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Problem with Overheating

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Problem with Overheating

from GalCiv2 Forums

Hi all,

I've been having problem with heat issues with my computer when I run graphics intensive games such as Crysis. I clean the sysem interior of dust regularly, but it doesn't seem to help. I've noticed that the component that heats up the most is the graphics card, so I think that is the culprit (Maybe dust has collected on the inside fan areas of the card.

What appears to be the problem is that the graphics card is heating itself up so much that the computer shuts itself off to prevent damage. This is annoying because it is preventing from enjoying games with good graphics. My PC is a Gateway FX 6800 with an ATI Radeon 4850, 3 gigs or memory, and an Intel i7 920 running at 2.66 Ghz.

This has been a fairly recent problem, graphically intensive games ran perfectly before. I regularly download driver updates for my card.

I tried Gateway support, but they weren't much help. I might try ATI, but they recently merged with AMD, and it seems the bigger a company gets, the worse service it has.

Below are some ideas on what might be wrong:

  1. Graphics card has accumulated dust on fan vent interior and is heating up because of that.
  2. Driver issues. When I did my first update, I accidently downloaded Catalyst Control Center even though I already had it, but I highly doubt that it is causing the problem.
  3. Vista. Vista is a resource hoh, so it might be stealing resources from the computer and straining the graphics card.

If anyone could help me, I would appreciate very much.

off-topic
85,981 views 34 replies
Reply #26 from GalCiv2 Forums Top

I've just been looking up a fx 6800 and the problem is your case. The card is too low down to feel the effect of the cooling fans you have. The best you can do with that is to put a 80mm fan at the front (looks too small for a 120mm), below the HD cage. That should give a good blast of air onto the card. If you have a fan cooling the cpu, the case has space for another below it, do that too.

This describes exactly what I did that fixed the problem...

Reply #27 from GalCiv2 Forums Top

This describes exactly what I did that fixed the problem...

Sounds good. I can't wait to unlock this my PC's potential. I'll probably get this all done in about a month or so.

Sins of a Solar Empire II
Reply #28 from Demigod Forums Top

I wouldn't wait if I were you.

Reply #29 from GalCiv2 Forums Top

I wouldn't wait if I were you.

I've got people who are good with upgrading PC's coming down in about a monthm and I'll do it then. Until then, I'm going to take my desk fan and have it blow air through the side vent to help cool down the card.

Reply #30 from GalCiv2 Forums Top

I wouldn't wait if I were you.

I've got people who are good with upgrading PC's coming down in about a monthm and I'll do it then. Until then, I'm going to take my desk fan and have it blow air through the side vent to help cool down the card.

You might also remove your side panel...

Reply #31 from Demigod Forums Top

Oh, and if it has one of those horns that goes right over the CPU, take that off. It kills airflow and can increase your CPU heat by a couple degrees.

Reply #32 from Elemental Forums Top

First time i encountered this problem, was while i was playing Beta 3 of Elemental on my laptop.. Hope the complete game won't do this to me, cuz my laptop is fairly new and i can't afford buying a new pc..

Reply #33 from GalCiv2 Forums Top

Man, don't dig up these super old threads! I'd recommed getting a laptop cooler. It's a plastic (usually) platform with fans built in to cool the laptop.

Laptops are more compact, so heat is a bigger issue.

Reply #34 from GalCiv2 Forums Top

Yeah, I got one a while back to help prevent a specific game from roasting my graphics card, and it works marvelously. I highly recommend it.