CM 690 Crossfire and CM V10

[fireztorm]

Just need some tips on how to add some extra cooling for my crossfire setup, the V10 blocks alot of the airflow so any ideas? i got accelero's on both cards but still not happy

 

[fireztorm]

well i am happy with the v10 running my phenom 965 @ 4.1ghz and never over 53c on load which is more then good enough for me.

The CM690 should have good airflow, i got good cable management, 1x 80mm behind the mb 2x 140mm top exhaust 1x 120 back exhaust 2x 120mm intake side 1x 140mm intake bottom and 1x 120mm intake front

just wondering i could place 2 fans on the side of the gpus and exhaust it out the side (accelero fans on bottom card isnt doing very much but still stays sub 70c under load top card around 45 - 50c under load)
i just want some tips on how to add some extra cooling on those 2 gpus with the case i already have

and excuse my english, im norwegian

 

[OvrClkr]

Seems like I accidentally deleted my post, anyways dual side fans should help keep the GPU's a bit cooler but the accelero's should keep your cards at tolerable temps regardless unless your room temp is over 80F. Have you tried re-pasting the GPU's? Have you checked your exhausts making sure that the warm air is exiting the case and properly?

 

[fireztorm]

Yes ive checked everything. everything is properly exhausting and ive followed guides and googled alot and tested alot to check what works best with my case its just those two cards i worry about.

well as we speak temps are:

cpu: 36 (4.1@1.525v so abit hotter then usual)
mb: 32 - 33
gpu1: 37
gpu2: 45

 

[fireztorm]

its 77F / 25C inside here at the moment

NB is running @ 2600 1,25v

that should be all the info none of the case fans are stock one 80mm/15mm silenx rest are scythe fans

 

[OvrClkr]

your temps are fine, I assumed that the GPU's were hitting over 80c.

not sure if the side fans will do any better since normally they screw up the overall airflow.

Are those 4870's?

 

[fireztorm]

yes 2 4870's they hit nearly 100c until replaced the stock coolers i also got the arcticleaner kit and cleaned the cpu and gpus before i installed the new coolers.

Yeah but if the V10 blocks the airflow which i guess it does since gpu idle temps vent up +7c i have to find a better solution to cool the lower part of the case and the crossfire setup i also have grills in the unused pci slots on the case im not sure how much that helps but a bit i guess

i just dont know how to attach a few fans on the side there or maybe you have a better solution?

 

[OvrClkr]

I don't recommend putting side fans on the panels because it creates a mess of air and your exhaust pressure is less. I have already tested this with numerous cases and came to the conclusion that installing a plexi or taping up the side vents (on the insides with electrical tape) creates overall better airflow and releases the warm air out the exhausts faster.

But if you want to try it all you need are the fans, they come with the screws needed for the installation. If your board has a few fan headers that are not in use get 3pin fans, if not the 4pin molex will do just fine.

Edit :

You will want those in 120mm x 25 flavor

 

[fireztorm]

thank you i didnt mean putting 2 fans on the panels but 2x 120mm together to cover the cards for example im not sure how much that will help tho i think i will start by replacing the case door first or cutting the case grills here and there ill remove the pci grills and see if it helps on temps with the closed ones

all my fans runs at full speed with no fan control, i dont mind the noise

im pretty new at this with cooling so excuse any silly stuff i might come up with

 

[OvrClkr]

yea dual 120mm fans together is not a great idea, I would start modding the side panel to improve the overall airflow. Here's am example :

Before :

After :

just giving you an idea of how the airflow improves =)

 

[fireztorm]

nice! i will see what i can do, ill put a 120mm in the cd bay also, thanks alot

 

[OvrClkr]

keep us posted with your results.

 

[fireztorm]

keep us posted with your results.

alright, so i havent had time to mod much yet but i taped over the case holes then removed the grills from the pci holes and put in the original case pci thingies then put 2x scythe 149 CFM as exhausts in the side door temps are now

CPU: 31
MB: 29
GPU1: 32
GPU2: 42 - 43

Removing the side fans or taping over the side door holes caused a rise in temps of 4+ setting them as intake didnt help much at all either so i guess the side fans are good for me since the V10 is huge

also room temp is the same!

ive also run into another problem PSU with a red light (cooler master worry-free function) , i thought it was dead but i started taking out the cables and found out it was the GPU powercables (it would boot if i took them out of the psu and connected them again) now weird thing was i could do ANYTHING without this happening...but...then i put on the right side door of the case and it happened again (i tried this 3 or 4 times and it happened every time) i dont know why. Then i thought i might just try powering the GPU's using the molex-to-gpu cables so i did and now everything is working fine again so ill stick with this but maybe you have any idea what it could be, i tried 4 different cables from psu-to-gpu but same thing happened

