Safe GPU temps?

Betreger
Betreger
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Topic 208914

I have 2 GTX1060s. One is single fan EVGA, the other is a dual fan Gigbyte. Both are overclocked to 2000 MHz. I currently have the fans cranked up to keep the temps down to the upper 60s C on the dual fan. The single fan runs between the upper 60s to as much as 72 C. What is a safe temp for 24/7 long term operation?

archae86
archae86
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As a former semiconductor

As a former semiconductor reliability professional, I'll say that every degree hotter degrades potential performance (meaning the maximum clock rates at which correct results are obtained) and lowers the probability of survival without gross failure to any hoped-for lifetime you could name.

However, in real life, lots of people run graphics cards at reported die temperatures in the low 80s for years successfully.  It does not appear that the base population (that is to say, samples without unusual manufacturing defects) has a severe cliff in reliability expectation until somewhere above that.

The more modern cards (including your and my 1060s) have internal controls which seem designed to make temperature-related severe failure unlikely, first by regulating the fans, then by altering running conditions to reduce power consumption, then by reverting to a sort of "safe mode".  I assume that the professionals designing those controls were driven by some information that had them believing they would hold down temperatures enough to avoid severe lifetime degradation to the great majority of the population.

If you are unlucky, and received a part with a much lower cliff than typical, you just might avert early failure by running at 65C rather than 75C, but for most people the only difference will be a slight difference in how much overclock you can get away with at a particular error rate on a particular work load.

I put lots of big fans in my boxes, but run them slow, so the sound does not annoy me too much.  Similarly I adjust the GPU fan controls to cool a bit more than the manufacturer settings for the lower temps and fan speeds, but avoid the banshee howl of really high fan speed.  It is summer in Albuquerque, and my study is not especially well cooled.  In the last 24 hours TThrottle reports that my 1060 has reported as high as 75C (it would do better in this box, but it shares cooling with a 1070, and both are overclocked).  I'm not very worried.

 

 

Chris S
Chris S
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I prefer not to overclock my

I prefer not to overclock my GPU's, I want life not top end performance at any cost. I don't run any card more than 70C 24/7 and I adjust the fans accordingly, noise or otherwise. Similarly I don't run any card or processor above 90% load.

If you souped up the engine in your car and ran the vehicle at maximum speed all day long you wouldn't expect it to last very long, and it would invalidate the makers guarantee.

But your kit your choice.

 

 

 

 

Waiting for Godot & salvation :-)

Why do doctors have to practice?
You'd think they'd have got it right by now

AgentB
AgentB
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As archae suggests most

As archae suggests most modern GPUs and CPUs will protect themselves with fan profiles and processor throttling.  I have run a HD7990 high 80s and into the 90s for long periods without a problem.  It simply generated too much heat for me to bear!

What normally wears out first is often the fan, so over fanning will shorten the life.   It is worthwhile logging the temperatures, GPU speeds, loads and fan speeds over a long period of time, so you can see trends.  Usually you find fan bearings stiffen up or thermal connections to heat sinks deteriorate and so you need to replace them. 

In your case i might measure carefully the power consumption between the two and see if there is a noticeable difference.  I think if i was concerned about temps (comparing against others / older values) i would reseat / replace the heat-sink and look carefully at the airflow (is one eating the other's exhaust, is the heat being trapped in the case etc etc). 

I would then see if dropping voltages could cool things down (reduce power consumption) without causing invalids or errors.

Good luck

edit: i wandered over to the nVidia forums they suggest 1060 perfectly fine up to 82C.  I'd want a few degrees below that on a hot day.

mikey
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I also have a 1060 crunching

I also have a 1060 crunching here and it's running at 68C, I use AfterBurner to monitor it, and it's running in a room with the a/c set at 82F and is pumping out workunits in just under 20 minutes each. I do not over or under clock it and do dedicate one cpu core just for the gpu to use, the pc does nothing but crunch 24/7 and is running 64bit Win7.

Shafa
Shafa
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GTX 250, 450, 460, 580,

GTX 250, 450, 460, 580, 590...  Running 24/7 at (75-85)°C for years.

As Chris S writes, first issues come with fans (bearings). I noticed that usually fans on Gigabyte cards were not very durable... But sometimes a few drops of IsoPropylAlcohol and oil can fix them for a while.

 

Chris S
Chris S
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I think the questions to be

I think the questions to be answered are

Q. Are modern graphics cards designed by the manufacturers to be run 24/7 at near their maximum capability?

Q. Are they more likely designed for office use or gaming with an 8-10 hour daily loading?

Q. Would it be economic for the card manufacturers to sell special tweaked cards for BOINC crunching 24/7?

Q. Has anyone asked them?

 

A. ...........................

 

 

Waiting for Godot & salvation :-)

Why do doctors have to practice?
You'd think they'd have got it right by now

Betreger
Betreger
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Thanx all for the replies.

Thanx all for the replies. Based on what I've heard here I think my temps are good. As for fan life the Gigabyte fans use sleeve bearings but I have it running @ 44% of max. The EVGA fan is a dual ball bearing, with an advertised "4 times the life of a sleeve bearing". It is cranked up to 74% of max. When summer is over I suspect I will be able to slow them down a bit. Time will tell. 

freestman
freestman
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Chip is safe Fan maybe

Chip is safe

Fan maybe broken when 1-2 years 

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Betreger
Betreger
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You may very well be correct,

You may very well be correct, time will tell. 2 years would not be a great tragedy by then something new and wonderful will probably be available. I shall crunch on. 

mikey
mikey
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Betreger wrote:You may very

Betreger wrote:
You may very well be correct, time will tell. 2 years would not be a great tragedy by then something new and wonderful will probably be available. I shall crunch on. 

How do you control your fans? I use MSI AfterBurner and leave it set it to Auto and my fans speed up and slow down based on the gpu switching between workunits. The room they are in is air conditioned so it doesn't get too warm, but with 8 pc's with gpu's in them the a/c does run all the time.

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