GTX 260 core 216 idling at 66 degs.....

[Redfish]

Ok guys, have a lil problem here....for a past couple months my gpu which normally idles at 47 degs now idles at 66 degs after playing some games....

The only way to remedy it is to restart the pc and then it's back to idling at 47 degs. I have searched online for a similar situation but no luck so far, anyone have any clue as to why this is happening?

Yes I changed the thermal paste on the card but it was happening before I did that.....

[Spazosaurus]

Check gpu-z for a gpu load reading to see if there's load on the gpu. U might quit the game but its process could still be running in the background.

It could also be a driver issue where its not reporting the correct temps after coming off of load. You may want to try a reinstall/upgrade of your video drivers and re-test.

In any event, its unlikely its a hardware issue.

[Redfish]

Yea I'm sure it's not a hardware issue

I'm now thinking if it's win 7 that is causing it because I know it likes to install it's own drivers  when you do uninstall nvidia's driver and do a reboot. I have been looking at precision to see, and there have been random spikes in gpu usage for no reason.

Need to find a way to prevent windows from installing it's own video drivers before I get a chance to install nvidia's...

[Redfish]

Well I did a re-install of the drivers 196.21 to be exact, in safe mode but like it's still there....dunno what's up with that *sigh* I really hope it's just a driver issue with them cause this is not cool (get it not cool lol)

[suzieboy]

you can try programs such as Driver Sweeper to clean old drivers an allowing you to install the one desired.

Is 66 deg unsafe for that particular card?

[Arcmanov]

Actually, 60-65 degrees is not that bad eh, but if the normal idle temp is 47C, then the difference is significant.

I'm willing to hazard a guess that this might be a fan-speed issue, directly related to the drivers.

This is why I am glad that ATI Catalyst now has fan-speed controls, which are card specific, so I can
control each card's fan-speed independently. 

Red, use Rivatuner to check your fan-speeds, and manipulate them as well.

[Saxito Pau]

I do not think it should be too much of an issue.

My GTX 260 idles around 45C and maxes at 85C while gaming (Far Cry 1 currently)

The idle after gamin is in the 50s, but I will double check it when I get home.

[W1nTry]

66 Degrees doesn't sound that hot, so I wouldn't worry about it. As for rebooting this is a 'DUH' moment, reboot==less load==less power==less heat. As arc mentioned, perhaps manually setting the speed higher when gaming would help but I think it unnecessary.

[Crixx_Creww]

check to see if you have folding @ home gpu runnin in processes

[phoenix31tt]

I'm willing to hazard a guess that this might be a fan-speed issue, directly related to the drivers.

Red, use Rivatuner to check your fan-speeds, and manipulate them as well.

check to see if you have folding @ home gpu runnin in processes

second that

[Nephilim]

yeah f@h wtf pwns all your cooling base....

i have had my 88gt reach near 80 with a vf900 on it, when it normally would run just under 70

this is at 25% fan speed

[W1nTry]

My 8800GT folding 24-7 and i've seen close to 80 myself. But it's been running thus for MONTHS, so as I said I don't see 60 as an issue.

[Redfish]

@ Crixx Nah  - I don't have f@h installed so that is not the culprit

@Suizieboy  - I did use driver sweeper to do a fresh install of the nvidia driver but that idle speed was still there

Yeah 66deg idle is not that bad but knowing that my card initially ran at 47 deg idle is what I have a prob with, esp after it hit a whopping 105 degs while playing modern warfare 2 (had set the fan to 60 % manually from the start using evga precision) ....

I don't have this card overclocked so I dunno what the hell is its prob and I did blow out the hsf on it with compressed air to see if that helped.

Will try rivatuner and see but I am pretty sure it's that nvidia driver. Seen other peeps on evga forums with a similar issue and the only advice they got was to wait for a newer driver  

@ Hard O/C -  I aint know how my fan deadin cause I never used to have to set the fan manually before and it used to reach about 85 max on load, so that's why I'm puzzled....

While we on this topic, what is the best way to ensure you clean the crap off your gpu heatsink besides using compressed air, is it best to open it up and do some direct cleaning

[Redfish]

Aight thanks, go see how that goes...

[Doomtack]

In terms of your card not returning to idle temps after playing games, it is an issue with the newer drivers.

Your GTX260 automatically downclocks itself when not doing intensive rendering, hence u get low temps at idle.
since the 191.xx drivers however there have always been complaints of cards not downclocking after gaming etc. I have even had the problem with some drivers. Also Steam seems to have a bug with regard to the flash player, which make your card run at its 3d clocks (not 2d or idle).

You can try reading up on some graphics cards forums to get an idea of which driver suits you best.
The EVGA forums usually tend to have loads of helpful information.

Currently i use the 191.01 drivers because of that same issue, as well as reports of the 195.xx and up drivers actually burning out cards (allegedly).

[Crixx_Creww]

nice info doom

also
might wanna check for bachaks in your hsf

[Redfish]

@ Doomtack - thanks for that heads up, I had a good feeling it was the damn new driver......yea I've been prowling EVGA's forums recently and everythings seemed to be pointing to the driver as the culprit.

Hmm that Steam bug I have to read up on, did not know about that issue as I usually always have steam on while gaming, thanks again for that info.

@ Crixx - lmao

[W1nTry]

I checked and my GPU runs @ 73 while foling on an evening when it's cool, so I imagine it runs at over 80 during the day when the room is closed up, sun blazing and fan off.

[Redfish]

^I was using EVGA's Precision program and it has a in game temp display...

the highest it had hit last night was around 85 deg on avg with intense action going on in MW2 or BFBC2 but while say just looking through scopre or somply running about it would hover at 70-75 degs with fan speed left on auto (think 70% fan speed kicks in when temps reach the 85 deg mark)

Then after gaming it stayed at the 66 deg mark again.....when I shut down the pc and start it back up, it's idling at 47 degs as normal....