AMD's Reported 4870 X2 Max GPU Temperature

Hi,

Those numbers do not seem right to me..  I have the 4850 1 gig which is almost identical to the 4870.  My card runs at about 135 F degrees and 160 F degrees maxed so although you have the X2 version, 200 F degrees seems a bit high to me especially with the proper cooling and the fans working right.  200 degrees is like 392 degrees fahrenheit.   That is hot.

It almost seems your card is not using the fans properly or something else is going on with that kind of temp if that is what it is running at.

200 F degrees would also dramatically affect the rest of your system as well.  That is extreme heat.  I would double check your power connections to the card, double check to insure the fans are not only running but that they increase RPM's as the card load increases as well.

I bought a G15 Logitecg Game keyboard because of the built in programmable LCD screen.  Then I easily and simply created a small app that displays on the small LCD screen and this small app shows me real time GPU temps, fan rpms's, GPU in use %, the GPU clock and mem speeds and FPS while IN games. I could not find anything that yet supported the 4850+ series cards directly for monitoring these things and so with this keyboard I was able to easily create my own.

I did it for the same reason basically, I wanted to see and monitor exactly what my system was doing while I was actually playing.  It has allowed to me to make adjustments and monitor things to keep my system running and cool.  Because of how it works, I can see what my video card processors are doing, what the fans are doing and so forth while the system is at idle, then when I enter a game I can easily watch it kick in, change clock speeds, increase the fan and so forth as I play.

As for what the exact temps are as AMD states, like you I too was not able to find any official information.  With what I have seen though, the card runs at about 60 degrees idle and about 120 maxed and this is also overclocked when playing.

If you card is running at stock speeds, you're always safe. the card is tested at that temp, or it's broken and you'll likely get a new one. if it's broken however, you'll get (graphical) errors.

If you want to overclock the card, it's smart to set the fanspeed to 100% standart. It's noisier, however, it gives you a realistic view of the temp. it should be around 80 degrees celcius if it runs idle(normal windows desktop, without extra's). If you stress it, with for example the ati overclock tool, temps go up, and you should get a good max temp after 15-30 minuts constant stress.

But as an answer to you question, most producers won't publish an "official" temperature, cause the cards should work properly at stock speeds and cards nowadays often reach high temps(as a result of a high energy consumtion :P), making them less attractive;)(for most people)

So if you don't overclock, don't worry, it works fine.

regards, mathijn

ps. i'm sorry for the often sloppy english, i'm a bit tired