ASUS 7970 Matrix Platinum overheating

[TissueBox]

Hi everyone,

TechPowerUp hasn't let me down so far, so I thought I'd ask the question here.

I've just purchased an ASUS 7970 Matrix Platinum off someone today and its temperatures are frightening at best. Using Kombustor, the temperatures reach well over 90C even at 100% fan speed for both fans at stock (1100/6600) I had to stop the test so that it wouldn't go any higher.



I'm wondering if a reseat of the heatsink would be worth the effort (would that void the warranty?), or whether I should just send it in for an RMA. Is there anything else I could try before sending it in for an RMA? (A 1-3 week turnaround time isn't exactly appealing to me.)

Thanks!

SOLVED: Refer to second last post on page 2.

[DOM]

I would check the paste and redo it... I don't think that's voids the warranty unless it has some sticker over the screws that say that

[95Viper]

Originally Posted by DOM

I would check the paste and redo it... I don't think that's voids the warranty unless it has some sticker over the screws that say that

What DOM said...

And, every review I have read shows that card about 29c or 30c @ idle and around 59c to 65c @ 100%.

The variations are probably from the ambient temps and air flow in the case.

How is the air flow in your case and what is the ambient temps?
Anything blocking the air flow to the card or cases fans, like wiring, close to wall/other obstructions?

Try testing the temps with the case open and see if that changes anything.

[TissueBox]

Originally Posted by DOM

I would check the paste and redo it... I don't think that's voids the warranty unless it has some sticker over the screws that say that

There aren't any stickers over the screws so I presume it's safe.. I'll apply the new thermal paste tomorrow and report back.

Originally Posted by 95Viper

What DOM said...

And, every review I have read shows that card about 29c or 30c @ idle and around 59c to 65c @ 100%.

The variations are probably from the ambient temps and air flow in the case.

How is the air flow in your case and what is the ambient temps?
Anything blocking the air flow to the card or cases fans, like wiring, close to wall/other obstructions?

Try testing the temps with the case open and see if that changes anything.

I'm long-idling at 33C but my load temps are ridiculous no matter the fan speed; the airflow should be superb with my Raven 3 case and the 2 180mm Air Penetrators on high :S. There are no obstructions since I manage the cables and it's ontop of my desk. The ambient temperature is between 21C-23C before the card begins to heat up the room I don't think I have any issues with airflow or anything disrupting it.

[TissueBox]

I just took apart my card and the thermal paste seems to be flaky. I poked the paste and it was definitely hardened. The cooler itself practically fell off the card when I unscrewed the screws. I expected a little better ASUS...





I'm heading to class now - I'll clean off the old gunk and apply some new Phanteks thermal paste when I come back since it's the only one I have around.

Thanks!

[95Viper]

Definitely looks dried out and hardened.
Replace that with new and, hopefully it will bring those temps down to where they should be.

That looks more like ricotta cheese than thermal paste.

[TissueBox]

Originally Posted by 95Viper

Definitely looks dried out and hardened.
Replace that with new and, hopefully it will bring those temps down to where they should be.

That looks more like ricotta cheese than thermal paste.

No luck. I cleaned off the old paste on both the cooler and the GPU with isopropyl alcohol and applied a pea-sized amount of Phanteks PH-NDC to the centre of the GPU. Temps haven't changed one bit



Both fans were at 100% and the case was opened. Guess the next thing to do would be to install the drivers again before I RMA it ... I'm currently on 12.11 Beta

[cadaveca]

kombuster isn't exactly realistic for load temps. does seem kinda crazy high though, for sure. you'd think the fan wasn't running right or something.


re-open GPU-Z, and give 3dm11 a go, check out max temps in that.

[TissueBox]

Originally Posted by cadaveca

kombuster isn't exactly realistic for load temps. does seem kinda crazy high though, for sure. you'd think the fan wasn't running right or something.


re-open GPU-Z, and give 3dm11 a go, check out max temps in that.

http://www.3dmark.com/3dm11/4955807

There's my 3DMark 11 score - I'm not sure if it's in line with other 7970s since I have yet to look at 7970 comparison benchmarks.

