Gigabyte GTX 470 Super Overclock too hot in SLI

[alex500]

Hello,

After reading the rave review on this website (and a couple of others) I bought 2 of these to slot into my Gigabyte X58A-UD7 motherboard. I have them in the 1st and 3rd PCIe slots so they are right next to each other. The problem is that the top card seems to suck up all the dirty hot air from the bottom card, overheats and crashes at 110°C (FurMark, Crysis maxed out). The cards have 3 fans on the side - Gigabyte call this Windforce 3X.

I have sent numerous emails to Gigabyte who have been disappointingly slow in responding and unhelpful when they do. For example the most recent email, “About the issue, GA-X58A-UD7 supports SLI function with two cards on PCI-E slots without over heat issue, we have tested this function before launch to market” – lovely!

I could move the 2nd card to the 4th PCIe slot at the bottom of the board to give both cards more breathing room but (a) I would lose 8 lanes to the 2nd card, (b) the card would hang over all the sockets at the bottom of the board rendering them unusable (c) it won’t fit in my case – the power supply is in the way and I would need an 8th expansion slot in the back of the case anyhow.

Here are some test results below in my case with the 5 x 120mm stock fans on max, no components overclocked, latest drivers/firmware etc. Temps recording using MSI Afterburner and loads tested with FurMark ver 1.82

Test 1 – 1 card in PCIe Slot 1
GPU 1: Idle 41°C, Load 95°C

Test 2 – 2 cards in PCIe Slot 1 and Slot 3 (SLI disabled)
GPU 1: 59°C, 105°C
GPU 2: 43°C, 44°C

Test 3 – 2 cards in PCIe Slot 1 and Slot 3 (SLI enabled)
GPU 1: 61°C, 110°C crash
GPU 2: 45°C, 83°C (stable) 86°C (max)

As you can see in normal SLI mode the top card totally overheats and my thoughts are that this is a design flaw with Gigabyte’s Windforce 3X aftermarket cooling solution.

If anyone has any advice it would be much appreciated.

SPECS

Mobo: GA-X58A-UD7 rev 2.0
GPU: GV-N470SO-13I (SLI 2 way)
PSU: Corsair 1000w
CPU: i7 950
Cooler: Scythe Mugen 2
RAM: 6GB Crucial
SSD: 128GB Crucial RealSSD C300
Case: Lian Li PC-X900
Display: Dell U2711 (1440p native)

 

[COLGeek]

Well, increasing the airflow into the GPU area would help. Do you have either a side mounted or front mounted fan blowing air into the system? Also, I assume you have a rear fan sucking hot air out of the system. Make sure all of your fans are clean, turning, and are as unobstructed as possible. If you popped the the case cover off and ran your system, I assume it works well. True?

For your 5 fans, front and side fans pull cool air in. Rear and top fans suck hot air out. Make sure all of yours are doing so.

 

[deweycd]

What case do you have, is there a restriction in airflow? I have two 5850s in crossfire and find that the top card can get quite warm. To fix this I installed a front and side fan drawing cool air into the case and pushing it onto the cards. I then did my best to keep the two cards seperated. I noticed that the top card can sometimes droop until it is quite close to the bottom card. You may have to install a sperater to keep the two cards apart.

 

[AsianJetlag]

You know a card is bad when you have 100% fan running and still have the cards crash and overheat AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

This is just too funny.

Should have bought 5xxx, should have bought GTX460. Learn your lesson yo - GPU power/heat DO matter.

 

[reccy]

You know a card is bad when you have 100% fan running and still have the cards crash and overheat AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

This is just too funny.

Should have bought 5xxx, should have bought GTX460. Learn your lesson yo - GPU power/heat DO matter.

Noob...

I have a GTX470 in SLI and never have i seen my Top GTX470 run over 95oC.. Now that ive changed my case and air flow, she never runs above 90oC - EVER!! And these are reference cards, hottest of the lot!!

Just a case of improving air flow inside the case, making sure cool air is being sucked in, and the hot air is being pulled out..

 

[17seconds]

Unfortunately, these aftermarket coolers vent air inside the case, so airflow is key. I recently had great success by replacing the thermal paste on the GPU. Temps dropped a good 5-10c, and it was a fairly easy procedure. If you need to place a card in an x8 PCIe slot, that will not affect your performance in any way.

 

[jerreece]

You know a card is bad when you have 100% fan running and still have the cards crash and overheat AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

This is just too funny.

Should have bought 5xxx, should have bought GTX460. Learn your lesson yo - GPU power/heat DO matter.

Why be a jerk? This guy spent $600-$700 on a fantastic GPU setup and wants to make it work. Just because it's more difficult (as they run very hot) doesn't make him an idiot. Your comment proves that you don't understand these graphics cards. They are indeed hot, but not because they are "bad".

