560 TI SOC 950 rev.2.0 high idle temperatures

[sv4]

Hi
Just bought one of those beauties, based on the reviews and on my older gigabyte gtx 460 oc which i love.

 Problem is: idle temp is 50-52 C. It does not matter if i crank the fan to 100% (1950 RPM) and downgrade the freq from 950 to 710Mhz, it's still 50 C ! (gpu-z and evga precision sensors).
 Load is going over 80 C. As a reference, the 460 is 28-32 C idle, and a superb 60C in load  when overclocked to 830 mhz.....
 
It's strange, given the fact that all the reviews put the Giga 560 ti soc as the coolest card in the gang in idle mode, sometimes as low as 28C but usually 30C ?

 Also, (and I really have no references here) : i keep seeing scores as high as 1550 in Unigine default on the net, this card only scored 850- 1680x1050- arround 27-30fps...

Now, I know this situation is not quite ok, but i would very much like to try to remedy it at home than with a RMA and so, could you guys please let me know what you think about the temps and a reference score in one of the tests so I can compare the results.
Thanks a lot

System: win7 64, haf 922, antec earthwatts 750, i5 2500k, asrock p67pro b3, 2x4 corsair vengeance 1600, all brand new.

[Dark Mantis]

Hi and welcome to the Gigabyte Forum.

I would agree that the idle temps seem to be a bit high and it seem s funny that it sticks at 50C whatever. The load temp of 80C isn't so bad in my estimation.

What is your ambient temperature there at the moment, it must be quite high ?

Are the cooling fans on the card and case al working as they should ?

[sv4]

Thank you very much

 Ambient temperature is 28-30C- small room, aircon is not helping at all with the back pain...
 All the 5 fans on the haf 922 are working and can keep the NB and cpu at 35C idle, as well as keeping the gtx460 at...room temperature +2C.
 
But yes, it's sort of funny how going from 950 to 710Mhz doesn't lower the temp one bit. The fan on the 560 is working at a maximum of 1950rpm, very silent, the card is really hot to touch .

 I spoke with someone at the service center of my retail local shop, and he stated that this idle temp alone is no reason for RMA, and I agree. But I have a history of 3 EVGA consecutive RMA (9800gtx->9600gt->9600gt), same high idle temp, all of them died in 3-4 months from receiving them, it was always the vram.
 
That's why i do love the giga gtx460 and i was expecting similar temps on the 560, and while I suspect some faulty thermal paste placement, they said I am not to open the card to inspect that and basically the message was...if it dies..then rma, but come on, I don't want to let her struggle like that, it's a beautiful and very silent card...so I don't know what to do...?

 

[Dark Mantis]

Yes I understand your feelings but as the tech told you if you remove the heatsink/shroud to see then technically you void the warranty. I have this problem with all my cards as I watercool them and have to remove the standard cooler to replace it with a waterblock. I can only suggest that if you do have a look you do so very carefully and make sure that your transgression can't be spotted.

[sv4]

 Thank you very much Dark Mantis, I will try to carefully open it and look at the thermal paste and that's about it.

 It's risky because, you see, the retailer I bought it from is not the most customer friendly one, they don't have a return policy, but what could I do, it was the only 560 card available in all town, next shippments: in 3 weeks at best....had this brand new system waiting for a gpu....It's like a 560TI summer craze, people bought them this summer like they're going out of fashion ...lol...they are indeed.

 If I may bother you with only one question: what kind of thermal paste /pads would you reccomend, I only have some ac5 in house and I know that's a BIG no for graphic cards ?

[Dark Mantis]

If you change the TIM then there is no way that you can cover the fact that you have opened it up and invalidated your warranty. I don't understand what you are saying about not using Arctic Silver 5 if that is indeed what you are referring to as AC5 only that it takes time to cure thoroughly.

[sv4]

 My apologies, mispelled a letter, yes, arctic silver 5, as5. I've read somewhere that , being very conductive with all the silver and stuff, and the GPU having exposed components on the edge, it's better not to risk shorting those with as5 and use instead some ceramic based themal paste. Or pads.

  I've had a surprise with the evga cards, when I've cleaned the melted remains of the original thermal pads and applied some AS5, well, there is some space left, the pads being thicker than the layer of paste, the HS barely touched that as5 layer.

 Made some more tests with Gigabyte OC Guru, ambient temp 25C, I've bought a big 200mm lateral fan for the haf922, I lowered the clocks at the very minimum, 430 or something, guess what...still 50C. I also went to setting the clock to 1050 and 1100, just to see the idle temp, but the card resets itself to 950, as read with gpu-z.
 
The official reply mail from gigabyte support said that 50C idle is normal...allright...so much for believing the 28-30C reviews.
 
It's not the temps that bothers me, really, it's the long wait for the rma if it happens, and I'm afraid it's only a matter of time .
 
 I wish the warranty policy would be a little more lax, evga style. Because my old 460 HS is kind of full of dust now and I can't even remove the plastic top to brush it off ? That's what the guy said...
 
My mistake, actually, I should have invested in a normal vanilla card, non-oc, and a decent combination of water cooling components, lesson learned.
Cheers

[Dark Mantis]

 I wish the warranty policy would be a little more lax, evga style. Because my old 460 HS is kind of full of dust now and I can't even remove the plastic top to brush it off ? That's what the guy said...
 
My mistake, actually, I should have invested in a normal vanilla card, non-oc, and a decent combination of water cooling components, lesson learned.
Cheers

If I can make a suggestion as far as cleaning the card try using compressed air as I do but not from a can, they are next to useless, use an airline from a compressor. If you haven't one yourself the local garage will have one and usuallly are happy to help out. This will remove all of the dust without having to disturb any seals.

I use watercooling myself and although it is more expensive and a little more trouble the benefits far outweigh the downsides.