GPU - Are high temps dangerous?

[Hi P]

Talking specifically about the GPU.

 

1.- In a real world scenario, could high temperatures kill a GPU? 

 

2.- What would be the max temperature within the safe boundary?

 

3.- Fan noise aside, what are the advantages of a 3 fan GPU over a blower style in a non-overclocked scenario?

 

Thank you

[vanished]

20 minutes ago, Hi P said:

Talking specifically about the GPU.

 

1.- In a real world scenario, could high temperatures kill a GPU? 

They will reduce the lifespan.  How much depends on the card to some extent.  That said practically speaking, thermal throttling should keep it to a "safe" range that ensures you can still get a reasonable lifespan out of it.

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2.- What would be the max temperature within the safe boundary?

I think most people would target < 70 C.  Again this varies by card a bit, and the lower the better, but within that range I don't think you'll have any issues.

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3.- Fan noise aside, what are the advantages of a 3 fan GPU over a blower style in a non-overclocked scenario?

It will be much cooler and quieter because there's more airflow (and probably more total heatsink too)

I should know, having gone from a ~150 W blower GPU to a 375W 3 fan GPU while reducing both noise and temps under load and at idle

[RobbinM]

1: Yes, but only if you manage to exceed thermal limits. Most GPU's are softlocked for power limit and throttle when temps get too high.

 

2: Depends. Check if your VRAM and VRM's are cooled as well, because if they are not, GPU temperature is not the only thing to look out for

 

3: None. Blower style actually removes heat from within the case instead of recycling it inside the case so that might have a bonus for you if you have airflow issues.

[Jurrunio]

1. If it's hot enough to melt silicon then of course it will  But seriously, high temps (Say 180C) doesnt kill a CPU or GPU, but shortens its lifespan (drastically in the case of 180C). In fact CPU manufacturers run their products wayyy too hot to do lifespan test in a short period of time, then scale the results back up to guess how long a product will last under constant use.

 

2. No clear cut line on that, you get answers ranges from 70C to 95C. Take 80C as the middle ground if you want to.

 

3. When a fan dies... and also the biigger heatsink on a 3 fan cooler allows the card to not use its fans under low loads, hence increasing fans' lifespan.

[TrigrH]

1 minute ago, Jurrunio said:

3. When a fan dies... and also the biigger heatsink on a 3 fan cooler allows the card to not use its fans under low loads, hence increasing fans' lifespan.

One of the fans died on my 1070 so I took the entire fan shroud off and zip tied a fan on:

[Jurrunio]

1 minute ago, TrigrH said:

One of the fans died on my 1070 so I took the entire fan shroud off and zip tied a fan on:

lol I'm actually thinking about leaving the dead fan alone and just use the remianing two when I typed that

[TrigrH]

1 minute ago, Jurrunio said:

lol I'm actually thinking about leaving the dead fan alone and just use the remianing two when I typed that

I would do that, though my card was only dual fan and it was noisy and I hated it.

[Cereal5]

NVIDIA cards never really reach above 80C anyways so I wouldn't worry about it, but trying to stay under 80C is always a safe bet for both CPU and GPU.

[Cereal5]

In response to your last question, the only advantage an open air cooler has over a blower style, is temps. In a non overclocked scenario, there is basically no difference. With overclocking, obviously you would want lower temps so you can overclock further.