Operating temperature of the video card. Program for the temperature of the processor and video card

Modern graphics accelerators, unlike their predecessors, which appeared at the dawn of the development of computer technology and entertainment industry, today have moved far ahead, providing users with unprecedented graphics and video playback capabilities. However, the current computer applications, in particular, the newest games, make quite serious demands on such devices, while accelerators are very heavily loaded in work, so that the operating temperature of the video card can rise to quite high limits. However, it is not always possible to determine such admissible values on stationary PCs simply because the adapter itself is located deep inside the system unit. About what should be the permissible temperature loads, how to determine them and what to do, if they are exceeded, then we will go on.

Modern graphics accelerators: problems with temperature and cooling

Before considering the temperature characteristics of graphic accelerators, one should pay attention to the fact that, as a rule, the operating temperature of a video card in its description or list of parameters is usually not indicated (such information is at best available only on the official resource of the manufacturer). Therefore, the user, when purchasing such a device, does not always clearly understand what the maximum loads it can withstand.

In addition, it is necessary to clearly understand that modern video adapters are whole systems with their own graphics processors, which, as for central processors, require their own cooling system. Usually these are standard coolers (fans).

Since the operating environment of the video card is not determined by the own means of Windows-systems or by some physical method, it is quite difficult to detect exceeding the allowed values. In the simplest case, you can do this in a visual way. When you increase the indicators to the critical values associated with the load, for example, during the passage of the game, color bars, flickering dots may appear on the screen of the monitor, the frame rate decreases, the system hangs, the blue screen appears, and so on.

On the other hand, for a precise diagnosis, you can use any program for the temperature of the processor and video card (this will be discussed separately). It is this software method that can often be used to detect problems in the device's operation, and then take appropriate measures.

What should be the normal operating temperature of the video card?

If we talk about temperature parameters in more detail, we should understand that modern graphics accelerators can be divided into office and game. In addition, the installed cooling system type (passive or active) should be considered. Finally, the operating temperature of the video card at rest and under load depends on the power of the graphics processor and the manufacturer.

However, if we look at some average indicators, the generally accepted standard for normal temperature without load is considered to be a value of the order of 40-45 degrees, but not higher than 50-55.

What should be the operating temperature of the video card under load?

With loads, the situation is somewhat more complicated. The more powerful the GPU, the more important it is to withstand.

The average for most office chips, including integrated cards on laptops, is considered to be a peak temperature of 75-80 degrees. But, if we take into account gaming video chips, their parameters can differ significantly. For example, the operating temperature of the NVDIA video card of the latest generation can easily reach 105 degrees within a couple of hours. Naturally, overzealous with a maximum load is not worth it.

Program for determining the temperature modes of the graphics adapter

Since Windows does not have its own tools for viewing temperature indicators, third-party programs should be used.

The best and most common are the following:

• GPU-Z.
• AIDA.
• HWMonitor.

GPU-Z

The CPU-Z / GPU-Z application is a program for the temperature of the processor and video card. The first version is designed to view the characteristics of the CPU, motherboard, RAM, etc. But the second is specifically designed for graphics accelerators.

The program is able to measure the normal temperature, the values at the time of starting the games, fixes the minimum and maximum limits and gives an average value.

AIDA

AIDA is a portable utility that combines the capabilities of the two previous applications. In addition to the basic characteristics of all components of the computer system, it also determines peak temperature conditions.

By the way, this utility for information reports is recognized as the most functional, because, in addition to the main parameters, it also determines the modifications of the accompanying elements like transistors, the parameters of the load of a component, and God knows what.

HWMonitor

The CPUID Hardware Monitor utility was also good. It is universal and works by the type of the above described applications.

For testing, it's enough to run the program, and then start any demanding computer game resources. After that, the behavior of each element of the system will be recorded, including the peak temperature values of the graphic accelerator.

Temperature Widgets on the Desktop

All previous applications, no doubt, are good and functional. But you will not be constantly running them in the process of passing the next level of your favorite game? And many users believe that it was good if the temperature of the video card was displayed on the "Desktop", so to speak, for the convenience of visual perception. Typically, such monitoring widgets are not hidden when calling other applications.

What to use for this? Most experts recommend installing small utilities like GPU Meter, NVIDIA GPU Temp or Rockstar Extras. The first and second programs are designed solely to output information exactly on the video card. The third one also offers a number of additional features, including the placement of a calendar, radio and information on other components of the system on the Desktop.

What should I do if the maximum temperature threshold is exceeded?

Finally, let's see how to proceed if the peak temperature thresholds set for the video card are constantly exceeded. Overheating can lead not only to the failure of the graphics adapter itself. This can also affect all computer hardware. And the first on the connection will suffer the motherboard, which can lead to violations in the work of all other devices that join it to it.

For stationary computer systems, the solution looks simpler than similar actions in the case of laptops, because unscrewing the side cover on the system unit is much easier than getting to the components of the laptop.

But in any case, with the first symptoms, you should immediately clean the inside of the PC from dust, and also remove it from the cooler blades of the adapter itself. As an additional measure, you may need to apply another layer of thermal paste between the processor and the radiator. However, the most effective method for many specialists involved in the repair of computer systems is the installation of an additional cooling system in the form of fans. All their varieties have standard sizes, so it is not possible to install such devices in the same system of labor.

Equally interesting is the option of installing cooling in laptops, for example, instead of an optical drive. True, in this case you will have to use an external CD / DVD-ROM. Not very convenient, of course, but as an option, such a solution looks like a very effective tool.