Need help improving temps!

[karwingz7]

Hi everyone, the temperatures i've been running at a potentially stable OC was proved to be unstable in prolonged tests in Unigine Valley as soon as i did the tests again with the side panel back on. I could run 3 or 4 consecutive tests and it would stay at around 73C and not artifact but with the panel back on it got to 82C at the end of the second test and 1 artifact popped up right at the end so i'm assuming it's a thermal issue.

 

Is this big of a jump with the panel back on normal? If so, could you guys recommend some things to improve temps as I believe it could be bad airflow. FYI my case is a phanteks enthoo pro with the stock 200mm intake at the front and stock 140mm at the rear. I have already removed the top HDD cage. Also my card atm is a 290x lightning and i was wondering if anyone knows or can suggest where I may find how the cooler exhausts air as I have read this determines the kind of airflow configuration you may desire. Any suggestions are welcome!

[blackadder]

I have the same case. Leave it as stock, i did kinda. If you want to cool that gpu put fans on the drive cages. I dont see much point of putting one on the bottom. So if you get more fans throw them on the top, as intakes or exhaust, mine are intakes. Temps didnt drop by much for me but my temps didnt increase 10c when i put my panel back on. Your gpu puts a lot more heat in the case than mine so i think you need more aiflow get the hot air out or cool air in. Your still safe temps for gpu but they could clearly be lower. Maybe a 3 to 5 c drop if things go right.

[Blackie Sheen]

The temps is a bit high but thats too be expected with such a juicy graphics card as the 290x cause it pushes lots of heat in the case.

 

Is the artifacting recurent?

[Faceman]

Hi everyone, the temperatures i've been running at a potentially stable OC was proved to be unstable in prolonged tests in Unigine Valley as soon as i did the tests again with the side panel back on. I could run 3 or 4 consecutive tests and it would stay at around 73C and not artifact but with the panel back on it got to 82C at the end of the second test and 1 artifact popped up right at the end so i'm assuming it's a thermal issue.

 

Is this big of a jump with the panel back on normal? If so, could you guys recommend some things to improve temps as I believe it could be bad airflow. FYI my case is a phanteks enthoo pro with the stock 200mm intake at the front and stock 140mm at the rear. I have already removed the top HDD cage. Also my card atm is a 290x lightning and i was wondering if anyone knows or can suggest where I may find how the cooler exhausts air as I have read this determines the kind of airflow configuration you may desire. Any suggestions are welcome!

 

What is ambient temperature?

 

Have you ever had artifacts when the side panel is off?  Heat doesn't always coincide with artifacts, so I am not convinced that they are related, but you never know.  For now, lets assume that it is not heat related.  How much of an OC did you try and do?  Artifacts generally come from Memory overclocks, so try turning down the memory OC by 10-15-25Mhz.  How bad/big was the artifact?

 

A 10C jump when you put the side panel back on is normal for most graphics cards.  Especially really beefy ones that blast air out the side and around the card, not out the rear like a reference cooler.  I have an Enthoo Pro + EVGA GTX 780SC, and would get a 10C jump in temps from adding or subtracting the side panel, so that is normal.  The R9 290X is a hotter card by nature, so your temps will be a little bit higher.

 

What I would do, is replace the 200mm front fan with two 120 or 140mm fans.  Then, add two more 120mm fans on to the HDD cages.  I would also set some fans as top exhaust for now.

 

If you are looking to do the G10 mod, you can, and it is compatible with that card, but I think that artifact is just an unstable OC.  Try tuning it down just a smidge, and get some more case fans.

[karwingz7]

What is ambient temperature?

 

Have you ever had artifacts when the side panel is off?  Heat doesn't always coincide with artifacts, so I am not convinced that they are related, but you never know.  For now, lets assume that it is not heat related.  How much of an OC did you try and do?  Artifacts generally come from Memory overclocks, so try turning down the memory OC by 10-15-25Mhz.  How bad/big was the artifact?

 

A 10C jump when you put the side panel back on is normal for most graphics cards.  Especially really beefy ones that blast air out the side and around the card, not out the rear like a reference cooler.  I have an Enthoo Pro + EVGA GTX 780SC, and would get a 10C jump in temps from adding or subtracting the side panel, so that is normal.  The R9 290X is a hotter card by nature, so your temps will be a little bit higher.

 

What I would do, is replace the 200mm front fan with two 120 or 140mm fans.  Then, add two more 120mm fans on to the HDD cages.  I would also set some fans as top exhaust for now.

 

If you are looking to do the G10 mod, you can, and it is compatible with that card, but I think that artifact is just an unstable OC.  Try tuning it down just a smidge, and get some more case fans.

 

Thanks for getting back to me.

 

Ambient is 24C. I never got any artifacts after testing it in firestrike and valley multiple times in a row. It was only once I added the side panel on that it happened. Atm it's at +110 core, +250 mem and 163 volt and maxed power limit. The artifact was a small patch of checkered blue squares on the last scene of valley. 

