Temperature

This section of my report is about the efficiency of the standard cooling system of the GeForce 6600 GT. I kept track of the GPU temperature with the help of RivaTuner and of the memory temperature with a Fluke 54-II thermometer.

I wrote the numbers down after half an hour of tests in two modes: Idle and Burn. There were no running applications in the Idle mode; the Windows Desktop was on the screen in 1280x1024@75Hz display mode. For the Burn mode I launched Doom 3 in 1600x1200 resolution and forced 4x full-screen antialiasing and 8x anisotropic filtering.

I post the results of the card at its regular frequencies and with the standard cooling system as well as during extreme overclocking.

The GPU and memory temperatures of the GeForce 6600 GT are perfectly normal in the Idle mode. They grew up in the Burn mode – up to 70-72°C. These are allowable, although very high values. Such temperatures shouldn’t bother you much, but you’d better choose a card with a good cooling system for both the GPU and memory if you’re into overclocking. There’s no doubt such cards will appear in the market – GeForce 6600 GT is a mass product after all!

The water cooling system works very well – the GPU temperature doesn’t exceed 45°C even after the volt modification. The temperature of the graphics memory grew up considerably, though. Its frequency is increased, while it is now left even without the scanty cooling the standard cooler provided.