Graphics Card Running Hot

[johnnymk]

I recently built a computer. It has a NVidia GeForce FX5200 AGP Graphics Card. An hour ago, I was inputting a signal from a Video Capture Card and the video was lost on my monitor after about 20 minutes. I was looking for problems and noticed that the card was not completely seated. Why it was working before this is beyond me.

Anyway, as I was reseating the card, I also noticed that the card is very hot to the touch. It only has a heat sink facing downward. There is no fan on the graphics card. The video capture card is directly below the card. The CPU fan is directly above the grahics card.

Also, the case fan is at the front of the case, but at the time this occurred, the sides of the case were off. The IDE cables were also blocking any kind of airflow to the card which I remedied.

Should I get a PCI fan and attach it directly below the graphics card? Or possibly move the Capture card down to the nextPCI slot?

[InfiniteNothing]

Video cards tend to run hot to the touch. I think even temps up to 70C are not unheard of. The NVidia control panel will let you watch the temp and see if it's in range. You might need to download new drivers to get the control panel.

[renovation]

they can get hot enough to give you a blister if you touch the heat sink.

Video cards tend to run hot to the touch. I think even temps up to 70C are not unheard of. The NVidia control panel will let you watch the temp and see if it's in range. You might need to download new drivers to get the control panel.

[johnnymk]

Video cards tend to run hot to the touch. I think even temps up to 70C are not unheard of. The NVidia control panel will let you watch the temp and see if it's in range. You might need to download new drivers to get the control panel.

Utilities were included with the software on this relatively new purchase. They are just for overclocking the card. I googled temperature monitor for the FX5200 and don't find a thing.

[DarkFury]

Personally, I'd add some kind of slot cooler to your case if you feel that your card is running too hot.

Most of my cases have a side vent where you can add a fan, however if you have a case that doesn't a slot cooler might do the trick.

BTW... are you noticing any "visual distortions" on your monitor? If not.. then I'd probably not worry about it too much. If you aren't overclocking the card, then pretty much it should be able to handle the heat that it generates (since it didn't come with a fan on its heatsink).

Something like this: http://www.velocityreviews.com/reviews/Antec-VCool-Slot-Cooler.php

[johnnymk]

No visual distortions at all. I guess I am just not used to the temps of today's video cards. However, I am going to look for a cheap PCI cooling fan.

Thanks

[InfiniteNothing]

If you don't hear your skin sizzle the instant you touch it, it's probably running okay. If you have recent drivers, there should be a green nvidia icon in your taskbar. Use that icon to open the Nvida control panel. In there, on one of the pages, is the temp mon.

[johnnymk]

I clicked the green icon. There are tons of settings, but I don't see anything with a temperature monitor.

[InfiniteNothing]

http://www.digit-life.com/articles2/video/fw90.html

Middle of the page

[johnnymk]

http://www.digit-life.com/articles2/video/fw90.html

Middle of the page

So I downloaded the latest drivers and software ( 12/2007 43.8 MB ) and believe it or not, there is no temperature monitor. I have no idea what the story is.

[InfiniteNothing]

You looked in the 3D settings? Seems really odd. I have it on my Nvidia control panel.

[johnnymk]

I checked the nVidia Table of Contents. It stated GPU Temperature Monitor is no longer available. However, it mentioned something about nTune5.0 or later. I don't see anything listed under my ControlPanel regarding nTune 5.0

[johnnymk]

I found my hand held temperature sensor which I can point at the object I want to measure. It measured 175 degrees after a few hours. No problems, though with the card yet.