defective/overheating GTX 280s thread

[n7]

I just installed mine.

Shiney new BFG GTX 280.

But thus far, all my worst fears have come true, & more

I was worried about overheating.
I was a bit worried about noise.


And so far, i'm 3 for 2...

Card is roasting hot.
My apartment is as cool as it's ever going to be for this summer (it's a nice very cool evening), & it's idling around 60-70c.

But under load, it cooking up to 105-108C, just from playing GRID.

And it from watching Rivatuner, it has visibly throttled clocks down at least once.
Also artifacted for a bit exitting GRID.

But it gets worse.

Not only is the fan at max unable to properly cool this card, it's very loud as well. I don't mind a little noise, but this is way more than a little.

I could maybe try to tolerate the noise if it was doing a good job, but it's not even close to doing a decent job.

And yes, it gets worse.

Chugging galore.

As in, the exact same kinda stuttering/chuggy crap i got when i had my 3870X2, but actually worse!?

It's terribly noticeable in GRID, but also in UT3, even with good fps, it's not smooth.

And i haven't even gotten to any other games yet.

But seriously, wtf?

I'd like to think i just got a bum card, but from what i've read elsewhere, i'm not so sure.

The overheating thing is an issue for many people.
The stuttering/chugging though i don't understand...if this was SLi/CF, sure, but wtf am i getting the same kinda unsmooth chugging feel with a single GPU card like this?

/n7 is going to bed very sad & frustrated.

 

[CP5670]

Unfortunately, those temperatures indicate that you got one of the dud cards that have been going around. Those cards have been reportedly burning out quickly on their own, so you should just get it replaced.

My card idles at 47C and the highest load temperature I saw on it was 78C in Crysis, which is how it should be. The fan does speed up in some games but it isn't that loud or annoying at all, and it never goes anywhere close to the top speed.

I don't notice any microstutter in general, and I can see it easily on SLI or in certain game engines. In UT3 specifically, disable the frame smoothing option if you haven't already, as that causes an effect very similar to microstutter (which happens on any hardware). If you're seeing it on that card in other games, it may be a sign of stability trouble.

 

[BFG10K]

The chugging is because the card is overheating. I've seen it before with other video cards after they hit 105 C or so.

I tend to agree - you've probably got a bad card. RMA it and try again.

 

[Hauk]

Originally posted by: CP5670
Unfortunately, those temperatures indicate that you got one of the dud cards that have been going around. Those cards have been reportedly burning out quickly on their own, so you should just get it replaced.

That's a bummer n7. What of these dud cards? Is it any particular vendor? Anyone figure what's it's resulting from? The poor yield perhaps?

 

[tuteja1986]

Sound like you need a case with proper air flow :! remember a case with 50 fan ain't going to cool you system if it ain't designed for proper airflow.

Anyways what case you got ?

I am soon going to sell my Coolermaster stacker to bud for $120 and buy this :
http://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/Gigabyte/3DMercury

In australia it goes for $399 but its my 1st Watercooling solution

 

[Cutthroat]

Wow, those temps are way higher than mine.:shocked:

My ambients are hot, vary from 25-30C usually. The card seems to idle between 40-45C and full load at 70-75C. The only time I heard the fan at 100% was when I set it with rivatuner, and it was load. I just leave it alone and it runs at 40%.

Overclocking the card to 680/1150 only heats it up a couple of degrees.

There is definitely something wrong with either that card or your case, if you take the side panel off does it help.

 

[n7]

Originally posted by: CP5670
In UT3 specifically, disable the frame smoothing option if you haven't already, as that causes an effect very similar to microstutter (which happens on any hardware). If you're seeing it on that card in other games, it may be a sign of stability trouble.

So it seems.
I have heard so many issues with the overheating, so i was worried...
Seems like a quality control issue IMO, as there's been a LOT of issues reported.

Framerate smoothing has been disabled since i got UT3 in November (& on each subsequent reinstall ).

Originally posted by: tuteja1986
Sound like you need a case with proper air flow :!

If only that was the issue.

My case has decent airflow, but it doesn't matter; it's not the problem.

This morning, i just tried GRID again in what's around 15c here in my apartment (gets cold due to the window left open), with my house fan blowing right over the side of the case, & same thing, shoots up to 105C in seconds, & immediately it's chugging in GRID.

Originally posted by: BFG10K
The chugging is because the card is overheating. I've seen it before with other video cards after they hit 105 C or so.

I tend to agree - you've probably got a bad card. RMA it and try again.

I've contacted DirectCanada...going to find out how good or bad their support is now.

