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X51 GPU Overheating
I ordered an X51 Alienware system back in June. I got the i-5 processor model with the 8GB RAM, GT 545 GPU, 330W PSU, and 1TB HDD.
Late last week I decided to upgrade the video card. I bought a PSY GT 660TI, hearing the 660TI is a compatible upgrade for this system from various sources.
Well, I installed it and everything seemed to work fine. I updated the drivers, and then decided to play a few games. However, after about 20 minutes of playing, my FPS would drop dramatically from 60 to 20 during heavy load. The sound would crackle, and the entire system would become sluggish and slow. I checked the system temperatures and GPU stats, and I discovered that the CPU was running at about 60 Celsius and my GPU between 80 and 90. Furthermore, the GPU load was over 90% during these events and my power consumption for the computer was at 97%. I also should note that I was testing Civ 5 in this scenario and would have no problems running this game with my old GT 545.
I tried removing all drivers, cleaning the registry, and reinstalling the most-up-to-date driver. This did not fix the issue.
I took off the side panel of the machine and tried to play games and it works. The GPU temp drops to around 60 and I can play fine and the power consumption drops to 30%. Obviously this is a heating issue.
Has anyone else had issues like this before? Are there any cooling solutions that could help, or should my system not get this hot to begin with?
Thanks.
Well it seemed to work fine in this build that you commented on Karen:
en.community.dell.com/.../20189303.aspx
Why not my X51?
Alienware-Karen
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Posted January 30th, 2013 09:00
FryerBuck,
On that specific thread I was referring to help the customer with the no post issue, I have read some post about people upgrading the video card on the X51 with a GTX660 ti or GTX 670, I know some systems can work fine with them, but some others not, this can depend on the configuration and many other things, certainly I cannot you tell exactly why is not working as engineering haven't test this model of video cards on the X51.
GTX660 reference designs that use a blower design that blows hot air out the back of the system have better results. If you buy one that just dumps the hot air inside the chassis you can experience overheats.
Yes this is very important to check - all the successful upgrades with only minor mods e.g. removing the front fan grill, have been with cards that follow nVidia reference designs. They all take the hot air from inside and blow it out of their own grill out of the back of the X51.
Sorry but even in a larger system, pre-built or home-built, which was originally designed with all its fan pulling air in from the front and pushing hot air out the back, you'd be a monumental idiot putting any replacement component inside that then does the opposite.
The X51 controls it's fans perfectly well within the design, so you have to follow that or have big problems.
You're right, I have should have looked at it closer, but I just heard so many good things about this card working in the x51.
How can I tell if a GPU has the right type of fan for this system? Looking at the 660ti, I can barely tell it apart from the 545; single blower fan and emits heat out the back. Or is this a Dell OEM design only?
Alienware-Karen
2 Intern
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433 Posts
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Posted January 29th, 2013 12:00
Hello FryerBuck,
As per engineering the X51 does not support the GTX 660ti, this because it can cause overheating and instability issues in the system.