How to cool a video card? (2 questions..)

Hi I just burnt out my Nvidia 7950, bought an 8800 thats coming today and want to know what is the best way from keeping this one from overheating???

- pretty sure the 7950 overheated as I was playing a game and it froze, brought lines on the screen, and turned off - the card felt pretty hot and i think it was because too much dust collected on the video card fan and heatsink - then continued to do so when opening the game until it would not run anymore - got the computer to barely run in safe mode, u can see lines on the screen at startup, but will not run when not in safe mode. Would anything else cause this or is it most likely the video card?|||Unlucky for you the 8800 is a fairly hot running card. It sounds like that was your problem too. There are a few things you can do to help keep your computer running cool :



1) Keep it Clean, a can of air can go a long ways.

2) Keep your desktop in an open cool area, avoid putting it back against a wall or in a desk.

3) Organize the wires, make sure your wires don't interupt air flow, buy some twisties and tie them together.

4) Buy a slot cooler http://www.xoxide.com/slotcooler2.html , a real cheap computer cooler.

5) Buy a cooler new case, you can get some for 100$ or less that should allow better air flow.



Its most likely the video card, especially if you have a smaller case. You can also check your cpu. There are several programs out there that you can use to monitor intermal temperatures. Here is one: http://computertemp.berlios.de/download.…



Good luck|||Get a 80mm fan and put it on the card

http://www.dreambytes.co.uk/upgrade.jpg



So that it is blowing cool air over the card and the hot air is escaping out the exhaustt fan.



Near the SATA cables!|||just dont install it. go for ATI.



look at:

http://www.notebookreview.com/default.as…



|||If no problems occurred before your card "burnt out," then it would most likely be your card's problem. If it is still under warranty, you can try to contact your cards supplier (EVGA, HIS, BFG, etc.) and try to get them to send you a new card.



Lines on your screen and other anomalies (called artifacts) usually occur when you overclock too much, or as a sign that your card is dying.



Most new cards (such as the 8800) have relatively good attached heatsinks and fans, and do not require you to buy an external heatsink other than the one included, unless you are thinking of doing some really extreme overclocking.