Hot Geforce FX 5200
 

My nVidia Geforce FX 5200 AGP card runs quite hot under WinXP Win2K, Knoppix, and even a Linux system rescue cd. I have noticed that the Geforce FX 5500 has an integrated fan, while the Geforce FX 5200 does not. When the heatsink on the 5200 is touched, it is hot enough to make you recoil. My system case has four 80mm fans that run at full blast constantly, and the card is still hot.
Perhaps I can strap a small fan to the heatsink? :scratch:

Any ideas?

Yes, this card runs quite hot. It doesn't really need a fan, it can take it. I must admit, I was worried too, so I screwed a little 40mm fan to it. I think it did have a fan connector, so that's a possibility. I don't think it's necessary though. Even if it dies on you - at least you'll have an excuse to upgrade :)

Yes, I did see the power connector and decided that it would be easier to splice into the 12v rail from the DVD drive's power connector with wire similar to that of the PSU. not an elegant solution, but effective.
When you attached the 40mm fan to the GPU, did you drill small holes into the heatsink? The idea of taking a drill to the card seems risky, and I would like to avoid that if possible.

drill holes?
Just like with any other heatsink, you can just drive the screws in there.
It's not really necessary though. The card was designed to run as hot as it does.

I got a 7600 and the `slowdown treshold` is shown as being 115 degrees - Celsius.

Figuring that a 5200 has somewhat about the same temp specs I wouldn`t start to worry before there are blisters on the skin when you touch the sink.

There is a little app callled nvidia x server settings that lets you monitor the temp.

Or maybe put a slot cooler (fan on a PCI card) in an adjacent slot if you are really worried. If it really overheats it may just blank the screen until it has has cooled to an acceptable level - at least that's my experience.