Bought a 3090, loud as hell, unusually hot? Disappointed.

[GoodBoy]

All your charts look completely normal to me. Few things I'm noting. First off, it's a Zotac 3090. AFAIK Zotac is one of the cheaper AIB solutions where you pay less and you get less cooling performance.

Yep.

Keep in mind that even the better-tested and more expensive AIB cards can get pretty hot and pretty loud, especially with the 3090 is concerned.

gg Samsung 8nm

Second, is that you will most likely not see a measurable difference from swapping out thermal paste. It's never a bad idea to refresh thermal paste but nine times out of ten, there's simply not going to be a difference. When I worked in the IT shop and people paid me just to swap out their GPU's thermal paste, I've began to consider it to be a "meme" fix.

For 3xxx cards, the Fe's anyway used a cheaper thermal pad for the vRam, that iirc has a 5 to 8 W/mK transfer rate. The replacement pads were 12.8 W/mK transfer rate, and it was a HUGE difference. Videos on youtube of others doing it, they demonstrate the same improvements I saw. For a Zotac, I don't know the specs on those thermal pads, but his temps look like mine did before replacing them.
This is what I ordered:

and I know that since then, even better thermal pads are out there. Kritical sells 20 W/mK ones in various thicknesses.

it's more or less where it should be.

Pretty much. But it can be improved by a significant amount. Heat is what ages silicon chips. I read somewhere a long time ago that every 10C cuts the life in half. Or every 10C lowered doubles the life (up to some point or threshold, which I do not know). For a GPU, it can extend the overclocking headroom, and same is true for the vRam.

And you are right that the OP doesn't really need to be concerned, as those are expected temps for those GPU's. But for the 3xxx generation of Nvidia GPUs, the thermal re-work will make a noticeable difference.

I'm borrowing a friends 3090Ti because he got it for super cheap and it won't fit in his case (lol.) So I'm "testing" it for him while he waits to get a new case and power supply.
It's a Zotac model, which is unnecessarily long.

View attachment 589829

I reduced the power limit to 80% of its max because it saved me 100w of power and heat, and about 30mhz on the max boost clock. Maybe you should try the same? It's silent as can be in my case. I know I could fine tune the voltage curve a lot better, but I only have it for a week or so and I didn't want to bother.
It's being used mostly for AI image generation.

Edit: oh yeah, my ambient temp is likely WAY hotter than yours as due to a quirk of wiring of our old house - I can't have AC in the office where my computer lives.

Click here

and you can toggle the field thru Min, Max, Avg, Current (unmarked). Then take your reading again after putting a load on it, set the fields to Max for temps and wattages. For Voltages it's a good idea to set it to Minimum, to make sure your PSU doesn't drop voltage too much when under load. Good troubleshooting method for odd GPU issues, to rule out the PSU's voltage regulation. Mine never drops more than .1 V under load. If you ever see 11.5V, even though that is within the ATX specifications, it would be best to replace the PSU. Lower input voltage means the regulators on the GPU will have to work harder/pass more current.

 

[TheSlySyl]

and you can toggle the field thru Min, Max, Avg, Current (unmarked). Then take your reading again after putting a load on it, set the fields to Max for temps and wattages. For Voltages it's a good idea to set it to Minimum, to make sure your PSU doesn't drop voltage too much when under load. Good troubleshooting method for odd GPU issues, to rule out the PSU's voltage regulation. Mine never drops more than .1 V under load. If you ever see 11.5V, even though that is within the ATX specifications, it would be best to replace the PSU. Lower input voltage means the regulators on the GPU will have to work harder/pass more current.

It's literally a brand new PSU, I installed the PSU the same day that I got the videocard. (Superflower Leadex SE Platinum 1200w) I'm hoping it doesn't show anything weird with voltages.

 

[applegrcoug]

I have a 3090 tuf. The GDDR6x gets hot...and the modules on the back side really don't have a good way to shed heat.

I tried repasting, repadding...even mounted a heatsink and fan on the back. Nothing worked very well. I ended up getting a bykski block with an active backplate. Nice and cool now.

 

[arestavo]

I have a 3090 tuf. The GDDR6x gets hot...and the modules on the back side really don't have a good way to shed heat.