To the OP:

And these cards run pretty hot as it is. As others have suggested, I'd see if you can get some more direct airflow on that bottom card (or on both) and see if blowing cool air directly to them helps any. Because these cards don't vent entirely out of the case, you are going to have to provide good air intake, and a sufficient exhaust fan somewhere to remove all that hot air.

Also, note that Furmark heats up your GPUs more than gaming will. Furmark will keep pushing until it gets both cards hitting 100% usage. With two GTX 470's in SLI, unless you're got a ridiculously high resolution, these cards should rarely if ever hit 100% usage on both GPUs.

EDIT: By the way. If you simply can't provide enough air flow through the case to cool them, you could also down clock the cards to reduce heat output.

 

[g00fysmiley]

depending on what you're willing to do i'd reccomend changing the thermal paste and maybe even the coolers to aftermarket coolers... this will however void your warrenty

http://www.frozencpu.com/products/11422/vid-148/Gelid_Icy_Vision_Five_Heatpipe_Universal_VGA_Cooler_Rev_2_Up_to_HD5800_Series_GTX_480_Series.html?tl=g40c21s66

 

[jerreece]

depending on what you're willing to do i'd reccomend changing the thermal paste and maybe even the coolers to aftermarket coolers... this will however void your warrenty

http://www.frozencpu.com/products/11422/vid-148/Gelid_Icy_Vision_Five_Heatpipe_Universal_VGA_Cooler_Rev_2_Up_to_HD5800_Series_GTX_480_Series.html?tl=g40c21s66

After market cooler isn't what he needs. I believe this is the video cards he has:

 

[g00fysmiley]

wow yea that thing looks liek it already has one hell of a heatsink for coming with the card... dunno how much copper it uses so can't comment there but it looks like it'd go the job .. i'd still probably say if willing to replace the thermal

also as has already been noted ventilation in the case is likely an issue. make sure there is planty of airflow through the case. if he posts his case we can advise either more fans and placement of fans.. in the meantime i'd say take off the side of the case and put a little 15 dollar desk fan blowing on em ghetto airflow solutions 4tw

 

[alex500]

Thanks for your replies and some updates below:

“Well, increasing the airflow into the GPU area would help. Do you have either a side mounted or front mounted fan blowing air into the system?”

The Lian Li PC-X900 case (http://www.lian-li.com/v2/en/product/product06.php?pr_index=500&cl_index=1&sc_index=25&ss_index=62 ) has 3 intake fans on the front and 2 exhaust fans at back. The 3 fans at the front sit closer to the graphics cards than most cases due to the unique design. I switched out the stock fans to 5 x Scythe Gentle Typhoons (1850 rpm, 60 cfm) which means I can now run FurMark which stabilises around 108 degrees after 5 mins. Still way too hot.

“Make sure all of your fans are clean, turning, and are as unobstructed as possible.”
The cable management is pretty neat however the CPU heatsink is massive (Scythe Mugen 2) and Gigabyte’s supplied chipset heatsink is quite large as well.

“If you popped the the case cover off and ran your system, I assume it works well. True?”
To be honest is doesn’t make much difference.

“I recently had great success by replacing the thermal paste on the GPU. Temps dropped a good 5-10c, and it was a fairly easy procedure.”
Thanks - I will look into this as a last resort once I have the fan arrangement sorted.

“If you need to place a card in an x8 PCIe slot, that will not affect your performance in any way.”
According to this website builders can expect an average performance loss of 8% when going from a x16 to a x8 slot – http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/pcie-geforce-gtx-480-x16-x8-x4,2696-9.html

“Also, note that Furmark heats up your GPUs more than gaming will. Furmark will keep pushing until it gets both cards hitting 100% usage. With two GTX 470's in SLI, unless you're got a ridiculously high resolution, these cards should rarely if ever hit 100% usage on both GPUs.”
I’m using a 27 in Dell with a native resolution at 1440p (2560 x 1440) so I really do need these 2 cards operating at full whack. Ideally I’d like to get FurMark stable below 100 degrees then I think I can be comfortable that the top card should never get above 95 in gaming – I could live with that I guess.

“EDIT: By the way. If you simply can't provide enough air flow through the case to cool them, you could also down clock the cards to reduce heat output. “
Yes I tried that and it works really well – its is not an option though - its cheating!

In addition If I point 2 fans directly at the cards I can reduce temps by another 5 degrees and I have a new side panel on order that will incorporate 2 x140 mm fans. I think I will just go gungho and get something with massive CFM that sounds like a 747 taking off! But with 5 intake fans am I going to need 2 more powerful exhaust fans? Should the combined CFM of the exhaust fans match the intake fans?

Any other suggestions much appreciated?

