Temps and graphics

[CaptainMattJ.]

When playing......say Silent Hunter 5 on Maxed settings and a decently high res, would that increase Core temperatures/computer temperatures in general?

I dont think they do, seeing as how the graphics card has its own heatsink and fan, and does all graphics processing on its own, but i want to be sure, so when i get my new card it wont overheat the system.


And, what temps are relatively safe for a computer? 50 C? 60 C?

[Arclight]

CPU I wouldn't let get much above 50C (still "safe" though). GPU typically runs much hotter, actual temp depends on the chip. Imho 80C is pretty high.

In the end it doesn't matter though. If you build a gaming rig, you want the best cooling you can get in there (no need to jump on the liquid-cooling bandwagon just yet though). If it overheats, you need better cooling. The actual temps don't really matter.

[antikristuseke]

Temps mater more to some other components than the gpu or cpu, mosfets fr instance start loosing their life expectancy exponentially at temperatures above 50C

[Arclight]

I've always wondered if those heatpipes snaking across motherboards are effective.

[antikristuseke]

They seem to be from my experience, but a well ventilated case is better.

[CaptainMattJ.]

Cool. But, would the GPU running so hot in turn heat up the rest of the system?

[Arclight]

If you mean ambient temperature of the case, then of course. Cards that vent the heat out the back are preferred if that's an issue. Keeping the air moving (efficiently) in the case is important for a gaming system, considering the system is under high load for prolonged periods, meaning a lot of components giving off plenty of heat.

[onelifecrisis]

I've read many times on the net that "anything over 50C is bad" or similar. It's garbage!

My current PC idles at ~50C CPU and ~65 GPU. During intensive games it runs at ~80C CPU and ~85C GPU. I don't have any extra cooling in it (though I do have to clean dust off the CPU heat sink every now and then or it starts to overheat). My previous PC ran games at ~80C CPU and ~80C GPU and it lasted through five years of intensive gaming (without even being regularly cleaned) before the PSU finally gave out and I replaced the whole rig.

Processors are designed to run hot. Cooler is better, but hot is not actually a problem (unless it gets really hot, like over 90C).

[Arclight]

Myeah, technically true. Something like a Q9550 runs up to 70C safely, according to Microsoft's specifications, but it will indeed run much higher without commiting suicide. You can expect impact on lifetime though, but if a chip would last only 3 years instead of 5, it's still likely you would replace it before it fails.

Still, what's the point in burning up a chip if you can get a decent 3rd-party cooler for something like 20-30 bucks? Maybe you can collect the parts left over after upgrades and build a second PC, use it as a server or sell it or something.

Better safe than sorry, right?

[JSLTIGER]

60C is generally the so-called magic number for CPUs for everything that I've read. So long as you're under that under load, you should see no decrease in life on the CPU. GPUs always run hotter, but if you start seeing anything over 75-80C, I would start becoming concerned.