is no where near as secure as that of the 9700Pro. In addition to the above, take the card out and inspect it to see that it's still held snugly in place. Earlier cards had a problem of heatsinks literally working their way loose because of the flimsy pins being used.

Also, lay the case on it's side and start up the PC. This will give you a better look at the fan to see whether or not it's actually working properly. Ideally, you should be able to feel the airflow with your finger approximately one inch away from it. If you don't feel anything, it may not be spinning fast enough.