MSI 8600GTS with Silent Heatpipe overheating??

[HimeNoHogosha]

I built a new system yesterday and my graphics card of choice was the MSI 8600GTS-T2D256EZ, mainly because it promised silent operation. However while attempting to install my OS, I noticed that the display was frequently blanking out a few minutes after power on. I checked the hardware monitor in the BIOS, and my cpu and system temps are both idling around 30C, so I figured it couldn't be a cpu/board overheating issue. I suspected the video card was overheating, because while the OS was reading from the CD drive, I could see the CD lights and HDD lights blinking, but no output on the monitor. I opened my case up and set a table fan to blow inside across the video card, and suddenly my computer is running fine.

The strange part is all 12 of the reviews on newegg show no sign of problems and have only good things to say about the performance of the card. Has anybody else experienced any similar problems with this card? Should I replace this possibly defective card or just buy another one that has a fan on it?




Intel Core2Duo e6600
2GB G.Skill PC2-6400
MSI P6N SLI Platinum
MSI NX8600GTS-T2D256EZ
Seagate 160GB
Encore ENLWI-G2 802.11b/g

 

[Blitz KriegeR]

It?s very possible you may have simply received a bad card with a defect in the heatsink or a GPU/HS contact issue. I?d go for an RMA. Most likely that will solve the problem.

Although, I have to ask, what are you using the PC for that you want a ?silent? 8600? I?m not sure about the 86?s, but the 8800 gets HOT under full load. If you are gaming or something, I really think you should invest in one with a HSF. On the other hand, most ?silent? cards are meant for ?Home Theater? PCs, if that is the case you should be fine.

 

[HimeNoHogosha]

It's my general purpose computer. Regular web-browsing tasks, playing games probably, watching movies. My old computer was really loud so I thought it wouldn't hurt for me to go to with a silent graphics card since all the other reviews on newegg were 5/5. I think I'll probably do an RMA and try another one more time, but I don't know if I should simply go with another card that has a HSF. I'd hate to have to do two RMAs

 

[Blitz KriegeR]

"Try another one more time"? Was I correct in assuming this was your FIRST 8600GPU? If this is not, and proves to be a reoccurring problem, certainly go with a model with a fan.

Anyway, like I said, personally I wouldn?t game on a ?silent? card. I suggest monitoring the temps for a week or so. If the card is about 80?C (less is perfect), it?s very warm, but OK. If the card exceeds 85?C or 90?C, personally, I think that is just too much.

One last thing. I?ve never had an 8600, but being a mid-range card I doubt it can be painfully loud. Most likely the noise generated by the card will be 90% or more overshadowed by the other fans in your case (CPU/PSU/Chipset/Intake/Exhaust). I don?t know how comfortable you are with electronics, but if the noise really bothers you and you want to keep temps down, invest in an aftermarket GPU cooler. Some of them are really nice with noise @ 35 decibels or less. Oh, and (duh) keeping the case open usually increases noise by 50% or more?.

Best of luck!

 

[dds14u]

I actually just set up a brand new PC with that exact same card (for the same silent reason).
I'm running on Vista now and everything is fine. I recall getting a few blanks during Vista installation, but not that many.

In any case, with a passive card like this you definitely need good airflow. Mine is fine though I have a good amounts of air blowing past it in my case (a micro ATX case at that). I bought from Newegg too, their returns are easy...but I'm not sure if your card is actually defective.

Edit: Just ran through 3dmark 05 and everything's fine. Got a score of a little over 10000.