Is my GPU temperatures high? How can I lower it?

I've recently bought a Gigabyte R9 280x 3GB GDDR5 graphics card, and honestly, I'm pretty happy with it. But one thing I'm concerned is with it's temperature.

After one hour or so playing, its temperature goes to 70-72C.

I've only tested it with two games

Resident Evil HD remaster
Skyrim (with mods)

Both with max filters @ 1080p.

I guess that Skyrim is a heavier game than RE, or am I wrong? And I've got the same temperature. Is it too high? What is its risk temperature?

How can I lower its temperature without underclocking or undervolting?

technical-issues hardware

Best Answer

Although temperatures in the 70's for a GPU are indeed normal, to know if the card is working good you require do to more research. It depends on tendencies rather than the value itself.

I read in your post "After one hour or so playing..."

Does this mean that the card starts at a lower temperature and then gradually raises? Because if that's the case then there's something wrong with your cooling. It's not necessary a matter of good airflow, you can have that, and still have a card behaving weird.

I had a card which turned out to be busted, always hanging at around 70C, It gave me issues with some games. I RMA'd it, had the same model and the card now hangs at around 60C

So, if the cards starts at 70C(on load), and maintains itself and 70C(while on load). You're fine, if there's a gradual increase something is not quite right. The card, the airflow, or the environment. Then again, if it stays at 70C-72C and it no longer increases after that, it's not really something to worry at. As long as your games work fine.

Just in case I'd recommend trying it with high resource consuming games that the card claims to support. I knew there was something wrong with my card when Bioshock Infinite and BF3 BSOD while the card spec said that those games were supported.

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Quick Answer about "Is my GPU temperatures high? How can I lower it?"

Disable Any Overclocking You May Be Using.

Set A Higher GPU Fan Curve.

Undervolt Your Graphics Card or Set A Low-Power Mode.

Set An FPS Cap.

Use Compressed Air To Clean Your Graphics Card.

Add Case Fans To Improve Case Airflow (Benefits All Components, Especially Open-Air GPU)

Why is my GPU temp so high?

Your GPU is probably so hot because it cannot cool itself properly, which can result from obstructed airflow, worn-out thermal paste, or placing your laptop on a restrictive, warm surface, such as your bed. An overworked or stressed GPU may also overheat as it tries to complete intense tasks.

Is 80 degrees too hot for GPU?

So, it makes sense that their safe temperature limits vary as well. Because of this, it's hard to say what's a safe temp for all cards. Regardless, it has always been a rule of thumb that graphics cards should stay under 80 degrees Celsius or 176 degrees Fahrenheit.

3 Easy Tips To Lower GPU Temps!

Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Images: SHVETS production, Anete Lusina, Leah Kelley, SHVETS production