Case cooling for Radeon 5850 in Carbide 200R

[ET3D]

(Wasn't sure whether to post this in cases, cooling or graphics, settled on the last.)

 

I just upgraded my cramped no-name case to a Carbide 200R. My Radeon 5850 finally fits in the case with room to spare, but I'm interested if there's a way to cool it further.

 

I bought a 14" fan and tried sticking it on the cover in the vicinity of the GPU. I tried both as an exhaust and as an intake, and in both cases temperature went up a little (from 84c to 85-86c).

 

Is there a place I can stick a fan that would make the card cooler? The case currently has the default two fans (front and back) and the PSU's fan is inside the case (because otherwise the power cable is a little short for comfort).

 

Thanks.

[Black64]

Well when I ran two 8800GTS in SLI, I put a 120mm fan on the exhaust ports(where you connect the video cables) in a pull setup. I found this to be the most effective in cooling a video card. For some reason putting a fan near the intake (inside the case) seems to always have poor results, as I see you found out. The only other option would be to get better overall airflow in your case.

[RedFury77]

Doesn't that case have a couple of spots on the side panel for fans?  Mounting a couple there to force fresh cooler air right at the card will help.

 

Also check your bios for fan settings and make sure they aren't set to quite or something.  Mine has settings for each header and I set the side panel and cpu fans to 'turbo'.

[ohldboy]

Which 140mm fan (I assume 140mm fan on side panel?

Over which video card, Which CPU Cooler?

 

Brief look at newegg descriptions suggest putting the 140mm fan on the bottom and two 120mm fans at the top.

[ET3D]

I'm using an Arctic Cooling F14 on the bottom spot of the side panel. Only one graphics card currently, the Radeon 5850 (Sapphire with standard Radeon 5850 cooler).

 

Thanks for the comment about fan speed, I'll take a look in the BIOS. When I looked at SpeedFan it seemed to be working okay (though I could only guess which of the fans that was).

[d6bmg]

Run at the fans at their max speed.

And You should also check the GPU temperature after taking the side panel completely off. Old TIM in those GPUs may also cause the overheating problem.

Edited May 3, 2013 by d6bmg

[Black64]

Also a tip for when you get a new card, is to get one with an aftermarket cooler. They normally stay a lot cooler and don't need much help. I avoid the standard(or reference) coolers like the plague. IMHO

[ET3D]

I forgot to mention that it's actually running hotter with the side panel off than with the case closed.

[wevsspot]

Considering the locations of the two fan mounts in the side panel, which location (upper or lower) offers the most direct line of airflow to the gpu?  The top mount or the lower mount?

 

A previous poster also mentioned replacing the thermal paste on the gpu cooler, which is usually a great idea.  The OEM stuff isn't always the greatest and in many instances they don't do the best job at application either.  Be aware that you should probably pick up some replacement thermal pads too, as you might have to use them to re-cover the memory chips and vrms (depending on the configuration of the OEM cooler and whether the OEM thermal pads are damaged during removal of the gpu cooler.

 

Another trick is to create a custom fan profile for the gpu cooler.  You can use various 3rd party applications (MSI Afterburner for example) to create a fan profile that allows your gpu cooler fan speed to ramp up quicker at lower gpu temps, set a static fan speed, or even set higher than stock fan speeds at certain gpu temps.

[d6bmg]

I forgot to mention that it's actually running hotter with the side panel off than with the case closed.

 

Now, this generally means that there is problem with the cards itself..

Are the cards covered under the warranty? If yes, then I would highly suggest you to RMA them.

[RedFury77]

I forgot to mention that it's actually running hotter with the side panel off than with the case closed.

 

I'm using an Arctic Cooling F14 on the bottom spot of the side panel. Only one graphics card currently, the Radeon 5850 (Sapphire with standard Radeon 5850 cooler).

 

Thanks for the comment about fan speed, I'll take a look in the BIOS. When I looked at SpeedFan it seemed to be working okay (though I could only guess which of the fans that was).

 

Now, this generally means that there is problem with the cards itself..

Are the cards covered under the warranty? If yes, then I would highly suggest you to RMA them.

 

 

I think it's just a sign of a good side fan.  Mine does the same thing, the temps go up 2-3C if I take the side panel off that has the 140mm fan blowing air directly on the cards.  The focused injection of air is just better than just sitting with the panel off is all.

 

Also try another program, like Afterburner.  If for nothing else, to verify the temps you are reading in speedfan.

 

After a little looking around, it seems that this card normally runs in the low 80's.  So your's is maybe just where it's supposed to be.

Edited May 3, 2013 by RedFury77

[Black64]

IMHO 80C seems high to me for a mid end card. I remember my mid end cards being quite cool.