If your GPU is creating a live hell scenario in your PC case and you are all stressing over it and tearing your hair out but can’t find a way to reduce the GPU temperature.
…then don’t worry as this in-depth guide will walk you through the steps that can help you ease your headache.
Another thing is that there are some GPUs that can safely cross the 90°C mark without any consequences, although it shortens their lifespan in some of the cards.
Whatever the case is, there are ways that can make the GPU keep its temperature around 50-60°C or max 70°C when you’re gaming. Sounds good, right?
How Hot can a GPU get?
It depends on the type of GPU… as there are a considerate number of variations (GPU) available on the market, and each one of them features different temperatures.
Moreover, if you’re unsure about the temperature of your GPU — you can either refer to the manufacture’s website or check out online reviews.
Another thing would be to manually check how hot does your GPU gets. For that, you would need to have a 3rd party software that will put a lot of pressure on your GPU to check how hot it can get.
For your convenience, you can try one of these:
- MSI Afterburner — download from here
- CPU-Z — download from here
- Open Hardware Monitor — download from here
Steps to Lower GPU Temp
If your GPU is hovering over the 70°C and a little over the 80°C mark when gaming then you should be worried as this indicates that there’s some problem going on with your GPU.
The best thing is that you can still take steps that can significantly lower down the GPU temp. But if there’s some serious problem then you might have to change your GPU, for your own good.
Each of the below steps is tested and ensure to make your GPU be within its own boundaries. However, there are numerous reasons and you can’t be 100% sure to find out the problem on the first try.
…but the good thing is that none of these steps would cause any damage or create any issue to your GPU if you perfectly complete the task.
If you’re scared… then you can handle your problem to a professional who can ensure your safety but in return, you would have to lose some bucks, for obvious reasons.
The main problem
If you manage to figure out the problem then the solution can be straightforward, however, this is not the case every time…
Reminder: the main reason for overheating will be a physical one that will require you to open the PC case and the GPU, and you should be careful enough as you can break or damage anything.
STEP #1: Cleaning the GPU
The first and obvious step is to clean up the GPU, and we will start off by cleaning the dust off of the GPU from the outside as well as from the inside.
- Opening the case
The most obvious step to start off your cleaning process. After opening the case, make sure to check every corner if it needs any sort of cleaning.
- Removing the GPU and Fans
Next, you will have to remove the GPU and the fans so that you get wider access to the areas and clean them. Make sure to carefully take the components off — we don’t want any sort of mess here.
- Cleaning the dust
The Fans and the GPU will have their tiny areas where you won’t be able to reach easily, and for that, you will have to grab a compressor so you can blow off the dust with the air pressure. But before that, get a cotton swab and clean off the tiny holes or the tough spots.
- Putting the pc back together
Now put back everything together properly and check if the issue is gone because most of the time, dust is the common cause behind the overheating. If it didn’t solve your issue, don’t worry.
STEP #2: Replace thermal paste
This issue can be pretty tough to notice as there are no actual ways to see before removing the GPU from the card.
If the above step didn’t work out for you then you should change the thermal paste as it can benefit your GPU in many ways, better for the longevity of your card is one of them.
- Take out the GPU — unfortunately, you will have to repeat the same step again as you did before, but as some people say “No pain, No gain”.
- Unscrew the heatsink — let’s get back to the business right away. Once you flip over the card, you will see tiny screws and a backplate that needs to be removed. And one more thing, you’ll have to unplug the wires that connect the PCB and the cooler.
- Cleaning the thermal paste — now for cleaning, you will need a paper towel, cotton swab, or a microfiber cloth alongside rubbing alcohol. Put the alcohol on the microfiber cloth and start to gently clean the surface. You will be able to remove the majority of parts with the microfiber cloth but the smaller pieces will be easily removed with a cotton swab — preference is yours.
- Apply a new one — now, it is time to apply the thermal paste. But make sure to gently and slowly apply the paste and carefully put the heatsink on top of the chip, make sure that the paste is spreading evenly. And put everything back in their right places and reconnect the wires. And test your GPU, hopefully, this one will solve your issue.
STEP #3: Lower in-game graphics settings
Another thing you can do to lower your GPU temps is to lower the in-game settings and this step will give you a better result.
If you jumped into a new game recently and your GPU has started to spit fire then you might want to have a look into the in-game settings. Also, check the GPU performance on different games and observe the difference — if your GPU only gives higher temperature only in one game then you can simply lower the in-game graphics settings.
Make sure to check your GPU performance from the online review sites and see if they get the same result on the specific game or not. If yes, then you’re in the safe zone.
STEP #4: Improve air-flow in the PC case
Giving a better ventilation environment to your GPU will give you better performance and keep the temperature down significantly. And most of the time, poor ventilation is the cause behind huge spikes in the GPU temp.
Make sure that you improve or revamp the fan placements inside the PC case — this will help significantly uplift the airflow. Moreover, it can be the perfect moment for you to add or reduce the number of fans because too many fans can lead to not allowing the air to efficiently move and fewer fans can’t properly provide the ideal airflow.
STEP #5: Replace the PC case
Furthermore, You can buy a new case that has more room than your current one and make sure that the case has more fans as well. Fit your GPU on the new case, test, and see the results.
STEP #6: Update Drivers
The next step would be to update the drivers — this is a little software-side trick. The reason behind this is that GPU manufactures are continuously fine-tuning and upgrading the algorithms and procedures that instruct how the card should behave.
The frequent updates to the drivers improve your GPU’s efficiency.
STEP #7: Underclocking the GPU
If you are into overclocking then this can be the ultimate reason behind the high GPU temps. And if you have observed high temps after overclocking, you would really want to revert back to the pre-overclocking parameters.
STEP #8: Increase the Fan speed
To make sure that the fans are being utilized 100%, you can use a 3rd party software like MSI Afterburner to see if the fan is running at its 100% during a tough time, if not, you can use the input fan control utilities to simply adjust the fan speed when the GPU core reaches a specific temp.
STEP #9: If everything fails…
The last but not the least step would be to simply invest in a decent water cooling system just because they are the perfect option for someone who loves to overclock GPUs. If you have a stock cooler or a generic fan then there’s a huge chance that this is the reason behind high GPU temps.
We will recommend spending some bucks on Liquid cooling due to their better thermal performance.
Final Thoughts
Keeping the GPU’s temp down is the ultimate reason behind the longer lifespan — preventing you from replacing your GPU any time sooner.
Making small efforts to keep the temps low can significantly secure your GPU’s health. The above-discussed steps are the most common reasons behind higher GPU temps.
And if your issue is solved, do let us know what was causing the problem, and if not, comment down your problem with details so our experts can help you out.