I tried repasting, repadding...even mounted a heatsink and fan on the back. Nothing worked very well. I ended up getting a bykski block with an active backplate. Nice and cool now.

I put an 80mm fan blowing directly down onto the rear of the GPU die / backside VRAM on my 3090 FTW3 Ultra. Temps after that were a nice mid 70C even when Folding@home.

 

[KickAssCop]

I had a 3080 TUF and it would work fine gaming. But would hit 110 C while mining. So I sold it. Was silent card.
I had a 3080 FTW3 and it would work fine in gaming, but would hit 106 C while mining. So I sold it. Was a noisy mofo card.
I had a 3090 FTW3 and it worked fine for gaming. Pre pasting it, it would hit 100 C hotspot while mining. After repasting it would hit 104 C. I kept it for 1.5+ years until I got a 3090 Ti FTW3 which ran hotspot at 90 C even while mining. 3090 FTW3 was noisy. 3090 Ti was the only quiet FTW3 card I had.

Moral of the story. Gaming is fine at 90 C hotspot which is what OP was experiencing. Noise depends on manufacturer and Zotac is one of the noisiest cards you can buy.

 

[Furious_Styles]

I had a 3080 TUF and it would work fine gaming. But would hit 110 C while mining. So I sold it. Was silent card.
I had a 3080 FTW3 and it would work fine in gaming, but would hit 106 C while mining. So I sold it. Was a noisy mofo card.
I had a 3090 FTW3 and it worked fine for gaming. Pre pasting it, it would hit 100 C hotspot while mining. After repasting it would hit 104 C. I kept it for 1.5+ years until I got a 3090 Ti FTW3 which ran hotspot at 90 C even while mining. 3090 FTW3 was noisy. 3090 Ti was the only quiet FTW3 card I had.

Moral of the story. Gaming is fine at 90 C hotspot which is what OP was experiencing. Noise depends on manufacturer and Zotac is one of the noisiest cards you can buy.

What were you mining that was stressing the core so hard? Most stuff (like ETH) was tough on the mem.

 

[KickAssCop]

Hot spot is max of core and memory temp.

 

[Decko87]

Hotspot delta looks good, even if it's a menu it's under 90 percent load. Try cleaning the card with compressed air, and increasing airflow to and away from the card.

 

[pavel]

I had a 3080 TUF and it would work fine gaming. But would hit 110 C while mining. So I sold it. Was silent card.
I had a 3080 FTW3 and it would work fine in gaming, but would hit 106 C while mining. So I sold it. Was a noisy mofo card.
I had a 3090 FTW3 and it worked fine for gaming. Pre pasting it, it would hit 100 C hotspot while mining. After repasting it would hit 104 C. I kept it for 1.5+ years until I got a 3090 Ti FTW3 which ran hotspot at 90 C even while mining. 3090 FTW3 was noisy. 3090 Ti was the only quiet FTW3 card I had.

Moral of the story. Gaming is fine at 90 C hotspot which is what OP was experiencing. Noise depends on manufacturer and Zotac is one of the noisiest cards you can buy.

Interesting. Do you recommend avoiding a 3090 for video editing, Compute and gaming then? Some card owners would have re-pasted by now but many didn't?
I was considering a 3090 even though I don't want one - I mean, I really want to go next gen but the prices are so expensive than Canada and I only have 'used 3090 card' money so far. I have read the same thing you're saying - and some ppl say to skip 3090 and go for a 3090 Ti - but even used ones here - are horrible prices.... I don't know what used card sellers are thinking - when they have a 3090 Ti for sale - they think they're close to 4080 price.

If I knew 4080 prices won't increase and will stay the same or even get discounted later - I'd have no prob or reservations waiting. I want a card soon but I don't mind waiting a little while. It would be nice to say 'f it' and just get a 3090 so I have a card but the extra heat and power consumption might make me regret going that way. Also, I want a quiet card and a 40 series probably ensures that more. Even going AMD with a 7900 XTX probably makes more sense than going 3090 - and I don't know if it would be any noisier.

