How high is too high?

[jcorqian]

My SLI Geforce 260 system is performing very well for me, able to play Crysis at near 60 fps on partially very high and 2x AA (obviously maxing out every other game). However, I am a little concerned with the heat generated by the second card, the one very close to my PSU in my Antec 900 case. Under heavy load, the top 260 has a temp of about 65, while the bottom one is near 90. Now, I know that the GPU itself can take it, but is this generating too much heat for my system?

The problem is most likely the PSU fan blowing right into the tiny space between it and the GPU. The long PCI connectors are taking up the space below the second GPU not occupied by the PSU, restricting airflow. There is no where else to store these connectors. The only solution I can really think is to get a new, bigger case (Lian Li A70 comes to mind). Any thoughts?

 

[dagger]

The psu fan does not blow into that space, it sucks air out of it. The card's own fan faces it while also sucking air from that direction and drawing it outside. The larger and more powerful psu fan suffocates the smaller video card fan. No air flow to cool the gpu means high heat. This is the reason I'd never use a case with bottom mounted psu. It's just horrible, moronic design. You can either change to a standardized tower with top mounted psu or, of course, lose the second card.