Windows 98 SE and XP show big difference in GPU temperature. Why's that? \ VOGONS

Windows 98 SE and XP show big difference in GPU temperature. Why's that?

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First post, by MrSegfault

Posted on 2025-07-30, 22:33

MrSegfault Offline

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Joined: 2025-06-01, 03:08
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Hello. I recently have gotten an Nvidia GeForce 7900 GT with an aftermarket cooler installed to it (Zalman VF900-CU) and I love how low the temperatures are. However, when I looked at temps that Nvidia displays under Windows 98 and XP, I noticed that the latter has higher temperatures compared to the former. There's like a 10~ degree difference or so. Is XP doing something that involves my GPU? Why is it so high, despite being on the desktop with no applications running?

CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E7500 2.93 GHz Dual-Core
Graphics: EVGA NVIDIA GeForce 7900 GT 256MB + Zalman VF900-Cu Cooler
Memory: 2 GB (1 x 2 GB) DDR2 Memory
Soundcard: Creative Soundblaster Audigy 2 ZS
Storage: 1TB + 500GB SSD + 120gb HDD

Reply 1 of 3, by chrismeyer6

Posted on 2025-07-30, 23:49

chrismeyer6 Offline

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XP I believe uses the GPU more for rendering the desktop and stuff.

Reply 2 of 3, by Archer57

Posted on 2025-07-31, 08:44

Archer57 Offline

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There are not any official GF7 W98 drivers, right? IIRC on GF6-7 the temperature is monitored through driver. Perhaps the driver is not using correct offset (or curve) and is reporting incorrect temperature?

AthlonXP 2200+,ECS K7VTA3 V8.0,1GB,GF FX5900XT 128MB,Audigy 2 ZS
AthlonXP 3200+,Epox EP-8RDA3I,2GB,GF 7600GT 256MB,Audigy 4
Athlon64 x2 4800+,Asus A8N32-SLI Deluxe,4GB,GF 8800GT 1GB,Audigy 4
Core2Duo E8600,ECS G31T-M3,4GB,GF GTX660 2GB,Realtek ALC662

Reply 3 of 3, by MrSegfault

Posted on 2025-08-01, 00:53

MrSegfault Offline

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Archer57 wrote on 2025-07-31, 08:44:

There are not any official GF7 W98 drivers, right? IIRC on GF6-7 the temperature is monitored through driver. Perhaps the driver is not using correct offset (or curve) and is reporting incorrect temperature?

Correct. I'm using the modified Nvidia Forceware driver version 82.69. Maybe you're right about the temperature offset being incorrect as the nvidia control panel doesn't even detect what graphics card I'm using as It's just called "Unknown".

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