[mythtv-users] Why is OpenGL video renderer overheating my GPU?

[John Morris]

On Tue, 2012-05-08 at 11:43 -0700, Gabe Rubin wrote:
> Hi List,
> 
> I have an Nvidia 220 card with a fan and heatsink that takes up one
> slot.  I don't have that many slots in my motherboard and can't leave
> any open next to the video card.  When the system is idle (i.e., just
> displaying the menu screen but not playing video), the GPU temp is 62
> C (as reported by nvidia-smi).  This seems high to me.  It also
> reports the fan speed at 0%, but I can tell the fan is on by visual
> inspection.

Ouch.  I have a Nvidia 210 in mine, only fanless and a double wide
because I figured that fanless might need a big ol heatsink to be
reliable in a quiet HTPC job  I had a PVR-350 (full height PCI) in also,
with a gap of a slot.  It only went to 70C decoding HD video and I
thought that was a mite warm.

So I went ahead and removed the PVR-350 and added a fan set to slow
speed blowing in the direction of the video and now get 40C idle and 55C
playing HD Video.

This stuff just runs hot, thermal design has to be factored in when you
are putting together a machine.  About all you can do is try to get more
air to it or rethink the design.  If you can't add another fan perhaps
you can experiment with an air duct?

I have some 1U servers that shipped without the right air duct that
would trip a thermal alarm under any serious load.  Took forever to get
it solved with the vendor.  Finally shipped one of em back to them and
they kept at it until they solved it.  The right air duct fixed it
entirely and it looked almost exactly like the ones they had shipped out
earlier that didn't work.  But I installed these and now I can't make
them trip out under the harshest artificial loads anymore.
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