Hi, I have a GeForce 6600GT, and my card has been consistently overheating, causing my computer to crash. My idling temperature is ~65C and after running a game it ends up being right around 77C (if it doesnt crash before I can check it). I'd like to bring the temperature down cool enough to keep it stable, but the problem is I have a mini-tower and it is very compact and poorly ventilated. I'm wondering if someone could recommend to me a cooling solution that would do the trick and what kind of temperatures should I be looking for to keep my card stable? Thanks for your help.
Most modern cards these days on idle woud be about 45 and on load 60~65. The best option would to buy a new case but you could make a blowhole in the side of your case if this is possible in your situation! Also tidy up your cables the best you can and also double check your heatsink is secured properly to your GPU!
Well, my system is a Sony VAIO, and everything was made to fit the case. Is it a realistic option to tear it apart and put it in a new case? Or would it just be better to sell this unit and build a new PC from scratch?
I dont think it would really be cost effective to build a new computer if that one does what you want it to! I think the best option is to get a new case providing that your warranty allows it (assuming you have warranty).
My warranty should be up by now. Is it actually possible to take everything out and migrate it to a new case? Might I need a new motherboard since I would be moving from a mini-tower to a regular sized one?
Its very possible and easy! You wont have any problems migrating, if you do choose to get a new case just make sure its mATX compatible which 99% of them are!
I agree with pelvis. If that computer already does what you want it to do, I wouldn't bother to build a whole new one. As Pelvis said, tidy up the cables a bit for better airflow. You also may want to buy a can of compressed air and blow some dust out of your case. Also, consider getting some arctic silver and putting it between the heatsink and gpu on your video card to possibly cool it a few degrees.
also installing a fan near the area to suck out the hot air could be a good idea, and wont ruin the case if it looks cool a la blue leds
you could get a new cooler from arctic cooling, if you can get the system apart to get the card out (i know some of those vaio systems are tiny and packed very tightly together. http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/Arctic_Cooling.html try that for good quality, efficient arctic cooling graphics card coolers
