GPU overheating in Witcher 3

[linnoff]

I have been having an issue with Witcher 3 since I started playing it: after a few hours of play the game would crash and continue to crash frequently if I tried to restart it. I was recently advised that it might be something in my system overheating. I found programs to monitor cpu and gpu temperatures and loaded up Witcher 3.

 

After a 1 hour gaming session my cpu was reaching 48-55 degrees C depending on the core while my gpu was going between 67 C in menus to 78 C while running around/fighting. Given how the temps were climbing I don't doubt that my gpu could overheat if I played the game longer.

 

I am now trying to figure out how best to deal with this issue. I would rather not drop the settings, but I will try that when I have more time, and update this post.

 

I am running Windows 8.1

Motherboard: Gigabyte Z97-SLI

CPU: Intel i5-4690 3.5 Ghz (no overclock)

RAM: 16 Gb (2x8) 1600 Mhz

Graphics: Zotac GTX 980 Amp Omega (not sure what the clock speeds are)

I am also running the latest NVIDIA drivers

[Praesi]

Run Furmark Benchmark. If your GraphicsCard has Heatproblems, this tool will show it.

[OAcesync]

Run Furmark Benchmark. If your GraphicsCard has Heatproblems, this tool will show it.

I haven't heard great things about Furmark

[Praesi]

I haven't heard great things about Furmark

Its a perfect tool if you want push your Card to its Limits very fast. I use it for Years and never had any Problems with it.

[ttoni94]

Funmark or any stress test is the tool to see if the card is overheating over periods of intensive use. If so you must change the thermal paste

 

Those temps are good,if you hit 99 then is a problem

[warmmilk]

furmark has killed gpu's... I wouldn't use that

 

use one of the unigine benchmarks, it actually puts a real gaming style load on your card

https://unigine.com/en/products/benchmarks

 

 

also, what case do you have and whats your fan setup?  if its poorly ventilated it could just be that its getting too much heat build up with a few hours of gaming and thats what causes your system to crash, not specifically a gpu independent problem

[EvilWiffles]

I feel ya. Witcher 3 put my GPU at 75c, never seen it reach that high in my life.

Unigine only puts like 62c on my GPU max . I ended up capping my FPS to 30 but quite playing because I didn't like the game at all.

[SteveGrabowski0]

78C seems very high for a 980 running at stock clocks. Do you have reasonable airflow in your case? It's always good to have a fan blowing onto the GPU from the front, even better if there isn't a hard drive cage blocking it. Having an intake fan on the bottom of your case can really help GPU temperatures too, if your case has a bottom fan mount. You should also change your fan profile (it can be done in MSI Afterburner) to have the fans on your GPU speed up more when temperatures start getting 60C and above. I like to set my fan curve for my 970 to be pretty aggressive in gaming but have the fans turned completely off when temps are below about 45C or so.

[linnoff]

For those asking about my case setup, I have 2 front intakes and 1 rear exhaust in a Fractal Define R4. One of those intakes has a hard drive cage in front of it. I have the case fans hooked up to the built in voltage regulator, and keep them at the lowest usually. I will try turning them up to max the next time I play, and see if that helps.

 

I figured out that the factory overclock on my 980 is set to 1468 Mhz.

 

Running the Unigine Heaven benchmark at extreme settings got my gpu up to 80 C. (less importantly it got 64 fps average)

[linnoff]

Just finished playing for about 3 hours and no crashes! my gpu maxed out at 81C which seems a bit high, but not dangerous.

 

Things I changed: removed one of the hard drive cages for more direct airflow over my graphics card. Upped my case fan speed to their highest while I was playing, and lowered a few of the setting a bit.

 

Thanks for the ideas everyone.

[Praesi]

For those asking about my case setup, I have 2 front intakes and 1 rear exhaust in a Fractal Define R4. One of those intakes has a hard drive cage in front of it. I have the case fans hooked up to the built in voltage regulator, and keep them at the lowest usually. I will try turning them up to max the next time I play, and see if that helps.

 

I figured out that the factory overclock on my 980 is set to 1468 Mhz.

 

Running the Unigine Heaven benchmark at extreme settings got my gpu up to 80 C. (less importantly it got 64 fps average)

2 in 1 out could be a Problem. Heat accumulation can happen. The back fan cant push the warm air out as fast as the 2 front fans suck in into your case. So the air gets circled around and gets hotter and hotter. You need always more Fans that push out than Fans that suck in your Case to get a good Airflow.

 

My Fans as Example :