Is my vid card overheating?

Using rivatuner core temperature monitor, and using drivers 163.16 with a 8600 gs with no overclocks just stock settings, I'm recording 54C on startup, and like 72 C on idle.

However when I game, ex. playing oblivion this temp goes to 90-91 C. Is this way too high for my vid card? Can rivatuner be giving me wrong numbers here?

If its true, then what can I do to cool down my vid card without losing any performance? I am planning to purchase a cooling pad already. Any suggestions? I live in Canada btw.

 

That is pretty high, but not overheating. I'm supprised it would get that high without an overclock. Are you sure the fans on your comp are getting all the air they can? are you plaing on a hard surface like a table? cooling pads general lower the temp a few degrees. what is the model of your laptop?

 

Well, I'm not sure if the fans are getting all the air they can. It's placed on a regular wooden flat table. I'm using the Asus F3SV-A1. In fact my keyboard heats up after prolonged use and it starts getting uncomfortable too.

Blah, Im not sure if a few degrees is good enough, but I guess getting a cooling pad is better than nothing though.

 

What makes you think it's too high?
If it's just a hunch, then please explain to me why a CPU running at 3GHz isn't "too fast". After all, it can't be good for electrons to buzz through the chip 3 billion times a second, right?
Surely we should slow it down to a more sensible pace.

Or to put it more bluntly, "common sense" does not apply to computers. You or I wouldn't want to work in 90C conditions. For a GPU, it's no biggie.

If it works, and your driver doesn't throw warnings at you, there is nothing wrong.

By default, the NVidia driver (for desktop GPU's, admittedly, but still gives you an idea) are set to warn the user (not reboot or anything drastic like that, just alert the user) when the GPU temp reaches 130C.

GPU's get hot. They're designed to get hot. As long as you don't experience crashes or graphics corruption, they're fine.

 

no its perfectly normal.

 

Um...you can try cleaning out your fans for any dust there might be...

Chaz has a thread up in the articles and guides section...

a cooling pad like the Zalman NC-1000 would be nice too.

 

Thats because on my old comp, my vid card idles at 40 C and goes up to 50 under intense stress. With that said, that was an outdated card fo todays standards. However, even when I check and read other peoples temp they are usually around 50-60 idle and 60-70 under gaming, which worries me. Especially I just got this computer yesterday I'd like to make sure everything is fine before I game.

I'm afraid by the time I find out my card has crashed due to overheating its already too late to fix.

 

Different video cards produce different different temperatures. Some are high, some are low.

 

Thanks for the suggestion, but how do you tell if the cooling pad would fit on a 15 inch laptop? I'm having problems finding the zalman NC-1000 online, so I might just go for the targus chill mat instead.

 

My drivers had a 110C threshold. You could check for dust in your fans. just make sure you don't ruin anything.

 

It has been proven in reviews and member statements that the Zalman can fit 17'' Laptops like the Sager NP5790 and the Sager 9260 although the sides do hang over a little bit but that's no problem.

Where do you live?

newegg.com and zipzoomfly.com have them.

 

Zalman ZM-NC1000 is the best notebook cooler to date.... nothing like it.

Silver:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834998052

Black:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834998051

 

I live in Canada, so newegg is not an option unforunately. I was checking tigerdirect and they only have the targus chill mat but not the NC-1000.
I'll look more into it, thanks for the suggestions though guys, really appreciated.

 

I believe zipzoomfly ships to Canada.

 

Just checked, they used to ship to Canada but no more ;(

 

Oh, sorry for that...

Check for online vendors in Canada, at least one should have what you are looking for.

 

I found the vendors now, its selling for ~55 Cad. Thats a kinda over what I was planning to spend. Are there any cheaper alternatives? Or is this cooler just that much better than the other cheaper models? Just to reinforce things I have an Asus F3sv-A1, its a 15 inch laptop.

Thanks

 

The Zalman reigns over all other coolers out right now.

 

Canada, here ya go:

Black:
http://www.xpcgear.com/zmnc1000b.html

Silver:
http://www.xpcgear.com/zmnc1000s.html