GPU overheating- what can a layman do?

[Kyriakos]

Is there anything i could do apart from taking it to the computer store? It seriously overheats and causes a reboot to avoid burning.

 

[Mise]

Have you blown out the dust from your computer/fan with compressed air? That's usually the cause of overheating. Otherwise, you can try underclocking the GPU. But usually, the GPU fan is designed to operate at the speed intended for the card to not overheat, so it's probably dust.

 

[tokala]

As Mise said, keeping the heatsink clean is the most important thing.

Also make sure that that you have a good airflow to and from the GPU cooler. Underclocking will help a bit, undervolting would have an even larger effect.

But if you still have warranty, don't screw around with it yourself, take it back to the store and let them fix it.

 

[Tahuti]

It may also be a broken heat-sensor. My computer gotten reaally slow once and it turned out to be a CPU self-underclock set by high temperatures. I cleaned the CPU cooler as best as I could yet the motherboard continued to report temperatures up to 80 degrees Celsius even on idle with coolers active on their max RPM; I put my own hand in the close to the cooler after which I concluded it couldn't be that hot, so I turned off the heat sensors in the BIOS. After that, my computer worked fine and the CPU hasn't burned down yet.

There might be a way to achieve the same thing with the GPU through the drivers and else you'll need to cut one of the wires powering the sensors. Of course, you should be careful, because your GPU will actually burn down if it turns out the reported temperatures were accurate.

 

[shadowplay]

The GPU fan may have ceased functioning. In which case, if this is a desktop (more complicated with a laptop), take the video card out and see if the fan is attached properly to the swivel it spins around on... with an old ATI card I had about 5 years ago, the fan had come loose and wasn't spinning anymore, and a gentle push reattached it. Wish I figured that out before springing for a replacement card. This may not be what's causing your problem, but it's worth a look.

BTW, what card is this? Some are known to have issues with the thermal glue (the GeForce 9800 series immediately comes to mind).

 

[Kyriakos]

Is it a very bad idea to try to use an external fan to keep the gpu temp lower?

If all else fails i will just take it to the store.

The card is Geforce9600GT

 

[shadowplay]

Is it a very bad idea to try to use an external fan to keep the gpu temp lower?

It won't be very effective, no.

The card is Geforce9600GT

Wouldn't be surprised if it's the thermal glue problem, then. Have you ever heard about baking your video card? I revived my dead (BSOD) 9800GT on two seperate occasions by this method, and believe me, I was completely incredulous when I first heard about it.
Remember to unscrew the heatsink from the card and remove all the thermal pads. If you're about to give up and buy a new card, this is worth a try as a last-ditch effort. Good luck.

 

[illram]

There are case fans that clip onto video cards and blow on them, aren't there? I see them once in a while on some pc building sites I frequent but I have no clue what they are called or anything.

It can't hurt to try that, honestly.

 

[GoodGame]

It may also be a broken heat-sensor. My computer gotten reaally slow once and it turned out to be a CPU self-underclock set by high temperatures. I cleaned the CPU cooler as best as I could yet the motherboard continued to report temperatures up to 80 degrees Celsius even on idle with coolers active on their max RPM; I put my own hand in the close to the cooler after which I concluded it couldn't be that hot, so I turned off the heat sensors in the BIOS. After that, my computer worked fine and the CPU hasn't burned down yet.

There might be a way to achieve the same thing with the GPU through the drivers and else you'll need to cut one of the wires powering the sensors. Of course, you should be careful, because your GPU will actually burn down if it turns out the reported temperatures were accurate.

This sounds possible too. If there is a BIOS setting to run the fan manually without auto/sensor modes, then do this. But if say the GPU fan is not working, then you should really take it back or replace it. Regardless, deal with it quick because it can eventually fry the whole computer, not just a bad part.

You can also use a program like Speccy to diagnose the temperatures and see what might be overheating the most, if you could improve matters by re-routing air-flow or adding/upgrading a case fan.

 

[emzie]

If it were a more expensive card, I'd recommend a water cooling kit. But that'll cost more than a new 9600.