I just wanted to tell you, i have done all i could to save my video card from overheating- and it is really getting on my ******* nerves. I just feel like smashing my video card with a hammer. I have had this overheating problem for over a year now, and the video card is getting to the point where it is probably fried from the heat, and now overheats at lower temperatures.

I dusted the graphics card, took off the case cover, blew a house fan into it, checked that all fans are spinning, moved the pc a bit further away from the wall, turned all settings to low when playing a game, checked that power supply works, used a program called RivaTuner to turn up fan speed to 70% (it was defaulted at 25%). Yet nothing has worked. Should i underclock my video card or something, should i install more case fans, or should i replace graphics card?

My computer:

nVidiia GeForce 7900GS

Pentium D X2 300GHz

XP

375W power supply

320 GB HDD

2GB RAM

Answer:
hi dj

this isnt just your card,it happens to us all at some time,and the reason isnt the actual gpu(graphics processor unit) but its fan

graphic card fans are notourisly bad,as you rpobally know when you turn on your p.c in the morning some graphic cards sound like they are in pain,they screech and whine for around 5 minutes until they settle down

however some manufactuers use sub standard cooling on their cards and what will happen then is whats happening to you..overheating

your ideal option then dj is to replace the fan and heatsink and replace it with a more efficent cooler such as the Zalman VF900-CU Quiet Copper VGA Cooler (http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduc… is a excellent model and is a popular choice among enthusiasts,it comes with all you need to attach it to your card

however to remove your existing fan and heatsink there should be 4 plugs on the underside of the card,you squeeze these and they will come loose and then after all four are removed you can release the heatsink and fan,however go to the cards website and check just to be sure

another good cooler is the Akasa AK-VC03-BLUV Vortexx NEO VGA Cooler(http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduc… and the Arctic Cooling Accelero X1 VGA Cooler (6800/7800 Series)(http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduc… this is actually designed for your 7900gs

underclocking your card is a second option,however i think a new fan should do the job,i found it helped my overheating problems with my old card

note: if you do need to do any over/underclocking then use nvidia,s “n-tune” (http://www.nvidia.com/object/ntune_5.05…. is by far better than riva tuner and is suggested by nvidia so it must be good,its much more stable and has a better user interface

any problems let me know

good luck dj !

Answer:
You should replace your card. It's an old one anyway, so it'll be on its last legs, and if you got it second hand the previous owner might have been thrashing it something silly with OC's. Trade it in for a new one, such as an 8600GTS if you're on a budget, or a 9600GT if you can afford a bit more.
Answer:
Make sure the airflow through the case is not impared. Blow out the power supply to clean out the gunk in there, as well as the intakes. Do this outside - there will be tons of crap tn there.
Answer:
Get a different one, if it's been going on for a year it doesn't have much life left in it. How hot has it been getting, have you added a cooler?
Answer:
How do you know that it's overheating? If anything, it sounds like you might be underpowering it. If it's random restarts and blue screens that you're getting, that's not overheating that's probably underpowering. If your video card overheats, you'll see dots all over the screen, known as artifacts. 375W is nothing these days, for a modern card. Google “power supply calculator” and put in all your specs for your pc and see if it suggests you need a bigger one. I had a 430W PSU and it wasn't enough, the calculator told me my pc needed at least a 550W one, I bought a 620W one and haven't had a problem since, and I used to get random restarts when I played games or tried to encode video.

If that calculator tells you you need a more powerful PSU, get a name brand one. PSUs are one of the most important and underrated components in your personal, in terms of stability. Cheap ones just don't provide clean enough and accurate enough power, they use cheaper components that will fail sooner, and they have the ability to damage your Computer when they fail by providing unstable power. Your CPU and your memory especially need a very stable and precise voltage to operate properly, failing to supply that can damage them.

I had a 375W PSU and a single core processor a while ago that wasn't even enough to power an ATi 9800 pro…which is about 5 generations older than your current graphics card. 375W just isn't enough for most applications anymore.

Answer:
Donno why thats happening. You should take the video card to the shop or store you purchased it from and get it tested.

If it's still under warrenty, you should be able to get a replacement for free.

If it's not, then consider getting a replacement and wait till the card actually burns out and doesn't work anymore.

newegg.com, kijiji.com, craigslist and other buy & sell sites or a magazine. Tigerdirect.com (or .ca if your in canada) and canadian factorydirect.ca also sell graphics cards at low prices.