Passive cooled graphics card, normal to be too hot to touch?

Passive cooled graphics card, normal to be too hot to touch?

Author
Discussion

heisthegaffer

Original Poster:

3,347 posts

197 months

Wednesday 30th July 2014
quotequote all
As above, I have a smallish media PC with an NVidia 9500 graphics car which seems to get really hot, to hot to touch really.

2 questions, 1) is this normal/common? and 2) given it's a smallish PC with little air circulation, is it safe.

It's quite an old PC, prob 4 or 5 years old a mate has given me and it's the standard card so obviously designed for it but is it worth swapping for a fan cooled card? I must admit, i's for the lounge so the quieter the better but I don't to damage it.

Thanks

Randomthoughts

917 posts

132 months

Wednesday 30th July 2014
quotequote all
These things are allowed to get up to around 105 degrees; I'd say that's going to be a bit hot to touch!

wolves_wanderer

12,356 posts

236 months

Wednesday 30th July 2014
quotequote all
Perfectly normal.

heisthegaffer

Original Poster:

3,347 posts

197 months

Wednesday 30th July 2014
quotequote all
Cool, thanks guys... will take out the fan cooled one as it's a bit noisy and put the passive one back in.

wolves_wanderer

12,356 posts

236 months

Wednesday 30th July 2014
quotequote all
heisthegaffer said:
Cool, thanks guys... will take out the fan cooled one as it's a bit noisy and put the passive one back in.
And stop touching it ya weirdo wink

MissChief

7,095 posts

167 months

Wednesday 30th July 2014
quotequote all
Make sure you have good case airflow as this will keep the temperature down.

heisthegaffer

Original Poster:

3,347 posts

197 months

Wednesday 30th July 2014
quotequote all
wolves_wanderer said:
And stop touching it ya weirdo wink
I can't help it, it hurts but I like it.

heisthegaffer

Original Poster:

3,347 posts

197 months

Wednesday 30th July 2014
quotequote all
MissChief said:
Make sure you have good case airflow as this will keep the temperature down.
Is it worth me leaving the side off? There really is little space inside at all.

Who me ?

7,455 posts

211 months

Wednesday 30th July 2014
quotequote all
I had a Nvideo one I thought got a bit hot on the heat sink.My cure was to find an old fan ,fix it across the heat sink and power it from an unused 12v rail . Certainly got the HS temperature down .

Randomthoughts

917 posts

132 months

Thursday 31st July 2014
quotequote all
heisthegaffer said:
Is it worth me leaving the side off? There really is little space inside at all.
No, as that doesn't create airflow; in fact it regularly makes it worse.

Ensure everything inside it is dust-free, that all of the fans on the case are working properly and then close it back up and enjoy the machine...

PugwasHDJ80

7,522 posts

220 months

Thursday 31st July 2014
quotequote all
Randomthoughts said:
heisthegaffer said:
Is it worth me leaving the side off? There really is little space inside at all.
No, as that doesn't create airflow; in fact it regularly makes it worse.

Ensure everything inside it is dust-free, that all of the fans on the case are working properly and then close it back up and enjoy the machine...
if its a small medi PC there might not be any fans

OP- there are a multitude of apps that will control temps,

being too hot to touch isn't too much of an issue- a CPU can run very very hot, but imo it goes decrease longevity when you get up to around 85-90degrees

If you aren't getting any artefacts or screen problems then I wouldn't worry about it!

Your PSU will be able to consume 400w or so on a media PC, and most of that will be lost as heat- my tower rig has a 800w PSU, which is getting on to the power of a electric bar fire!

Randomthoughts

917 posts

132 months

Thursday 31st July 2014
quotequote all
PugwasHDJ80 said:
if its a small medi PC there might not be any fans

OP- there are a multitude of apps that will control temps,

being too hot to touch isn't too much of an issue- a CPU can run very very hot, but imo it goes decrease longevity when you get up to around 85-90degrees

If you aren't getting any artefacts or screen problems then I wouldn't worry about it!

Your PSU will be able to consume 400w or so on a media PC, and most of that will be lost as heat- my tower rig has a 800w PSU, which is getting on to the power of a electric bar fire!
If the PC is specced by manufacturer to take a passively cooled card, it's likely to be a Dell/HP/IBM SFF machine; which is almost certainly cooled by either a front fan and CPU fan, or a CPU fan as a minimum with the exhaust over the graphics card slot.

Either way, airflow is generated.

800w PSU; pah. Pathetic. You're not a real man until you've passed 1.2kw.