 

[pavel]

I had a 3080 TUF and it would work fine gaming. But would hit 110 C while mining. So I sold it. Was silent card.
I had a 3080 FTW3 and it would work fine in gaming, but would hit 106 C while mining. So I sold it. Was a noisy mofo card.
I had a 3090 FTW3 and it worked fine for gaming. Pre pasting it, it would hit 100 C hotspot while mining. After repasting it would hit 104 C. I kept it for 1.5+ years until I got a 3090 Ti FTW3 which ran hotspot at 90 C even while mining. 3090 FTW3 was noisy. 3090 Ti was the only quiet FTW3 card I had.

Moral of the story. Gaming is fine at 90 C hotspot which is what OP was experiencing. Noise depends on manufacturer and Zotac is one of the noisiest cards you can buy.

Have you read about Zotac 40 series - they might have improved a bit and are less noisy this time around?
I have not been impressed with EVGA w/ their 30 series - my 3060 XC was a jet plane most of the time - any bit of load and it was way too noisy. My friend was interested in upgrading and bought it - 'knew how noisy it was. It's in their 2nd PC now.

I was shopping for a 3080 a while ago and it was between a Tuf and FTW3 - and someone I talked to and owned both, recommended going for the Tuf instead. Which I did. Very nice quiet card - also sold, though - I want more vram and a higher performance card. Then, I'll be done upgrading gpu for a while. I think EVGA is overrated for their gpu - their previous cards were good but they dropped the ball with their 30 series - imho, anyway, FWIW. I read too many horror stories with their XC and even their FTW3 cards.

 

[KickAssCop]

I would go for a 4080 if I were you. If you are strapped for cash finding a used 3090 Ti is better than a 3090 for noise and temps; however, it will consume at least 50-100 watts more electricity. 4080 will perform faster and consume less. Plus DLSS3 is a real feature that I find myself using quite a bit now (when offered).

 

[atp1916]

What were you mining that was stressing the core so hard? Most stuff (like ETH) was tough on the mem.

Could be dual mining.

These days most miner softwares support dually mining core / mem hard algos when the miner devs can or are willing to support.

 

[Tengis]

Replaced one of my fans and installed three new ones... moved the side panels of the case so that the GPU can suck in fresh air.

 

[Tengis]

GPU temps are in the 60s to max 70s now. CPU is a bit lower too.

The fans I installed make some noise but they keep the temps under control enough that the overall level is probably halved.

 

[Sir Beregond]

Have you read about Zotac 40 series - they might have improved a bit and are less noisy this time around?
I have not been impressed with EVGA w/ their 30 series - my 3060 XC was a jet plane most of the time - any bit of load and it was way too noisy. My friend was interested in upgrading and bought it - 'knew how noisy it was. It's in their 2nd PC now.

I was shopping for a 3080 a while ago and it was between a Tuf and FTW3 - and someone I talked to and owned both, recommended going for the Tuf instead. Which I did. Very nice quiet card - also sold, though - I want more vram and a higher performance card. Then, I'll be done upgrading gpu for a while. I think EVGA is overrated for their gpu - their previous cards were good but they dropped the ball with their 30 series - imho, anyway, FWIW. I read too many horror stories with their XC and even their FTW3 cards.

EVGA has always been hit or miss on their cooler designs. I also remember their heat pipes not even aligning correctly on the GTX 970 die.

 

[Tamlin_WSGF]

GPU temps are in the 60s to max 70s now. CPU is a bit lower too.

The fans I installed make some noise but they keep the temps under control enough that the overall level is probably halved.

Nice to see you sorted it out!

 

[Tengis]

Nice to see you sorted it out!

I think the main thing that was really hurting it is that I had the side panel for my case that has a window on that side instead of a vented side it could pull air from. Air was kind of stagnating even though I had some decent airflow before.

 

[pavel]

This thread makes me worried about deciding on a 3090 - the heat/temps and hot spot - my 3080 Tuf was fantastic - it rarely got hot under load even - and I read TPU or some site say that it was using the 3090 cooler or something.
But, apparently the 3090s get really hot - and if it doesn't have good fans (see Zotac cards - as shown here) - it becomes a problem. I dunno if I want to be 'surprised' and need to think about re-pasting jobs or waterblocks - I prefer to let run stock or even undervolt /power limit.
I suppose I should save up for a 4080 (like advised) or even get a 7900 XTX - which is only a bit more than a 3090 - both used (prices) though.