I could go through BFG, but i'll have to pay to ship then.

If DC is decent like NCIX, then should cover shipping.

I'm rather disappointed with this whole thing though.

I cannot believe the number of people reporting overheating issues...certainly QC is lacking bigtime.

If i get another one back that's effed, my patience will likely more than disappear :frown:

 

[n7]

Just tested with RTHDRIBL.

As soon as it hits around 100C, i can see it start to stutter & chug.

And check this out: http://www.nvnews.net/vbulleti...d.php?t=114925&page=15

I knew of the thread, but look at the number of issues.
Every second person is getting cards that overheat.

I think asking for an exchange might have been a mistake

 

[Mem]

I agree very much a faulty card,btw you really should try FurMark's benchmarking/stability test since it really cooks your card under testing etc...

I've had my 4870 card upto 92c with FurMark(still rock solid),however no game I have gets that high.

FurMark download link .

n7 surprised you never got a 4870 card,I know the 280 is faster but price to performance etc...

 

[Tempered81]

Originally posted by: Mem

n7 surprised you never got a 4870 card,I know the 280 is faster but price to performance etc...

yeah and if you're returning your card for another, I'd think about an X2 in a couple weeks...

 

[LittleNemoNES]

Sorry N7 -- remember my thread about a similar thing happening? Link
Newegg RMA is SLOW AS BALLZ right now. It may be best to take the bullet and ship it 1-2 day shipping yourself and see if they can match that.
They just sent out my card today -- 1 week later.
Now I have to wait ANOTHER week to get the replacement and Pray to the game gods it isn't defective as well.
The kicker? No refund for this card

 

[kkk60091]

faulty card....

my bfg 280: idle 49~50c, load 85~86c

 

[SSChevy2001]

Get your money back and just wait for the 55nm versions or the X2. Not like your missing out on any great new game.

I think newegg has a quick RMA, but you have to buy the card again and then wait for the refund. call them first though

 

[AmberClad]

So, I thought I had read that this is just an issue with the BIOS using a higher voltage than the card is supposed to use. And that some people had flashed the BIOS to one that had the correct voltage. Either of you two try that yet?

 

[Hauk]

With the randomness, I'm wondering what the cause may be. Let's see the choices:

* Bad GPU
* Incorrect bios voltage (thanks Amber)
* Inadequate fanspeed (wheter software or mechanical)
* Poor contact with heatsink

I'm really wondering about that last one. This is a fairly complex heatsink design, complete with pcb backing. Imagine a line of these things and it's your job to attach the heatsinks. I'd not bother if you're RMA'ing, but I'd be inclined to check the heatsink/contact patch.

 

[AmberClad]

It's possible I suppose. I mean, with the fan running at max and those temps, you should be able to feel hot air dumping out the cooler's PCI slot. The question is whether that's the case.

 

[chizow]

Originally posted by: AmberClad
So, I thought I had read that this is just an issue with the BIOS using a higher voltage than the card is supposed to use. And that some people had flashed the BIOS to one that had the correct voltage. Either of you two try that yet?

Yep that's what I've been reading as well. At least the problem is really obvious, 105C temps seem to be very consistent on the problem cards.

Under normal operation though the card runs cool and the fan dynamically changes under load based on temperatures. Its the first G80/G92 card I've owned that has done this and it works extremely well. Idle temps are 54-55C with load never exceeding 80C, typically 78C and fan has never exceeded 60%.

Edit: Also, definitely go back to Newegg for the replacement. I know people here, especially company reps will tell you to go directly to them for RMA, but F-that. Most likely you'll get a recertified card or something, which is BS if you paid for a new card and it didn't work properly the first time. What you should be doing is setting up a return/rebuy with Newegg which basically works like a cross-ship. You buy a new card, then return yours to them for a refund. You also need a CSR to agree to this, make sure you get names and follow-up.

 

[Janooo]

Originally posted by: n7
Just tested with RTHDRIBL.

As soon as it hits around 100C, i can see it start to stutter & chug.

And check this out: http://www.nvnews.net/vbulleti...d.php?t=114925&page=15

I knew of the thread, but look at the number of issues.
Every second person is getting cards that overheat.

I think asking for an exchange might have been a mistake

It's very disappointing.
Are you going to get a refurb now?
Return it if you can. Buy new one somewhere else.

 

[Leon]

But under load, it cooking up to 105-108C, just from playing GRID.

RMA, 105C is a throttle point for G200 series, you got a bad card.

