EVGA 8800GTX runs hot

[savvy]

The card is an EVGA 8800 GTX.
Im running EVGA precision and i have the fan upto 80 but just using windows or the net the temp is at between 73-75.
i have cleaned dust out of the fan and there is plenty of space around the installed card,will it be safe to play games on this?
how can i cool this down?
why is it running so hot when its only showing windows?


thanks

[Perineum]

Go ahead and play games, if it fails then RMA it. It does sound to be running hot though.

[savvy]

i cant RMA it because i got it from ebay about 3 months ago and its registered to someone else.
im thinking of getting some kind of cooler for it,any ideas?

[Sushi Warrior]

Anything under 100C is fine. Your card shouldn't die unless it hits >120C.

[Jake_HT]

Originally Posted by Sushi Warrior

Anything under 100C is fine. Your card shouldn't die unless it hits >120C.

Yep! If I remember correctly, the melting point of the 8800 chips was 143c... meaning you got some headroom...

But yeah that is warm, perhaps apply some fresh thermal paste? Not like it's under warranty anyways like you said. (if evga covers it still with that or not... )

[crazyhorsejohnny]

You got it used so you have no idea if the temps were even worse than what you're seeing. Try some fresh paste like said above and if that doesn't work I'd say sell it on ebay or here (as long as you say it runs hot). Odds are the previous owner ran it hot for awhile so it might not be a great idea to spend $$$$ on a aftermarket cooler if it's gonna die sooner than later. My 2 cents.

[axle182]

A few other points, make sure the rear vents arent obstructed, and have a look at your overall case cooling. On one of mine, the PS wasnt getting enough cool air, and the heat it generated was going through my 8800GTS. Always ran quite hot, it was a small case also.

Can you install a side window fan? I added a 120 to mine and it cooled down. In games i had to have Precision at 100% fan otherwise it got really hot. And ill +1 for the suggestion of redoing the thermal paste. i did mine and reduced the heat by a few degs. They lather that stuff on, would have been close to 1mm thick!