Heat increase in 5850

[terrybear]

Well my PowerColor 5850 is just around 2 years old & im noticing the last few weeks now that my gpu temps have increased by about 3-4 degree's now in the low 40's .... think the thermal paste is goin ?

thanks

[Keywork]

Probably not the thermal paste. It's been surprisingly warm these last couple weeks so an increase in ambient temps in your room could be the culprit.

[krazyups]

Just keep following the trend: if it stabilizes or drops now that the weather has cooled off a bit, then Keywork has it nailed. However, if you still see the temps slowly climbing over the next few weeks, then you probably caught the very start of your thermal paste hardening.

In any case, it may not be a bad idea to change out the paste if it's been ~2 years.

[Arinoth]

Also, if you've never blown compressed air on the card, dust build up on the fan and the heat sink will cause the card to not cool off as well as it use to.

[terrybear]

Originally Posted by krazyups

Just keep following the trend: if it stabilizes or drops now that the weather has cooled off a bit, then Keywork has it nailed. However, if you still see the temps slowly climbing over the next few weeks, then you probably caught the very start of your thermal paste hardening.

In any case, it may not be a bad idea to change out the paste if it's been ~2 years.

Well i have it always running in max CCC since i've owned it ...

I currently have the fan idling @ 30% & its sitting @ 42c idle with the window open in a sub basement of a home ... its as of the last probly 2-3 weeks been having higher temps & i have to asume the age of the card is the cause more then the latest revisions of the catalyst drivers.

Originally Posted by Arinoth

Also, if you've never blown compressed air on the card, dust build up on the fan and the heat sink will cause the card to not cool off as well as it use to.

I have blown both compressed & vacume air thru it over the years cause of that fact.

[ern88]

Ya, mine is idel at 40 C as well.

[yycraven]

It wouldn't be a bad idea to change the paste and clean the the fan. Since it has been 2yrs now.

[Arinoth]

You could try changing the paste, cleaning the fan, and perhaps re-greasing the ball bearings within the fan, the ball bearing grease can dry up over time causing your fan not to spin as efficently.

[terrybear]

thanks for the thoughts/help, I think I'm gonna try the cleaning route for shure .... good thing I got onboard video still as a backup ... :P