Hey folks, I recently noticed that my MSI Afterburner had the power limit and temperature limit both locked at 65%, and that had been the case for over a month! I found out only after I started playing Crimson Desert and noticed a huge difference in performance after unlocking my GPU's full potential. A little while back, I also did a slight undervolt just to test things out.
After resetting everything to default except for the undervolt, I've been keeping a closer eye on the temperatures. My RTX 4070 Super is showing:
- GPU temp: ~81°C
- Hotspot temp: ~101°C
- Delta: ~20°C
These numbers seem a bit worrying, especially with the hotspot and delta temps. No noticeable performance drops so far, but I'm concerned about possibly damaging the card. I previously had another case with different fans and the temps were similar.
My overall setup includes a mid tower case with decent space, and here's how my airflow is set up:
- 3 side intake fans
- 3 bottom intake fans
- 1 rear exhaust fan
- 3 top exhaust fans
I'd love to get your thoughts:
- Is this hotspot temp normal for this card?
- Does a 20°C delta suggest a problem?
- If this isn't normal, should I try a more aggressive undervolt, or check my airflow first?
3 Answers
It sounds like your GPU might be due for a repaste. That 20°C delta means some parts of the die are heating up way more than others, which usually happens when the thermal paste has dried out. It's not urgent yet, but keep an eye on that hotspot. If it hits 105°C, your fan speeds will ramp up to max to prevent shutdown.
I’d suggest doing a repaste and possibly reapplying thermal pads too. That delta really shows that heat isn't being spread properly, so it's worth looking into.
Check out using some Ptm7950 and quality thermal paste. That should help resolve your temp issues.
If I bump up my GPU fan speeds a bit, will that hurt its lifespan? Also, how do I adjust fan speeds? It's been ages since I messed with them. I have some case fans that seem to only speed up when the CPU temp rises, which feels off.