 

[OvrClkr]

alright, so i havent had time to mod much yet but i taped over the case holes then removed the grills from the pci holes and put in the original case pci thingies then put 2x scythe 149 CFM as exhausts in the side door temps are now

CPU: 31
MB: 29
GPU1: 32
GPU2: 42 - 43

Removing the side fans or taping over the side door holes caused a rise in temps of 4+ setting them as intake didnt help much at all either so i guess the side fans are good for me since the V10 is huge

also room temp is the same!

ive also run into another problem PSU with a red light (cooler master worry-free function) , i thought it was dead but i started taking out the cables and found out it was the GPU powercables (it would boot if i took them out of the psu and connected them again) now weird thing was i could do ANYTHING without this happening...but...then i put on the right side door of the case and it happened again (i tried this 3 or 4 times and it happened every time) i dont know why. Then i thought i might just try powering the GPU's using the molex-to-gpu cables so i did and now everything is working fine again so ill stick with this but maybe you have any idea what it could be, i tried 4 different cables from psu-to-gpu but same thing happened

Don't exactly know what happened there but if its working fine then just leave it alone.

So your top GPU is now idling at 32c?

 

[fireztorm]

yep 32c and didnt hit 50c after 10 mins of furmark xtreme burn in so im happy with that! i guess it could help abit turning the psu around so it pulls air from the case? since its very close to the second gpu it might help a bit i guess

 

[fireztorm]

yeah the PSU thing was weird, maybe i need a bit more power then 620w i dunno

 

[fireztorm]

temps right now are

TMPIN0 (MB) 31c
TMPIN1 (NB) 28c
TMPIN2 (fake sensor) 62c

cpu: 32c
gpu1: 31c
gpu2: 42c

hdd: 29c

 

[fireztorm]

After 15 mins of prime95 blend

TMPIN0 (MB) 47c
TMPIN1 (NB) 29c
TMPIN2 (fake sensor) 64c
cpu: 51c

 

[OvrClkr]

620w for dual 4870's??

 

[fireztorm]

yeah CM realpower 620w, someone said 620 was plenty and it does work so i never considered buying a more powerful PSU, this was before i got the v10 and the acceleros and all the extra case fans tho...so i guess i should prio getting a better psu ASAP?

 

[OvrClkr]

No, its not plenty unless you run all your hardware at stock. Anyways if it works fine then you have nothing to worry about. I was assuming that you had both the CPU and GPU's overclocked.

 

[fireztorm]

probably explains why i get BSOD's with ram set to 1066 and i get lockups/bsod's if i do any gpu overclocking with the 4870's (old 4850's ran fine with 725/1100 stock was 625/1000) not sure how much more power the 4870's require over 4850's but yeah, working fine at stock is good but im going to get a better PSU as soon as i can i want to OC thanks for all the help! plan now is to get a 850w+ PSU change the 2 stock 120mm's in the v10, get a 40mm fan for the NB, still need a 120mm in the drive bay, so some case cutting to see if i can get temps a bit lower or maybe just a little bit better airflow, im having way too much fun with this

 

[OvrClkr]

I recommend the corsair TX750 :

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139006&Tpk=TX750

should be plenty for your setup even when overclocked.

 

[jrhii]

In regards to side fans:

In my experience, they always work best when turned down to low speeds/low CFM. If they are too high, they will either suck out too much air and the video cards will be able to pass enough air to the back of the CPU to keep it cool, or they will push more air than the video cards will suck through and start sending hot air from the GPU up to the CPU.

I prefer pushing air in than pulling it out, because if the fan is right next to the GPU, then it needs to be making the job of the GPU cooler easier by giving some pre existing airflow to suck through to the back. While pulling it out will most likely see a better result in ambient case temps, it will make it harder for the GPU coolers to get the air it needs and raise the GPU temps, which are usually closer to max temps than the MOBO.

 

[fireztorm]

Small update, i turned the PSU to suck air from the case so it helps on cooling the second GPU temps now:

GPU1: 31 - 32
GPU2: 32 - 34

none of them hit 50c after a 10 min Furmark 1600x1200 8x AA Xtreme burn in mode

im really happy with this! now just to get a better PSU so i can OC a bit, thanks guys!