My highest recorded temperature was 65C with both fans at 100%.


But I don't think 3DMark 11 stressed the card long enough due to the short scenes... I'll edit this post in a few minutes for a 3DMark Vantage temperature reading.

EDIT: I'm getting 71C with 3DMark Vantage and 63C with Unigine Heaven 3.0 with 100% fan speed on both fans. These numbers seem about right but Kombustor's just skyrockets

[Jack1n]

Isent 1.26v abit high for a 7970?

[TotalChaos]

those type of tests often show you the worst case scenario. No game stresses a card like Furmark/Kombuster. The temps listed for 3DMark and Heaven are more realistic usage

[EarthDog]

Originally Posted by TotalChaos

those type of tests often show you the worst case scenario. No game stresses a card like Furmark/Kombuster. The temps listed for 3DMark and Heaven are more realistic usage

Agree, but not with 100% fan... that is auto fan temps (see this review the temp section). Something is up there.

What voltage is Asus GPU tweak reading the card is getting or better yet, test with the card since it has the read points on it.

[TissueBox]

Originally Posted by Jack1n

Isent 1.26v abit high for a 7970?

I'm not sure too sure about that - the 7970 Matrix is clocked 100MHz above the GHz edition, and those settings were after I pressed the default button; it should be normal.

Originally Posted by EarthDog

Agree, but not with 100% fan... that is auto fan temps (see this review the temp section). Something is up there.

What voltage is Asus GPU tweak reading the card is getting or better yet, test with the card since it has the read points on it.

I'd have to look very deep into my basement to find my multimeter again

GPU Tweak reads 1238 mV and GPU-Z reads 1256 mV. I don't think these are exceedingly high for 1100MHz that would warrant 90C+ :S

A little update: Ever since I changed the paste, my load temps have dropped 5-10C (Unigine 3.0 was at 83C 40% fan speed) and now it's 75C (40% fan speed). I'm typically not going past 80C now on anything with a 40% fan speed. I think I'm okay with not using Kombustor (or Furmark) to cook my card; I still find it kind of weird though.

Thanked everyone who replied here to help

[EarthDog]

I know the HIS 7970 X I have clocked at 1180 uses 1.25v. But its useless to compare those results as its a completely different cooler. But for the record with the auto fan slope (1 degree for 1% of fan more or less) she didnt break 63C (normalized to 25C) in 3d11.

So since you bought a Matrix, when are you taking that thing sub zero?

[SonDa5]

Such an awesome looking card. Seems like Asus makes great cards but have tough time cooling them.

Good luck cooling it. I would try Swiftch MCW82 7900 block on it and upgrade the thermal tape on the PCB heat sinke with Fujipoly ultra extreme thermal pad and put a bunch of sticky heat sinks on top of the PCB heat sink. Fan right at it.


How are your VRM temps?

[Sharchaster]

hmm...maybe because the voltage is too high I think...

I get 65c on my 670 at kombustor, furmark, 3dmark11....@1320 Mhz with 95 % fan speed...( I know it''s completely different)....Just for comparison.

Are you trying to decrease the voltage?

Strange btw, because Matrix 7970 is the fastest card that AMD have.

[TissueBox]

Originally Posted by EarthDog

So since you bought a Matrix, when are you taking that thing sub zero?

I got it for a steal at $400 (retails for 499.99 + 13% tax). I'd have to take my system underwater first before sub zero

Originally Posted by SonDa5

How are your VRM temps?

I don't think I have a way of telling; there aren't any sensors on the VRMs unless it's "VDDC Power Temperature," or "VDDCI Power Temperature."

Originally Posted by Sharchaster

Are you trying to decrease the voltage?

I just decreased the voltage from 1.25V to 1.20V and it seems to have dropped my temps by another 5-7C in Battlefield 3. However, GPU-Z and ASUS GPU Tweak are reporting different values.


