Preventing graphics card overheating?

[bthings_2000]

I've just bought this graphics card to upgrade a four-year-old desktop:

EVGA 128-A8-N303-L2 GeForce FX 5200 128MB 64-bit DDR AGP 4X/8X Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130210

The reviews are mostly positive, but they occasionally mention the card "running very hot" or overheating. How can I prevent this from happening?

I don't play many high-end games, though occasionally I play something like Guild Wars; most of the time it's just streaming video from the internet or a less serious game like Starcraft. The last thing I want is for the card to melt down (or take the rest of the computer with it).

Any help is appreciated!

[123456]

I have 2 systems with these cards in them, now both of these cards are a good 5-6 years old, but they still work very well. I've never had ANY problems with overheating on this card and I've overclocked them.

[bthings_2000]

Thanks; anyone else have general advice on preventing graphics cards from overheating? Does it matter if I crank up games' graphics settings or not?

[jlreich]

The more you use it the warmer it is going to get like anything else. As long as you have decent airflow in your case it should be fine. :)

If it ends up being a problem you can easily stick a small fan on the heatsink. Should be able to simply stick the screws right into the heatsink fins and it will stay on just fine. But I wouldn't worry about it unless it becomes a problem. GPU's can take a lot more heat than a CPU. 70-90c is not out of the ordinary for a GPU, it's warmer than you want it, but that would toast a CPU.

[Earnhardt09]

If you are truly worried about the temps, you can take apart the card and throw some arctic silver onto the GPU itself. This should drastically help, but WILL void your warranty, so you have to make a tough decision. If you have a good warranty with a good brand, I would say don't do it. Otherwise, go for it!

I have used arctic silver on all of my GPUs in the past and it really does help.

Also, this is a pretty easy procedure all you really need is a screwdriver and some steady hands.

[minus-sign]

2 words: Canned Air