GTX 480 Cooling

[Lippy]

Hey, I currently have a Zotac GTX 480 and was wondering If I got an Arctic Cooling fan would it make any difference? I think my temperatures are pretty good right now. Idling at 40-45 degrees and under full load its about 60-75 degrees. I know that a piece of hardware lives longer if its performing under a cool environment but I'm not sure if it would make a drastic difference and If I should invest in one or not.

What do you guys think?

 

[detox1]

those temps are good. tho, i run 33c idle and 50c load. stock cooling and slightly OC'd

 

[Lippy]

Thanks for the reply. Do you suggest buying an aftermarket cooler for those temps? Also, does overclocking really show a drastic change in FPS when you're gaming?

 

[detox1]

honestly, I've never used an aftermarket cooler. and the stock cooling on today's cards is pretty good. thou I do download programs to control the fan speeds myself.
as for FPS, it depends on many other factors. on my system, I got a 100% increase (from 30fps up to 60fps) in BadCompany2 with max settings, and only about an extra 10fps in Crysis2 to a max of about 45fps.
older games I get well over 150fps like CS:S

 

[Lippy]

Oh okay. Just one more question. Does OCing something shorten the lifespan of the hardware because you're making it work harder?

 

[detox1]

there are different opinions on this. but for me, any time you over work anything, its bound to shorten its life. by how much depends on how well you maintain it.

 

[Indigo]

To build on what detox is saying, yes, when you overclock, you have a higher chance of incurring electromigration, which essentially boils down to how the integrated circuits in these devices react to changes in energy density and power / heat conversion. The metal interconnects are generally more susceptible and repeated exposure to the effect of electromigration can indeed shorten something's lifespan. It's usually pretty rare unless you really stress something out.

Something that always chaps my butt on this whole temperature issue is that the maker of a card wouldn't release it unless they knew exactly what temps they'll run at. If the card / device is stable, who are we to fork around with it? There really is merit in the saying "if it's not broken, don't fix it" - unless you are planning on overclocking to such a large degree that it requires additional cooling, the stock solution works just fine.