GPU overheating only being affected while playing Swtor game

[Darkrebellord]

Just thought i share temporary solution I found between Swtor gamers and GPU of your Nvidia graphic over heating.

 

If your notice your computer is shutting down unexpectedly and all your fans, devices are running fine an everything’s up todate until you launch and start playing Swtor the old Republic,

 

First check your Task Manager under Performance and look for the GPU see what temperature its giving in idle mode then open stuff before the game and see what it rises too.

 

Note it then launch the Swtor game, monitor the temperature of the GPU if it reaches 70 and your computer starts acting strange like freezes or lock up etc or the temperature races to 80 then 90.

 

Look at the Swtor and the graphic refresh rate.

 

Swtor refresh rate is usually around 75Hz on non gaming Monitor.

 

While your external graphic card maximum refresh rating as based on type of Monitor, CPU, Motherboard capability I.E internal Graphic chipset and ram in use as well as the type programming given in the external graphic firmware chipset to handle.

 

Example my Gigabyte 27 inch gaming monitor is capable of handling a refresh rate 165 Hz so Nvidia graphic card I am using GTX 1650 Super can be set to use that refresh rate.

 

Now what I found is if you use Swtor graphic setting Windows mode it changes the refresh rate to 120 Hz and can not be changed even if you preset it in Full Windows Mode or standard default setup it keeps return back to 120Hz.

 

This is where my problem starts I found if my refresh rate in Nvidia control panel is set above 100 Hz while Swtor is in Windows Mode the GPU heat races to above 70 real quick while the game is in play then suddenly goes to 75 then 80 finally 90 crashes within minutes.

 

At first I thought it was software issue I reinstalled first the graphic driver software same result then the game same result. I checked my windows 10 and other third party software and decided it had nothing to do with what the problem was,

 

So I checked all the fans inside the casing starting with power supply unit, then graphic fan and finally all the external fans swapping the way they faced and the order and I even reseated the graphic card on to the motherboard still same issue.

 

This was over three days so I finally decide to explore the internet for answer most of the issue and solutions were nonsense and usually respond from tech heads that never fixes the issue and is just a way of making money or passing the buck back or throwing it in the two way hard basket.

 

So I decided to explore the Windows graphic and power setting nothing worked their so I looked in Nvidia Control panel settings adjust refresh rate and to my surprise the temperature came down in segments of 5 to 10 degrees when I choose 144 Hz but then raised again after while playing the game and blue screened.

 

So I again adjust it down to 120 follow by 100 Hz once I set it to 100 Hz it kept the temperature around 65 to 69 Celsius for over hour before it rose again I was beginning to think my Graphic card was on the way out went I decided to look at my other computer which has identical graphic card as my main computer just different style of Motherboard and monitor.

 

Which were Asus Z390F and standard basic 27 inch monitor, The monitor can not be set pass refresh rate of 75Hz

 

My Main computer is Asus Z490E with Gigabyte 27inch gaming monitor which the monitor can handle the refresh rate of 165Hz

 

Both same Asus Nvidia GTX 1650 Super firm dates slightly different by a month.

 

I compare the refresh rate settings and notice it was always 75hz on the Z390F system so I tried to set that in Nvidia control panel but notice you could not choose that setting after a bit of reading there is a section to customize Graphic setting so I created to different graphic refresh rates one for 100 Hz and the other for 75Hz in the extract format as my Z390F Nvidia Control Panel settings. And clicked applied to record them in Nvidia Control Panel.

 

The First test I did was with the 100Hz refresh rate setting it did keep the temperature down below 70 for around 4 hours at night but day time its rose above 70Hz that then blue screen once more restarted unexpectedly on second try.

 

So I tested the other customize graphic setting of 75Hz refresh rating identical settings to what my other system applied it and launch the game.

 

Over 24 hours it never got passed 54 Celsius and during the day 60 Celsius and never crashed or blue screen or restarted unexpectedly.

 

So what I do now is before I launch Swtor game I apply that customize setting and after I finish I reset back to the 165Hz for all other usage and my computer has not shutdown or blue screened or unexpectedly restarted and the games playing better not lagging like it does before the shutdown when its using 120Hz and above.

 

That my temporary work around to prevent overheating external graphic card GPU while playing Swtor game.

[xordevoreaux]

I've never encountered your setup so have no room to provide guidance on your solution, but I am curious.

SWTOR is a DirectX9 game, and while it's shadow optimization isn't great, how do other games fare that you play, especially DX11 / 12 games? Same overheating? Have you compared against other DX9 MMOs like EQ2?

Edited April 9, 2021 by xordevoreaux

[JediQuaker]

This may simply be a problem with cooling.

 

SWTOR puts a load on both the CPU and the GPU and the combined heat output may be too much for your system.

 

If it's a laptop, make sure the cooling vents are free of dust and the cooling fan is working. Keep the laptop on a smooth flat surface while playing, to not block airflow to the bottom of the case. If it's overheating, reduce some of the fancy settings, like shadows, etc, to reduce the heat produced by the GPU.

 

If it's a desktop, clean out the dust and make sure cooling fans are working. Without knowing the exact layout of your system, I can't specifically say what additional cooling you might need. A rear 120mm exhaust fan would be the first step.

[leonlotus]

This may simply be a problem with cooling.

 

SWTOR puts a load on both the CPU and the GPU and the combined heat output may be too much for your system.

 

If it's a laptop, make sure the cooling vents are free of dust and the cooling fan is working. Keep the laptop on a smooth flat surface while playing, to not block airflow to the bottom of the case. If it's overheating, reduce some of the fancy settings, like shadows, etc, to reduce the heat produced by the GPU.

 

If it's a desktop, clean out the dust and make sure cooling fans are working. Without knowing the exact layout of your system, I can't specifically say what additional cooling you might need. A rear 120mm exhaust fan would be the first step.

 

"only being affected while playing Swtor game"

Any cooler issue, or dust, could not be so selective. Another example: I play Lost Ark, and I played Sword of Legends with no problem...but I went back to SWTOR this week, and it just heats up the GPU. This seems to be an old problem that comes and goes with build and gpu updates.

[JediQuaker]

"only being affected while playing Swtor game"

Any cooler issue, or dust, could not be so selective. Another example: I play Lost Ark, and I played Sword of Legends with no problem...but I went back to SWTOR this week, and it just heats up the GPU. This seems to be an old problem that comes and goes with build and gpu updates.

For the sake of those reading this thread:

SWTOR is well known for putting a heavy load on the CPU. The CPU heat generated, when combined with the heat generated by the GPU can overwhelm a cooling system.

The reason why Lost Ark etc, don't do it is because they put a lot less load on the CPU.