I read of ppl power limiting their 3090s and then they were fine though (I guess some ppl have problems and others have 'good cards - lucky ones?).

I thought the Asus Tuf/Strix and MSI Trio/Suprim were the best (for temps) cards for cooling and low noise?
Zotac, EVGA, Gigabyte, FE (mixed reviews) - often had/have issues and were repasted or ppl bought the custom waterblocks for them. The Zotacs had/have the additional problem of poor quality fans. Same with EVGA (XC models, in particular).
Those waterblock companies probably made some good coin?

 

[Whiffle Boy]

This thread makes me worried about deciding on a 3090 - the heat/temps and hot spot - my 3080 Tuf was fantastic - it rarely got hot under load even - and I read TPU or some site say that it was using the 3090 cooler or something.
But, apparently the 3090s get really hot - and if it doesn't have good fans (see Zotac cards - as shown here) - it becomes a problem. I dunno if I want to be 'surprised' and need to think about re-pasting jobs or waterblocks - I prefer to let run stock or even undervolt /power limit.
I suppose I should save up for a 4080 (like advised) or even get a 7900 XTX - which is only a bit more than a 3090 - both used (prices) though.

I read of ppl power limiting their 3090s and then they were fine though (I guess some ppl have problems and others have 'good cards - lucky ones?).

I thought the Asus Tuf/Strix and MSI Trio/Suprim were the best (for temps) cards for cooling and low noise?
Zotac, EVGA, Gigabyte, FE (mixed reviews) - often had/have issues and were repasted or ppl bought the custom waterblocks for them. The Zotacs had/have the additional problem of poor quality fans. Same with EVGA (XC models, in particular).
Those waterblock companies probably made some good coin?

They definitely are hot, I mean they are pulling by far the most power of anything in the generation and some of the highest overall period....

I'm glad OP figured out his situation!

All I was going to say, I traded a 3080 FE straight up for a 3090 MSI SUPRIM X back in the heyday of the GPUpocalypse, and I was always concerned with the temps... Guess i have to update my specs here, they are out of date, but I have a 12600k in a 4000X (D effectively, i took the front glass off as it points at the wall) with this card in it. I've never hit its reported "max" in HWinfo, which is 83, but it does creep towards 80. Its fine... My other temps dont ever cross 100C, and this is after Starfield yesterday was pulling almost 400 watts at times.

Generally I try to honor the mantra of "if it aint broke, dont fix it" and more importantly, dont create problems, so I trained myself to stop worrying about it. Especially when I effectively only paid 1050 CAD for a higher tier 3090... when they were going for anywhere between 3-4k CAD.

thing to keep in mind with waterblocks, I am sure you know this already, but its only to decrease the temps on the card, remember the heat still goes somewhere so ive seen so many people in the end complain about situations they CANT fix, like their rooms being too hot. Lucky for me I am in the basement.

 

[MrSneis]

This thread makes me worried about deciding on a 3090 - the heat/temps and hot spot - my 3080 Tuf was fantastic - it rarely got hot under load even - and I read TPU or some site say that it was using the 3090 cooler or something.
But, apparently the 3090s get really hot - and if it doesn't have good fans (see Zotac cards - as shown here) - it becomes a problem. I dunno if I want to be 'surprised' and need to think about re-pasting jobs or waterblocks - I prefer to let run stock or even undervolt /power limit.
I suppose I should save up for a 4080 (like advised) or even get a 7900 XTX - which is only a bit more than a 3090 - both used (prices) though.

I read of ppl power limiting their 3090s and then they were fine though (I guess some ppl have problems and others have 'good cards - lucky ones?).

I thought the Asus Tuf/Strix and MSI Trio/Suprim were the best (for temps) cards for cooling and low noise?
Zotac, EVGA, Gigabyte, FE (mixed reviews) - often had/have issues and were repasted or ppl bought the custom waterblocks for them. The Zotacs had/have the additional problem of poor quality fans. Same with EVGA (XC models, in particular).
Those waterblock companies probably made some good coin?

I've had several 30 series cards over time - For me, the 3090 is certainly hotter and louder than the 3080 but not as drastic as the difference between the 3070 and the 3080. Maybe as tiers; the 3080 and 3090 around same tier of noise and heat so if you're already used to the 3080 you'll probably be fine. I run a 3080 today but I wish it could run cool and quiet like the 3070's did.