*I am running 1200MHz on the core for this screenshot, but that shouldn't affect the voltage readings.

[erocker]

Originally Posted by TissueBox

I just decreased the voltage from 1.25V to 1.20V and it seems to have dropped my temps by another 5-7C in Battlefield 3. However, GPU-Z and ASUS GPU Tweak are reporting different values.

That is strange. GPU-Z generally reports lower voltage than I use. I assume it is vdroop. Perhaps your card uses a different voltage controller.

[Sharchaster]

Originally Posted by TissueBox

I just decreased the voltage from 1.25V to 1.20V and it seems to have dropped my temps by another 5-7C in Battlefield 3. However, GPU-Z and ASUS GPU Tweak are reporting different values.

http://i49.tinypic.com/nlafyp.png
*I am running 1200MHz on the core for this screenshot, but that shouldn't affect the voltage readings.

don't use software to read your voltage, AFAIK use multimeter if you have it.

strange btw, since asus matrix have a best cooler (surpass DC2TOP cooler I think)...

[TC-man]

Originally Posted by TissueBox

No luck. I cleaned off the old paste on both the cooler and the GPU with isopropyl alcohol and applied a pea-sized amount of Phanteks PH-NDC to the centre of the GPU. Temps haven't changed one bit

http://i47.tinypic.com/fk4axy.png

Both fans were at 100% and the case was opened. Guess the next thing to do would be to install the drivers again before I RMA it ... I'm currently on 12.11 Beta

Pea size, and no spread? For GPU you really want to spread the thermal compound evenly with a creditcard (or similar thing) 'till the paste covers the whole gpu chip; this way it will yield better temperatures for the gpu core. I have tested this back in the days when I had a Geforce 8800GTS 512 MB; the temperature difference can be as big as 5 degrees celsius at full load in Furmark.

And some videocards suffer from bad contact from the VGA cooler's heatsink with the GPU core due to some screws have 'stops' on them; the solution is to use washers to increase the mounting pressure. Read more about it in Techpowerup's review of a Power Color HD 7990 here.

[Rei86]

Originally Posted by TC-man

Pea size, and no spread? For GPU you really want to spread the thermal compound evenly with a creditcard (or similar thing) 'till the paste covers the whole gpu chip; this way it will yield better temperatures for the gpu core. I have tested this back in the days when I had a Geforce 8800GTS 512 MB; the temperature difference can be as big as 5 degrees celsius at full load in Furmark.

And some videocards suffer from bad contact from the VGA cooler's heatsink with the GPU core due to some screws have 'stops' on them; the solution is to use washers to increase the mounting pressure. Read more about it in Techpowerup's review of a Power Color HD 7990 here.

Way to many school of thought, but the OPs method is fine.

The only other issue I can think of is the contact point of the cooler to the chip that's giving him all the issues.

[drdeathx]

I would say take a few photos of the card inside the case. It sounds up to now you could have an air flow problem of sorts.

[Relayer]

I'm afraid you might have the wrong card for that case. The way it orientates the card most of the heatsink is below the GPU with the heatpipes facing down. Convection doesn't work well that way. As a test to my theory, you might try laying the case on it's back and see if the card runs cooler.

[EarthDog]

So you are saying the way 99%ti of people have their case this card wont work well?

[RCoon]

I dont find kombustor stresses a card that much, i got much lower temperatures when doing the furry/tesselation test than when i play metro 2033 or sleeping dogs.
Generally when overclocking/volting, I do a quick run through of a mission on either of those two games, as they seem to utilise the graphics cards to their upper limits on temperature.
I know both my cards run like a dream under normal circumstances, but sleeping dogs pushes them up to the high 70's and so does metro 2033 on full maxed out.
I rarely bother using benchmarking tools, as they dont give much of a real life gaming performance reading. Better to just test the card settings on the heavy usage games you'll be playing.