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MP 1,1-5,1 Temperature check app for 5870 GPU?

macstatic

macstatic

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Oct 21, 2005
2,025
165
Norway
The fan inside my ATI 5870 graphic card broke when trying to remove it for dust removal (I'm awaiting a replacement fan and have super-glued it for a temporary fix). The fan works, but I'm afraid it's not an optimal solution so I worry about heat buildup.
I understand there are heat sensors in these cards, and I'd like to monitor it so that I can turn off the computer if I see it reaching a too high value.

Can any of the following diagnostic apps show the GPU temperature (preferrably in the menu bar so I can follow it all the time)? Which ones would you recommend? I'll also be replacing my CPU in the coming weeks, and likewise it would be useful to follow any temperature buildup in case I hadn't got the head paste thing done right.

DriveDX (US$ 19.99)
iStat Menus (US$ 14.99)
Hardware Monitor (US$ 9.50)
Monit (US$ 2.99)
TGpro (US$ 12.50)
 
Macschrauber said:
Afaik there ist just monitoring in Windows available.
Click to expand...

Really? Can anyone else confirm this?
So when people report in these forums about various temperatures (including their graphic card), how do they check that -always boot into Windows to find out?
 
That's strange.
I've downloaded and run several diagnostic apps in trial mode, and iStat menus shows the temperature of "PCIe slot 1" (currently 40C) which is where the 5870 card is located. There's no reading for the other PCIe slots, despite a cheap SATA card in slot 4 (I assume it's not equipped with a temperature sensor).

Likewise, the trial version of TGpro shows the PCIe slot 1 temperature. It also shows something named "PCIe ambient".
So isn't the above a temperature reading of the GPU chip inside the 5870?
 
macstatic said:
That's strange.
I've downloaded and run several diagnostic apps in trial mode, and iStat menus shows the temperature of "PCIe slot 1" (currently 40C) which is where the 5870 card is located. There's no reading for the other PCIe slots, despite a cheap SATA card in slot 4 (I assume it's not equipped with a temperature sensor).

Likewise, the trial version of TGpro shows the PCIe slot 1 temperature. It also shows something named "PCIe ambient".
So isn't the above a temperature reading of the GPU chip inside the 5870?
Click to expand...
For some old GPU, it can be ident as PCIe slot temperature. You can run Luxmark / Unigine Heaven etc to check if that temperature rise accordingly. If yes, that's the 5870's temperature.
 
I couldn't find any actual download for Luxmark, just a lot of documentation.
Unigine Heaven I downloaded but it appears only to be a benchmarking app and not something that displays temperatures.
 
If I may say so, I think you misunderstood.
Luxmark and Heaven are benchmark applications .
By running them you could check if e.g. iStats shows the real Temp of the GPU.
 
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Oh, you mean that by running those benchmark apps (which deliberately put strain on the GPU) I should see the temperature rise (and accordingly display that in iStat menu)?
 
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OK. I ran the Unigine Heaven benchmark app, and indeed the temperature reading of "PCIe slot 1" of iStat menu increased (likewise the card's fan -making even more mechanical noise in the process). I did see changes in the "CPU A -Tdiode" too, but it seems likely that it's possible to read the GPU card temperature sensor.

The next relevant question is of course: what is a safe maximum temperature of the graphic card, and also the CPU?
That is, at which temperature (in case the fan is failing, heat conductive paste isn't applied properly etc.) do I need to be concerned and turn off the computer so I don't end up with permanent hardware damage? o_O
 
macstatic said:
OK. I ran the Unigine Heaven benchmark app, and indeed the temperature reading of "PCIe slot 1" of iStat menu increased (likewise the card's fan -making even more mechanical noise in the process). I did see changes in the "CPU A -Tdiode" too, but it seems likely that it's possible to read the GPU card temperature sensor.

The next relevant question is of course: what is a safe maximum temperature of the graphic card, and also the CPU?
That is, at which temperature (in case the fan is failing, heat conductive paste isn't applied properly etc.) do I need to be concerned and turn off the computer so I don't end up with permanent hardware damage? o_O
Click to expand...
If the graphic card's fan is broken, you definitely need to shutdown the cMP ASAP.

If one of the cMP's fan fail, the other fans will automatically run at full speed as precaution, and get your attention. You can't miss it. But since there are three fans to cool down the CPU heatsink. Only missing one of them won't cook your CPU. If fan, because the other two will run at max speed, your CPU should be cooler than normal.

Anyway, CPU and GPU can run at 70-80C easily. I don't have the HD5870, but both the 5870 and your CPU should rarely run at above 85°C (unless you intentionally stress them).
 
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Fortunately the fan is spinning and cools the GPU. But becuase its plastic mount is damaged I super-glued it temporarily (until I get a replacement I ordered). Makes an awful racket though!

Good to hear about the 3 fans to cool down the CPU and that they'll run at full speed if one doesn't work. Yes, I heard the fans speed up when I tried that benchmarking app (also the GPU fan, which is a good sign that it works as intended)- I'll keep my eyes on the temperature readings of one of those apps (haven't decided on TGpro, iStat Menus or something else yet -they're all in demo mode) so they don't go above 85C.
 
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