R9 280x to Pascal

[Sharkbait123]

First post so hi everyone! 

 

I currently run a single R9 280x, which runs absolutely fine on high presets at 1080p. My biggest issue with it is the thermals, i've ran Speccy in the background and seen it reach as high as 94° in games such as GTA V. I understand these cards are made to run hot, but that's too hot for my liking! Also, I am fed up with the horrible drivers with AMD that never work and always make me blue-screen. 

 

So I was definitely considering the new GTX 1070 or 1080 as a replacement. (Trying to avoid AMD as best I can) I want to futureproof, so would I get better value out of a 1070 or a 1080? And which vendor is the best for your reccomended option? Obviously the 1070 would need to be replaced sooner, but how much sooner? Is the 1080 worth the extra £150 or so?

 

Thanks all!

[Kinda Bottlenecked]

You'd need to decide whether or not you deem it worth it.

 

But to address some issues/misconception...

 

-There's definitely something wrong with the thermals of your 280x. It should not reach that high. 

-If you think Nvidia drivers are any better. No. Bluescreens, blurry text and the forever crashing nvidia control panel are a few of the problems I've faced.

-Not really such a thing called future proof for the amount of money you're spending. 

 

Better value - 1070

Better performance - 1080

 

I suggest you find out what's causing your thermals to go that high. If its an airflow problem, don't be surprised if your new card reached equally high. 

[Sharkbait123]

Thanks for the response @Pohernori

 

I have 5 case fans in a setup as follows, the front two are intakes, the rear one is an exhaust, and the two topside ones are exhausts too, any suggestions for this? If this isn't the issue, then it must be the card itself. I have considered taking the air cooler off and replacing the thermal compound, and seeing if that works. I've even considered putting a water block on it too! But then I thought that it wasn't worth spending that sort of money on a card that i'm looking to replace so I didn't bother. 

[Kinda Bottlenecked]

1 minute ago, Sharkbait123 said:

Thanks for the response @Pohernori

 

I have 5 case fans in a setup as follows, the front two are intakes, the rear one is an exhaust, and the two topside ones are exhausts too, any suggestions for this? If this isn't the issue, then it must be the card itself. I have considered taking the air cooler off and replacing the thermal compound, and seeing if that works. I've even considered putting a water block on it too! But then I thought that it wasn't worth spending that sort of money on a card that i'm looking to replace so I didn't bother. 

 

So you have a negative air pressure setup going? 

 

You can try stressing your 280x with the side panel off. If temps go down, then its an airflow problem. If its still too hot, then something is funky of your card's heatsink. 

[Kinda Bottlenecked]

10 minutes ago, Sharkbait123 said:

Thanks for the response @Pohernori

 

I have 5 case fans in a setup as follows, the front two are intakes, the rear one is an exhaust, and the two topside ones are exhausts too, any suggestions for this? If this isn't the issue, then it must be the card itself. I have considered taking the air cooler off and replacing the thermal compound, and seeing if that works. I've even considered putting a water block on it too! But then I thought that it wasn't worth spending that sort of money on a card that i'm looking to replace so I didn't bother. 

What is your case btw? 

[Sharkbait123]

48 minutes ago, Pohernori said:

What is your case btw? 

Good idea, i'll definitely try that.

 

My case is an InWin GT1. Not the best, but it does the job to a decent standard.

 

Thanks for your help! 

[nuclear465]

I also have a R9 280X, and in full load it gets around 76 degrees Celsius. My case config is 1 fan intake in the lower front of the case and 2 fans exhaust in the top back.

[Sharkbait123]

UPDATE: Just changed the thermal paste to Arctic Silver 5, and the temperatures have dropped by almost 20 degrees on load and idle. The stock paste wasn't fully covering the GPU chip!! There was also visible damage to components on the PCB itself, solidified plastic droplets where it had melted itself was common! However it still works fine and after benchmarking using Unigine Heaven, I had temperatures fluctuating between 76-80 degrees immediately after application.

 

As the new thermal paste has a long curing time, the temperatures will only decrease thankfully! 

 

Thanks all for the help.