 

[pavel]

They definitely are hot, I mean they are pulling by far the most power of anything in the generation and some of the highest overall period....

I'm glad OP figured out his situation!

All I was going to say, I traded a 3080 FE straight up for a 3090 MSI SUPRIM X back in the heyday of the GPUpocalypse, and I was always concerned with the temps... Guess i have to update my specs here, they are out of date, but I have a 12600k in a 4000X (D effectively, i took the front glass off as it points at the wall) with this card in it. I've never hit its reported "max" in HWinfo, which is 83, but it does creep towards 80. Its fine... My other temps dont ever cross 100C, and this is after Starfield yesterday was pulling almost 400 watts at times.

Generally I try to honor the mantra of "if it aint broke, dont fix it" and more importantly, dont create problems, so I trained myself to stop worrying about it. Especially when I effectively only paid 1050 CAD for a higher tier 3090... when they were going for anywhere between 3-4k CAD.

thing to keep in mind with waterblocks, I am sure you know this already, but its only to decrease the temps on the card, remember the heat still goes somewhere so ive seen so many people in the end complain about situations they CANT fix, like their rooms being too hot. Lucky for me I am in the basement.

Used 3090s are all over the price wise, in Canada, still, eh? I would guess that $1000k is the average still or that ppl still want that much - or is that just asking price? I dunno if a lot are negotiable - but, I think that is overpriced now?
I would consider a MSI or ASUS - there's a few for sale on a regular basis.
I just dunno if I should choose it over a 7900 xtx - although getting cuda and optix (Blender) is a bonus - the 7900 xtx seems to be 'improving' in these areas - the question is, how will it compare? Dunno if until one tries - and the RDNA 3 cards don't hold their value as well.

The 3080 Tuf was a really nice card - really nice and quiet - if any 3090s 'can do that' - then at least having a quiet card - at default/stock is good and one can undervolt - reduce power limits to get the power consumption down - if one really wants to.... at least, in Windows.

 

[funkydmunky]

I had a 3080 TUF and it would work fine gaming. But would hit 110 C while mining. So I sold it. Was silent card.
I had a 3080 FTW3 and it would work fine in gaming, but would hit 106 C while mining. So I sold it. Was a noisy mofo card.
I had a 3090 FTW3 and it worked fine for gaming. Pre pasting it, it would hit 100 C hotspot while mining. After repasting it would hit 104 C. I kept it for 1.5+ years until I got a 3090 Ti FTW3 which ran hotspot at 90 C even while mining. 3090 FTW3 was noisy. 3090 Ti was the only quiet FTW3 card I had.

Moral of the story. Gaming is fine at 90 C hotspot which is what OP was experiencing. Noise depends on manufacturer and Zotac is one of the noisiest cards you can buy.

You didn't need to say it with a Liam Neeson voice. Exesively dark!

 

[Whiffle Boy]

Used 3090s are all over the price wise, in Canada, still, eh? I would guess that $1000k is the average still or that ppl still want that much - or is that just asking price? I dunno if a lot are negotiable - but, I think that is overpriced now?
I would consider a MSI or ASUS - there's a few for sale on a regular basis.
I just dunno if I should choose it over a 7900 xtx - although getting cuda and optix (Blender) is a bonus - the 7900 xtx seems to be 'improving' in these areas - the question is, how will it compare? Dunno if until one tries - and the RDNA 3 cards don't hold their value as well.

The 3080 Tuf was a really nice card - really nice and quiet - if any 3090s 'can do that' - then at least having a quiet card - at default/stock is good and one can undervolt - reduce power limits to get the power consumption down - if one really wants to.... at least, in Windows.

Only you know what features you will use if you need CUDA, its a pretty easy decision. if not, well it isnt

 

[pavel]

Only you know what features you will use if you need CUDA, its a pretty easy decision. if not, well it isnt

Well, *need* is relative. I have found pretty good(?) prices for 3090 and 3090 Ti cards - so, it's difficult for me to justify spending an extra $300 (for e.g.) for a 7900 XT? A used 7900 XTX might be found for the same amount as a new 7900 XT. But, that's quite a jump in cost?
A 3090 Ti will not run as hot - higher power, yes (major negative), performance will almost be as good - and will rival the AMD cards in productivity - with CUDA and/or Optix - and in AI - is probably faster/better?
Other negatives: older gen, higher power (mentioned), only AV1 decoding?, mining? (more likely with 3090), Linux use - potentially some issues....
So, I guess I am leaning towards it - although, the 7900 xt/xtx has good points but considerably more expensive.

