too much heat? gtx 770 with gtx 760 (physx)

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dschmo

dschmo

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Feb 21, 2014
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Hi all!

I want to know opinions from people who have experience with SLI or dedicated physx GPUs if a gtx 760 as a dedicated physx card will generate too much heat in tandem with a gtx 770 as the main card. My case is a well ventilated mid-tower with 2 120mm intakes on the front and 4 120mm exhausts throughout the rest of the case. No water-cooling. 770 temps now idle around 25c, max around 70c in game.

I WANT TO BE VERY CLEAR! I already have both cards through various circumstances so don't worry about telling me it's a bad financial decision. ALSO, I have a gold rated 850W psu so I should have enough juice. Thanks in advance!!
 
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17seconds
It's frankly impossible to push your cards into a "bad temp range". The way Turbo Boost 2.0 works, there is a target temperature, called the Temp Limit. On those cards it is approximately 80c (82c on my GTX 780 Ti). That is the temperature that the card is designed to target as a normal/preferred operating temperature. If you are running over that temperature, the cards will deliver a decreased Turbo Boost clock speed; if you are running under that temperature, then your Turbo Boost clocks will increase and maximize their top end. If you don't like your temperatures, change the Temp Limit setting.

The point is, these cards are designed to handle heat very well. And the fact is, most people tend to underestimate their card's...
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dschmo

dschmo

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Feb 21, 2014
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Thanks for the input, and thanks for reading the whole post :) I know it's not ideal but it is what it is so I'm trying to make the best of it. Do you have any thoughts on if adding the 760 will push me into a bad temp range? Given what I've told you and understanding that there's alot of variables involved...
 
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17seconds

17seconds

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Jul 27, 2010
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It's frankly impossible to push your cards into a "bad temp range". The way Turbo Boost 2.0 works, there is a target temperature, called the Temp Limit. On those cards it is approximately 80c (82c on my GTX 780 Ti). That is the temperature that the card is designed to target as a normal/preferred operating temperature. If you are running over that temperature, the cards will deliver a decreased Turbo Boost clock speed; if you are running under that temperature, then your Turbo Boost clocks will increase and maximize their top end. If you don't like your temperatures, change the Temp Limit setting.

The point is, these cards are designed to handle heat very well. And the fact is, most people tend to underestimate their card's optimal temperature. The factory defaultTemp Limit represents your card's optimal temperature, giving you a balance between performance and noise. If your cards run hot, as in a dual card system, the only consequence is that your Turbo Boost clocks will not kick in at very high levels or not at all. All that means is that you run at stock clock speeds and your fans speed up to keep things cool.

So relax and let us know how that dedicated PhysX setup does for you. What PhysX games do you play?

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dschmo

dschmo

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Feb 21, 2014
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@17seconds I appreciate the detailed answer. I am a novice PC builder and I always worry about screwing something up, so it seems like I always end up being overly cautious. As for PhysX, I play both Metro games now and then but the game I play most that I would hope to see a boost in is Assassin's Creed 4.

@gam3r01 Stupid laws of physics, amirite? :) Thanks for answering back, I hope my setup falls on the lower end of the increase, just on principle. I've just never done a 2-card setup, so I really don't know what to expect at all or if my air-cooling is adequate.
 
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dschmo

dschmo

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I will see what I can do!

At this point, I can see that giving this setup a shot will be fine, but I'd still be curious if anyone has info on temps with an SLI setup with 760's or 770's just to get a general idea of what I might be looking for
 
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17seconds

17seconds

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You just need to check out any review of a full SLI setup. The temperatures will be comparable. Having said that, we already know what your maximum temperature is going to be: ~80-82c. Your cards won't go over that Temp Limit, but your fans may run faster and your Turbo Boosts will likely be lower as you get up into that range.
 
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dschmo

dschmo

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Feb 21, 2014
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Right, didn't mean to make you repeat yourself, sorry. I'll keep an eye out for those temps. Again, I appreciate the input; you've been very helpful and insightful. I'm just a bit of a novice and trying to make sure I understand what I'm getting myself into and that I won't do something dumb by jumping into a game with an inadequately cooled setup. But based on the info you've given me, I see that the cards should be smart enough to avoid that.
 
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dschmo

dschmo

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Feb 21, 2014
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Alright guys, the results are in.

I benchmarked in Assassin's Creed 4 during a sequence right near the beginning of the game in which you must run through very dense jungle and climb to vantage points to view the jungle when a lot has to be rendered on screen. The landscape is also dotted with very PhysX intense features such as fire smoke and dust. I've found this to be one of the most graphically intense sequences in the game.

Benchmarking done with Fraps.

1 GPU setup (GTX 770) with PhysX maxed and all other settings maxed except for AA and AO
-Frames: 2196
-min: 23 fps
-max: 56 fps
-avg: 36.573 fps
max temp: 66c

2 GPU setup (GTX 770 main, GTX 760 PhysX) with PhysX maxed and all other settings maxed except for AA and AO
-Frames: 2167
-min: 23 fps
-max: 59 fps
-avg: 37.411 fps
-max temp (gtx 770): 71c, (gtx 760): 40c

(FOR REFERENCE)
1 GPU setup (GTX 770) WITH NO PhysX and all other settings maxed except for AA and AO
-Frames: 2293
-min: 35 fps
-max: 62 fps
-avg: 48.240 fps
max temp: 66c

So the conclusion from this isolated test? Nothing really lol. For the record, it might be placebo effect but to my eye the game felt smoother and with less stuttering as I turned and moved around once the second card was in, despite the almost identical framerate. I plan on keeping the setup for now because temps only rose slightly, I should have enough power, and things did seem to improve based on my eye test. Also, I do think it's worth noting that there are probably more PhysX intense areas of this game that this setup might help more. Plus, I am really looking forward to a few Ubisoft titles coming up that they are working with Nvidia on under their Gameworks agreement, which should include PhysX, and I'm sure I'll need all the help I can get in games coming up if I want full PhysX and all the eye candy.

Anyways, I'll pick the best solution, but chime in with thoughts if you guys still have any. I'm always looking to be educated by people who know what's up.
 
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dschmo

dschmo

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Feb 21, 2014
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@17seconds I was putting together my post and didn't see yours. I forgot to record fan speeds, but from memory in both situations and for both cards, they ranged from 55%-60% of max speed. As for usage, I don't have those stats because I was using HWMonitor. If I get a moment to do the benchmark again, I'll get my hands on some GPU specific software (EVGA PrecisionX, MSI Afterburner, etc.) and check usage.

Sorry bout that! Hope the info still helps.
 
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