graphics over heat

I have a custom built coumputer with a GeForce 6800 GT, for the first
part of my computers life it worked great. Starting last year it
used to over heat really really bad. My AI Booster thing, tells
me my CPU gets up to 100C+ and my graphics card jumps to 130C+ when I
play games like DoD.

Can you guys help me out with a list of things to check for or do that
will reduce this? I'm pretty sure its not a faulse read out
because the computer gets hot to the touch. Also is it possible
that I've damaged the computer? Could this be some kind of
software problem? I've dusted the computer once about 3 months
ago, and that seemed to fix the problem, but its started up
again. Do I really have to clean this monster ever few months or
could it be the (somewhat) tight space under my desk thats leading it
to heat up?

thanks guys

Are you sure its 100/130 Celsius, and not Farienheit. I'd expect 100-130 Celcius to turn your CPU and GPU into a soup of silicon and ruined transisitors.

Put another fan in, or upgrade your existing fans. Really the only solution. You also may want to run the computer with the case open just to see if the fans are working.

Yeah ... 100?C is above frying temperature!

Now ... if it were Fahrenheit, 130?F would be about 54?C And there's no problem there. 70?C to 80?C is the area you don't want to be. That's when damage begins to happen.

In other words, I doubt your card stayed at 130?C and still functions properly.

In any case, the good news is, only one thing makes any computer part overheat: inadequate cooling. (Covers what RS6 said as well)

1st: Is the fan running? Open the computer, turn it on and check. If it isn't ... well ... there you go. (Chances are, it is covered in a warranty and you can get a replacement fan asap :smile: )

2nd: There could be "stuff" blocking the fan. Dust, is really the main culprit here. If this is the case, remove the card and clean it ... Use compressed air ... if you can't or it isn't strong enough, you can use a cutip. Just try not to handle the card too much. Lots of oils in hands that can damage the circuitry. (That's why you hold it by the plastic parts)

3rd: Placement, this one is a little less usual, since most people have the sense not to jam a card right next to the Video card (in some cases TOUCHING! Yes, I've seen people do this) Make sure there aren't cards in the next slot or two.

That's really it. Also, if you don't see artifacts in a 3d environment ... then it's probably not overheating and you mistook Fahrenheit for Celsius :smile: But, you can always double check everything.

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Blame it on Microsoft, God does.

make sure you don't have any internal wires blocking airflow either

you can get keep them out of the way with zip-ties

Get some extra fans, or a heatsink

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Nickelplate is my dad

checked both read outs (CPU and gfx card) and they both read in
Celsius. The graphics card will automaticaly drop performance if
it gets to hot, so it does hit 130?C and then it slows down to try and
cool off. The CPU has maxed out my heat meter at 100?C+ but its
happen only a few times and I assume if I melted or seriously damaged
either of these I would know right away.

The CPU heat sink had a fair bit of dust caked under the fan, which I
cleared off a bit (I'll run to the store and get some air today) and
now its running a few degrees cooler.

All six fans are running fine.

I didn't see any dust on the gfx card's fan, nor were there any serious wires in the way.

Apart from the dust, everything seems to be fine. I'm getting
ready to format and re-install. are there any stress test
programs I can run to diagnose any problems the over heating may have
caused?

I'd suggest trying out a different temp monitor - it sounds really fishy to me that you are hitting those temps on both CPU and GPU. Try out Motherboard Monitor 5 (normally referred to as MBM5) - it seems to be one of the most commonly used ones. Also, jump into the BIOS screen when you restart your computer, and you should be able to get at least CPU temp readouts from there under the PC Health section or something.

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make sure the whole tower is in a place where it can get adequate air circulation.

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