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GTX1080 running hot in new computer

wildcardswe
Level 7
I just built a new computer based on:

Asus B550I Gaming motherboard
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X CPU
32GB DDR4
2TB SSD

My old computer had an Asus GTX1080 A8G Gaming graphics card. It works flawlessly and as graphics cards are still very expensive, I decided to move it over to the new computer.

The problem is, whenever I start a game on the new computer - *ANY* game - the GPU temp skyrockets within seconds and the fans are running full speed. Should I still try to play, the card is throttled due to the temps and it's just unplayable.

I've even tried with starting a 20+ year old game which boots into a static low-res 2D title screen. The same thing happens within a few seconds. The GPU temp goes over 90 degrees celcius. Fans spinning like crazy.

There is nothing wrong with the graphics card itself. I've moved it back and forth between the two computers and there are no problems in the old one.

What I have done also is:

- Made a fresh Win10 install with all updates
- Reinstalled nVidia drivers with the help of DDU
- Updated display port firmware and VGA bios on the graphics card
- Verified that the graphics card is not overclocked and is running with stock settings
- Reset motherboard CMOS
- Made sure the graphics card is dust free and airflow is good

Is this Asus GTX 1080 not compatible with the Asus B550I motherboard or what's the problem? I'm clueless.
I'm also not willing to take a gamble and spend a large sum of money on a new graphics card *hoping* it will solve anything.

Attached screenshot showing what it looks like idling at the title screen of the 22+ years old game Unreal Tournament.
92571
1,365 Views
6 REPLIES 6

STARRAIN_ROG
Customer Service Agent
Hi wildcardswe,
Is the power supply sufficient for the new pc?
Which mode do you select in GPU TweakII?
When you open Unreal Tournament, the GPU temp up to 93 degree and the fan speed is 81% within a few seconds. Then, after idle at the title screen for a while, the GPU temp and fan speed will get down or until you close the game?
May I have the bios version of your motherboard?
Please install NVIDIA GeForce Game Ready Drivers V511.23 and GPU TweakII V2.3.9.0 from our support site and then check it again.
Thank you.

STARRAIN@ROG wrote:
Hi wildcardswe,


Hi, and thanks for answering.

STARRAIN@ROG wrote:
Is the power supply sufficient for the new pc?


Yes, it's a 850W PSU.

STARRAIN@ROG wrote:
Which mode do you select in GPU TweakII?


I've tried Gaming Mode and Silent Mode.

STARRAIN@ROG wrote:
When you open Unreal Tournament, the GPU temp up to 93 degree and the fan speed is 81% within a few seconds. Then, after idle at the title screen for a while, the GPU temp and fan speed will get down or until you close the game?


GPU temp and fan speed stays high until I quit the game. Then temps and fan speed go back to normal pretty fast, indicating that the cooling works at least.

STARRAIN@ROG wrote:
May I have the bios version of your motherboard?


2603

STARRAIN@ROG wrote:
Please install NVIDIA GeForce Game Ready Drivers V511.23 and GPU TweakII V2.3.9.0 from our support site and then check it again.
Thank you.


I have NVIDIA GeForce Game Ready Drivers V512.15 and the latest GPU TweakII V2.3.9.0.

Now on to some other things that may have nothing or everything to do with my problem:

I've noticed that my computer has been difficult to start sometimes, having to press the power button several times or keep it pressed for it to start.
I also left the computer unattended for a while and it went into sleep mode. It was impossible to wake it up after. Even switching off power and then trying to start it up was impossible. I had to short the two pins on the motherboard to clear CMOS to be able to start it again.

Then, while moving the GTX1080 back and forth between my computers, I noticed that the Bios Flash button on the back panel was stuck in the depressed position. I eventually got it loose and have had no more problems with the power button since. I haven't tried sleep mode though.

After this, I tried this 22 year old game and now temps never went above 83 degrees celcius in game. I only did a 30 minute test and need to test some more and with other games, but is it possible that having the Bios Flash button stuck the whole time have been the cause?

UPDATE:
The temperature issue remains. I don't know why it behaved better before. Now it heats up again. I've tried lowering the Power Target to 70%, GPU Temp Target to 70 degrees, Frame Rate Target to 144Hz and also lowered Memory Clock and GPU Boost Clock.
I simply do not understand what's happening or what can be done about it.

Ragnaraz690
Level 11
Long shot but maybe moving it about and cleaning it has moved the HS, maybe try stripping it down and redoing all the thermal interface materials too. It's worth a try if you want to keep the card.

Ragnaraz690 wrote:
Long shot but maybe moving it about and cleaning it has moved the HS, maybe try stripping it down and redoing all the thermal interface materials too. It's worth a try if you want to keep the card.


Thanks. I never thought this would be the issue since the card worked like it should every time I moved it back to my old computer. But as I was out of options, I went down this route anyway.

I removed the heatsink, cleaned away all of the old thermal paste using isopropanol, then applied a new thin layer of fresh Noctua thermal paste, then put it all together again.

I noticed right away, just idling in Windows, that the GPU temp was 10 degrees lower. Then started Unreal Tournament again, idling at the title screen. The temp only reached 43 degrees. Overwatch title screen, 56 degrees max.

So this seems to have solved it after all. But why?

Could it be that the old computer somehow throttled the card so it could never get that hot? I doubt it. It was a Asus Z97-A mobo equipped with an overclocked Intel Core I5 4690K and 16GB RAM.

Maybe the heatsink got a bit loose and the thermal paste dry so it didn't make contact as it should. I've noticed the graphics card does not have a perfect fit in the new computer. I have to pull it slightly towards the back panel to be able to fasten it to the case with the two screws. Maybe this tension caused a gap between the heatsink and the GPU so the heat transfer didn't work properly.

Off to do some proper playtesting now to see how it holds up.

Ragnaraz690
Level 11
The card has a fair few years of service under its belt now. The pads can shrink and same goes for the paste when it dries out. It could have just flexed enough to break contact with the main chip but if the paste was dry it wouldn't reseat itself properly.

It's also possible the old CPU couldn't fully utilise the 1080 too. check your case temps too, make sure warmer air isn't sitting around the GPU, it can only cool as much as it's ambient. so if the air around it is warm, the baseline temps will be higher too.

Ragnaraz690 wrote:
check your case temps too, make sure warmer air isn't sitting around the GPU, it can only cool as much as it's ambient. so if the air around it is warm, the baseline temps will be higher too.


All other temps are fine. Before building the computer I was just a bit worried about heat caused by the 5800X from all negative reviews I read, but it turns out it's very cool. It's cooled by a Noctua NH-U12A Chromax Black (double fans). The case (Fractal Design Torrent Nano, white with clear side window) has a large 180 mm front fan and I mounted an extra 120 mm fan in the back.
Airflow, temperatures and noise are all on very good levels now and I'm happy with the final result.