Worried about my Asus 8600GT Silent

[raverbaby]

I bought this yesterday and when the system is doing nothing it peaks at 86 degrees celsius. It is always incredibly hot, to the extent that when i open my case you can smell hot metal.

Surely this isn't normal? I know it doesnt have a fan but surely it shouldnt be this hot? I bought a fanless one because i can not stand fan noise, is there an alternative GFX card??

Thanks in advance

[HSK]

hmm that doesn't sound to good if it's idling around 86*c? i have a passive cooling gigabyte 8600GT card. quite solid, it idles around 50*c and goes up to around 70*c when i play something like crysis...maybe somethings wrong with ur card. hows the airflow in the case, fans etc...that might be an issue...

[fraps]

my bro had a silent 6600gt and it hit 100c, we stuck a fan over it

your 86 does not seem too bad but the smell is concerning me

[fraps]

The HIS ICEQ cards have quiet fans, also there are separate fans you can buy to add on to your card

[Koolpc]

The smell would concern me

[staffsMike]

I have this one.
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It stays around 45 degrees idle and 60 degree's under load.

They do an 8600GT version to, not sure if it is as effective though.

For comparison this is Asus's Idea of an 8500GT passive (runs stupidly hot as you might expect)
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[No.72]

Why not take the headsink off, clean it and put some as5 on?

[Webby]

Why not take the headsink off, clean it and put some as5 on?

Unless the current thermal compound has not been applied properly then changing to AS5 is not going to make that much of a difference.

Also by removing the current cooler to check the thermal paste application you will most likely be voiding your warranty.

And as others have suggested I would be more worried about the burning smell than the temperatures.

Have you tried contacting the manufacturer of the card and asking them what average temperatures they would expect? Ask for ballpark figures and include your own otherwise they will just say it is situation dependent (will vary with case and airflow), you may find that its running hot and they will offer you a replacement or at least offer to have a look at it for you, without voiding your warranty.

[raverbaby]

thanks guys, i'll phone the retailer armed with the appropriate information