Have Sapphire fixed the X1950 Pro Overheating Problem?

[thejimbo]

Just purchased one, should come on Monday, and have just been reading all the overheating problems and was wondering if I should expected a faulty card or have they fixed this problem?

[]EGG[]

not sure Jimbo, I know they revised the fan design recently which has a slightly different graphic image on it which seems to be the only way to tell the difference!

Not sure if it makes a difference if it's AGP or PCI-E but I bought the HIS version as the Sapphire's seem to run very hot and very noisy, this is what prompted me:

http://www.hwupgrade.com/articles/vi...t-2_index.html

Good luck anyway, hope you get a good one, also make sure you download ATI Tools, there's an 'overcloking' tab in there which you can use to lower the core speed but more importantly to chose the speed of your GPU fan!....I've put mine up to a constant 100% just to be safe!

[thejimbo]

I got the PCI-e version. What graphic should I look out for on the front

[]EGG[]

did u read this>

http://forums.hexus.net/showthread.php?t=114865

[thejimbo]

Yeah thanks. Its why I ask if they have fixed it as he bought his card in November

[]EGG[]

trying to find the comparisson pics for you Jimbo, it's just an alteration to the graphic of that cartoon style woman they use on the packaging, will post the link when I find it.

[thejimbo]

Thanks

[]EGG[]

http://www.overclockersclub.com/revi...pphire1950pro/

http://www.hexus.net/content/item.php?item=7289

[thejimbo]

I got this on from Scan. Not the ultimate edition one. Does that mean I will get overheating from it playing games? Or is it pot luck?

[cptwhite_uk]

Hi mate,

just came across this thread so thought I'd give you a little more detail. I didn't have problems with the card for the first 6 months or more. When I go into 3D mode now the temps sky rocket on the GPU so it's possible the heatsink has loosened in the last few months as it has been moved about a bit with system upgrades. However since trying to remove/fix the problem with it would invalidate my warranty and given the well documented failure of the card, symptoms being exactly the same as what i experience, I'm reluctant to lift a finger and just let them sort it out.

It's not guaranteed to fail but given the problems I would consider sending it back and getting a 7950GT as an alternative. A bit more pricey I know but there is considerable extra performance for the money.

[Queelis]

The reviewed card has a different heatsink, which has the fan at the front of the card (near the outputs).

[Andaho]

Hi mate,

just came across this thread so thought I'd give you a little more detail. I didn't have problems with the card for the first 6 months or more. When I go into 3D mode now the temps sky rocket on the GPU so it's possible the heatsink has loosened in the last few months as it has been moved about a bit with system upgrades. However since trying to remove/fix the problem with it would invalidate my warranty and given the well documented failure of the card, symptoms being exactly the same as what i experience, I'm reluctant to lift a finger and just let them sort it out.

It's not guaranteed to fail but given the problems I would consider sending it back and getting a 7950GT as an alternative. A bit more pricey I know but there is considerable extra performance for the money.

Or get a X1950XT (the PowerColor from scan costs only £116) - even faster than the 7950GT. But it's not "considerable extra performance" as you suggest! from X1950Pro to 7950GT or from 7950GT to X1950XT - It's like saying the Vauxhall Astra VXR is considerably faster than the Ford Focus ST - they're both in the same league!

[Pob255]

Enough with the car analogies, it's pointless telling thejimbo to buy a new card when he just has.

I'm not sure which card cptwhite_uk had, but the eairly ones had the cool round the other way so to speak, with the fan at the other end blowing air into the middle of the case, while the new design has the fan at the other end, whiel it doesn't blow air out as it's only single height it does blow air directly across the (arrgh I've forgotten what it's callled, on thoes ultimate edition ]egg[ posted it's the bit that has the large heatsink on it, near the power connector)
I think "that bit" over heating was a major weakness of the ati cards, the original fan placement was blowing air across the gpu then over "that bit", the repositioning of the fan mean "that bit" is not getting heated air from the gpu.

I think it would be a good idea to teave the slot under the card in your case empty and remove the blank from the slot below to give any hot air a chance to escape. A ismple duct could be made out of thin cardboard and wouldn't invalidate the warranty (don't glue it on)

[Andaho]

Enough with the car analogies, it's pointless telling thejimbo to buy a new card when he just has.

I'm not telling jimbo to buy a new card, I was merely doing the ATI vs NVIDIA argument

[]EGG[]

I've never been an impulse buyer and I scoured literally hundreds of forums before deciding on the latest HIS version of the X1950 Pro as I'd say 90% of peeps had suffered problems with their Sapphire video card.

All I'd add is that I'd be going for the new 'Ultimate' version which has the new Zalman fan fitted on it rather than worry about facing noise and overheating problems as I couldn't be doing with the hassle of it all.

The latest Ultimate edition is only a few quid more expensive (under £110) and you just have to read the Sapphire forums to see why they manufactured the new card due to the constant overheating reports buyers had complained about which led Sapphire to admit it was design flaw in the older version.

If Jimbo asked me what to do I wouldn't hesitate in saying to return the Sapphire using the DSR rule and go for either the X1950XT if Scan sell it or buy the Sapphire Ultimate edition from elsewhere as I don't see any reason for paying full price for an old revision of a troublesome card with design flaws. Shame Jimbo didn't ask the question before he bought it as I'm sure he would of changed his mind and I think he's now genuinely concered to have posted here in the first place, and in my opinion rightfully so.

[thejimbo]

Well thanks for the info guys. I had bought the card after a good review from a few sites and some magazines. None mentioned the overheating problem. You say that 90% of people suffered overheating problems but I wonder if that is a real stat. As only people with a problem would post it and people with no problems probably wouldn't post.

The annoying thing is I bought the AGP version first by mistake and had to wait a week to get this new one, not to say return the other which costs.

Does the overheating get covered by the warranty by Sapphire? As I might give it a shot for a while

Just a quick note. I won't have anything else plugged into the motherboard, will that help at all?