 

[revenant]

Welcome to the club! 2023 has been the summer of sweating in my office.. The 3090s and 4090s both love power kick out a ton of heat.. I had to run three fans and the AC to keep my office temps reeled in this summer.. Fall has never been so welcome!

Yeah on the power limits suggestion.. that's the best way to circumvent the heat. That also works for 13th gen intel CPUs.

 

[pavel]

Welcome to the club! 2023 has been the summer of sweating in my office.. The 3090s and 4090s both love power kick out a ton of heat.. I had to run three fans and the AC to keep my office temps reeled in this summer.. Fall has never been so welcome!

Yeah on the power limits suggestion.. that's the best way to circumvent the heat. That also works for 13th gen intel CPUs.

Do the 3090 Ti models put out less heat because of all the memory is on the one side (on the 'front' or with the heat sinks or something)?
Anyway, looking at going with a used 3090 Ti - for this reason - plus, I found a few which are the same price as used 3090s - and some of them are Asus and MSI models - which are probably two of the better ones?

I have central air - so, it's okay in the summer - but, it is turned off in Fall - and there is about a couple of months in which it can get toasty inside before it gets turned on - so, that's kinda bad.

I just doubt whether I can spring (save up) for a 40 series - and it's probably not worth it unless it's a 4080 (the 4070 Ti would be fine but I kind of want the higher vram for productivity tasks - hence, why I'm even looking at the used 3090 series)?

 

[Furious_Styles]

Do the 3090 Ti models put out less heat because of all the memory is on the one side (on the 'front' or with the heat sinks or something)?
Anyway, looking at going with a used 3090 Ti - for this reason - plus, I found a few which are the same price as used 3090s - and some of them are Asus and MSI models - which are probably two of the better ones?

I have central air - so, it's okay in the summer - but, it is turned off in Fall - and there is about a couple of months in which it can get toasty inside before it gets turned on - so, that's kinda bad.

I just doubt whether I can spring (save up) for a 40 series - and it's probably not worth it unless it's a 4080 (the 4070 Ti would be fine but I kind of want the higher vram for productivity tasks - hence, why I'm even looking at the used 3090 series)?

Nope, that 3090 ti is going to produce a significant amount of heat.

 

[applegrcoug]

Do the 3090 Ti models put out less heat because of all the memory is on the one side (on the 'front' or with the heat sinks or something)?
Anyway, looking at going with a used 3090 Ti - for this reason - plus, I found a few which are the same price as used 3090s - and some of them are Asus and MSI models - which are probably two of the better ones?

I have central air - so, it's okay in the summer - but, it is turned off in Fall - and there is about a couple of months in which it can get toasty inside before it gets turned on - so, that's kinda bad.

I just doubt whether I can spring (save up) for a 40 series - and it's probably not worth it unless it's a 4080 (the 4070 Ti would be fine but I kind of want the higher vram for productivity tasks - hence, why I'm even looking at the used 3090 series)?

what is heavier, a pound of bricks or a pound of feathers?

With a 3090 vs 3090ti running at say 500w, it is the same...a watt is a watt. The difference is the heatsink on the 3090ti should work better to cool the vram considering it makes contact with all the vram.

 

[pavel]

what is heavier, a pound of bricks or a pound of feathers?

With a 3090 vs 3090ti running at say 500w, it is the same...a watt is a watt. The difference is the heatsink on the 3090ti should work better to cool the vram considering it makes contact with all the vram.

Okay. Supposedly, the 3090 can be undervolted to 280w and the 3090 Ti undervolted to 300W - does that change things?

 

[GoldenTiger]

Okay. Supposedly, the 3090 can be undervolted to 280w and the 3090 Ti undervolted to 300W - does that change things?

That's a your mileage may vary thing.

 

[deaedius]

I did not read all the posts, the first thing I am guessing is the 3090 is in a tight space and overheating because of lack of air flow.