 

[gramboh]

n7,

There's a lot of people on the eVGA forums with this exact problem, who are RMAing their cards. It seems like cards are eiher:

Idle - ~50-60, load ~85 in Crysis/stress tests

or

Idle ~80, load ~105 and throttle in Crysis/stress tests

I am waiting for my GTX280 step-up, I pray it isn't a bad card since RMAing from Canada = at least 2 weeks with no VGA.

 

[9nines]

N7, You have a P45 motherboard, so it would not be your northbridge, but could anything be exhausting on the video card.

I found this, in a GTX 280 review: http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/printpage/570/3

We faced an overheating situation during our tests and we?d like to take some time now to explain what happened exactly. During our Quake 4 benchmarking the system was very unstable. The first thing that came to our mind was that the card was overheating. Touching it we could see that it was hotter than what we expected. Inspecting this problem further it turned out that the overheating wasn?t being caused by the video card itself, but by the fan attached on top of the north bridge chip on our nForce 790i motherboard, which was blowing hot air on the video card, causing it to overheat. This is clearly a design flaw from this particular motherboard. We solved this issue by removing the north bridge fan and adding a 120-mm fan on top of our system. So if you buy this card make sure that your case is well-ventilated and that the north bridge cooler isn?t blowing hot air on your video card. You can see the problem on Figure 11.

 

[AmberClad]

P5Q Deluxe does not have a northbridge fan. It's got a weird slant to the northsink, so I'd be somewhat surprised if he tied a fan to it.

 

[9nines]

Originally posted by: AmberClad
P5Q Deluxe does not have a northbridge fan. It's got a weird slant to the northsink, so I'd be somewhat surprised if he tied a fan to it.

I wrote it would not be his northbridge since he has a P45 motherboard but based on that review, I thought something else could be blowing on the video card.

 

[n7]

Originally posted by: Mem
n7 surprised you never got a 4870 card,I know the 280 is faster but price to performance etc...

My display is 2560x1600, & i like eye candy like AA turned up.
4780 512 MB = doesn't cut it.

Originally posted by: gersson
Sorry N7 -- remember my thread about a similar thing happening? Link
Newegg RMA is SLOW AS BALLZ right now. It may be best to take the bullet and ship it 1-2 day shipping yourself and see if they can match that.
They just sent out my card today -- 1 week later.
Now I have to wait ANOTHER week to get the replacement and Pray to the game gods it isn't defective as well.
The kicker? No refund for this card

Gah, what a sucktastic experience you're having.

Same exact situation as mine...

I love the QC on these cards. :roll:
It's truely awesome to read about hundreds of other people with the same issue.

But hey, you can always exchange/RMA the card & you have a great chance of getting back a card with the exact same issue. :|

Originally posted by: AmberClad
So, I thought I had read that this is just an issue with the BIOS using a higher voltage than the card is supposed to use. And that some people had flashed the BIOS to one that had the correct voltage. Either of you two try that yet?

I want my warranty in tact.
Not really interested in having to risk messing with a $450 card.


As for how it overheats, the card idles at decent temps.
This morning it was 50C, which is actually cooler than my 8800 GTX at idle.

But then it skyrockets to 100+c in a very short time.

Literally a few seconds into the menu in GRID, it's 105c.

I don't even want to launch anything now, as my apartment gets a lot warmer during the day, & it'll be likely 110+C if i test something now due to higher ambient temps.

It's not my case airflow, or layout, or anything. Even case closed, i have decent airflow, as i have a 250mm side fan that blows over the entire motherboard/video card area. (TT Armor with side panel fan, + all other fan locations with Noctuas)

As i mentioned, apartment was very cool last night & this morning, & i tested with a house fan blasting into the open side case, & it doesn't matter...the card overheats in 30 seconds or less.

I must say, now that i've reasearched this more & experienced this BS, there's no way i can recommend a GTX 280 to anyone, as this is not a minor issue, it's a widespread show of incompetence on the part of those involved in making these cards.

 

[toslat]

Originally posted by: SteelSix
With the randomness, I'm wondering what the cause may be. Let's see the choices:

* Bad GPU
* Incorrect bios voltage (thanks Amber)
* Inadequate fanspeed (wheter software or mechanical)
* Poor contact with heatsink

I'm really wondering about that last one. This is a fairly complex heatsink design, complete with pcb backing. Imagine a line of these things and it's your job to attach the heatsinks. I'd not bother if you're RMA'ing, but I'd be inclined to check the heatsink/contact patch.

If the problem is independent of brand, then its likely an incorrect bios issue or a poor GPU batch. Problems like poor heatsink contact should be localized, and since the fan is speeding up till its as loud as hell, more or less rules out the inadequate fan speed option.