 

So I should replace the 200mm and keep the rear 140mm and add 2 fans on top exhaust and 2 120mm on the back of the hdd cages for a total of 7 fans? 

 

Good to know the g10 is compatible as I was worried it didn't match the pcb of the lightning. What kind of ballpark figure can I expect the g10 mod to reduce my temps by at load? Also with case fans are there any in particular you recommend I look into? AFAIK case fans are all compatible with watercooling radiators as well if i choose to do the mod or WC my cpu as well?

 

I'll try turning it down and see if I get artifacts even with these same high temps.

[Faceman]

Thanks for getting back to me.

 

Ambient is 24C. I never got any artifacts after testing it in firestrike and valley multiple times in a row. It was only once I added the side panel on that it happened. Atm it's at +110 core, +250 mem and 163 volt and maxed power limit. The artifact was a small patch of checkered blue squares on the last scene of valley. 

 

So I should replace the 200mm and keep the rear 140mm and add 2 fans on top exhaust and 2 120mm on the back of the hdd cages for a total of 7 fans? 

 

Good to know the g10 is compatible as I was worried it didn't match the pcb of the lightning. What kind of ballpark figure can I expect the g10 mod to reduce my temps by at load? Also with case fans are there any in particular you recommend I look into? I'm assuming case fans are all compatible with watercooling radiators as well if i choose to do the mod or WC my cpu as well?

 

I'll try turning it down and see if I get artifacts even with these same high temps.

That is a lot of voltage for a fairly conservative OC...  Try turning voltage down to see what you can get that stable at.  Also, I would try testing again to see if the artifacting happens with the panel closed and open.

 

Yea, you should definitely look into getting more case fans.  Even for case fans, you want high static pressure fans because airflow is often not unobstructed.  The Cougar Vortex PWM case fans are really good all arounders.  Not sure on pricing in AUS, but you should be spending about $10+ per fan to get some good ones.  There are so many, its hard for me to nail down a specific one, especially not knowing pricing and what is available.

 

The G10 has done wonders for people.  Reducing their R9 290X temps from the 90s to the 50s with just a H55.  I think with that much voltage though, you should temper expectations.  I'll estimate the high 50s, low 60s with the G10 mod on your card and OC.

 

[karwingz7]

The temps is a bit high but thats too be expected with such a juicy graphics card as the 290x cause it pushes lots of heat in the case.

 

Is the artifacting recurent?

 

 

That is a lot of voltage for a fairly conservative OC...  Try turning voltage down to see what you can get that stable at.  Also, I would try testing again to see if the artifacting happens with the panel closed and open.

 

Yea, you should definitely look into getting more case fans.  Even for case fans, you want high static pressure fans because airflow is often not unobstructed.  The Cougar Vortex PWM case fans are really good all arounders.  Not sure on pricing in AUS, but you should be spending about $10+ per fan to get some good ones.  There are so many, its hard for me to nail down a specific one, especially not knowing pricing and what is available.

 

The G10 has done wonders for people.  Reducing their R9 290X temps from the 90s to the 50s with just a H55.  I think with that much voltage though, you should temper expectations.  I'll estimate the high 50s, low 60s with the G10 mod on your card and OC.

 

 

Sorry for getting back to you guys so late. I retested with the panel off and it artifacted on the second valley test. I did it again 5 times in a row and nothing came up and I stopped. With the panel back on it artifacted on the consecutive test. So what I'm seeing here is that it's unstable but close? The 163Mv does seem high but I did get there to get 1190 on the core before I touched the Memory as I was upping it by 10mhz at a time and while it seemed stable in valley it artifacted in firestrike at lower voltage until I bumped it up 20 volts I believe. I'm guessing my card is just ok and not great, as some other lightnings get around 1200/1600 on air.

[Faceman]

Sorry for getting back to you guys so late. I retested with the panel off and it artifacted on the second valley test. I did it again 5 times in a row and nothing came up and I stopped. With the panel back on it artifacted on the consecutive test. So what I'm seeing here is that it's unstable but close? The 163Mv does seem high but I did get there to get 1190 on the core before I touched the Memory as I was upping it by 10mhz at a time and while it seemed stable in valley it artifacted in firestrike at lower voltage until I bumped it up 20 volts I believe. I'm guessing my card is just ok and not great, as some other lightnings get around 1200/1600 on air.

Try reducing memory OC. Not increasing.

[karwingz7]

Try reducing memory OC. Not increasing.

My bad as it sounds confusing. What I meant is before I touched memory clock at all I increased the core clock by 10mhz at a time to get the 1190 core clock potential OC limit then had to increase the core voltage a bit at a time until it managed to get stable in both Valley and Firestrike. This was in answer to your comment about it being a high voltage for a mild overclock. Hopefully that makes the rest of my previous post make more sense.