SPECS

Mobo: GA-X58A-UD7 rev 2.0
GPU: GV-N470SO-13I (SLI 2 way)
PSU: Corsair 1000w
CPU: i7 950
CPU Cooler: Scythe Mugen 2
RAM: 6GB Crucial
SSD: 128GB Crucial RealSSD C300
Case: Lian Li PC-X900
Display: Dell U2711 (1440p native)

 

[Shadow703793]

This is by no means the cheapest way to go but you easily water cool the cards. Not sure if you will be able to fit 2x MCW80s in SLI setting, but if you CAN use the MCW80s you should be able to get a GPU only loop for ~$350-375. If you can't use the GPU only blocks, you are probably looking at about $400-450 with full cover blocks. Seeing as you have a $1k LCD, I'm pretty sure WCing is with in your budget. But be warned, you WILL need to do research before going in to WCing.

edit:
You could also try using an Antec Spot Cool and directing air towards the GPU and seeing if that helps.

 

[17seconds]

Thanks for your replies and some updates below:


“If you need to place a card in an x8 PCIe slot, that will not affect your performance in any way.”
According to this website builders can expect an average performance loss of 8% when going from a x16 to a x8 slot – http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/pcie-geforce-gtx-480-x16-x8-x4,2696-9.html

"Gameplay performance can be summed up very easily and directly. We experienced no differences in the gameplay experience between x16/x16 SLI or CFX compared to x16/x8 SLI or CFX. There were measurable differences, differences that some people might pick apart and declare a clear "winner," but we don't see it this way at all. For gamers, the differences are so minuscule that the delta simply does not matter. The fact is you have to run at insanely high graphics settings just to detect the one to three frames per second differences we documented."
http://www.hardocp.com/article/2010/08/16/sli_cfx_pcie_bandwidth_perf_x16x16_vs_x16x8/

 

[alex500]

"Gameplay performance can be summed up very easily and directly. We experienced no differences in the gameplay experience between x16/x16 SLI or CFX compared to x16/x8 SLI or CFX. There were measurable differences, differences that some people might pick apart and declare a clear "winner," but we don't see it this way at all. For gamers, the differences are so minuscule that the delta simply does not matter. The fact is you have to run at insanely high graphics settings just to detect the one to three frames per second differences we documented."
http://www.hardocp.com/article/2010/08/16/sli_cfx_pcie_bandwidth_perf_x16x16_vs_x16x8/

OK thanks well to be honest I would have stuck the card in the last PCIe slot already if it would fit but unfortunately it doesn't (no 8th expansion slot in the case and the PSU is in the way).

 

[alex500]

Well I added in a 38mm Delta Fan (5000 RPM) just dangling off of the heat sink and pointing directly at the space between the 2 cards and that drops my idle temps down from 61 to 49 and load temps from 108 to 90 on the top card. So almost a 20 degree centigrade drop.

Its noisy however!

 

[17seconds]

Well I added in a 38mm Delta Fan (5000 RPM) just dangling off of the heat sink and pointing directly at the space between the 2 cards and that drops my idle temps down from 61 to 49 and load temps from 108 to 90 on the top card. So almost a 20 degree centigrade drop.
Its noisy however!

5000 RPM's is about as fast as they get. The fans from Scythe, especially the S-Flex, are pretty quiet. It's still a shame that you are having this problem. One of the great things about the Gigabyte card is that it is so quiet. I can picture you getting a new case, which is relatively cheap, for some good airflow and to really get things back to where they should be: quiet, cool, and really really fast.

Don't forget to change the thermal paste. I swear by it after doing it to my Asus. It's amazing how the factory can really gunk that stuff on.

 

[alex500]

Yes it’s a noisy fan but when I connect it to my case’s fan controller and turn it down a notch its much quieter and still shifts serious amounts of air. However the fan cables are not long enough for the fan to reach the GPU so I will need to sort out an extension and then test it properly.

Yes one card on its own is great – cool, quiet and a good performer. Its just in SLI when it all goes pear shaped. My Lian Li case now has 3 Scythe Gentle Typhoons on the front (and 2 exhaust) and very close to the cards. I can’t really see this set up being too inferior to something like a HAF X, with its stock fans, which only has 1 on the front and also much further from the graphics cards, with bays in between. The advantage, I guess, would be more room and the dedicated GPU fan but most fans above 120 mm in diameter tend to be pretty lousy according to what I’ve read. I don't really feel like buying one to prove or disprove this theory though!

OK I hear you on the thermal paste – I just worry that its gonna get fiddly/messy/problematic...

 

[thecomputerking]

I have the same issue with my GV-N470SO-13I's in SLI on a GA-X58A-UD3R. I'm using the HAF X case, too. I had to put a 80mm 3000 rpm fan into the graphics card assist bracket (connects to rear of case) which blows directly on the GPU's. This is in addition to the 200mm fan on the side of the case, which couldn't cut it by itself. The cards are too big to fit the other graphic card fan assist which connects to the hard drive brace (it fits, but you cannot plug in the second PCI-E power adapter; thinking about cutting it).

I'm thinking about changing the thermal paste as suggested above. I'm also looking at waterblocks, but read these cards are not reference design pcb's. Yay, research!

 

[alex500]

These things just aren't really designed to be run in SLI adjacent to each other.

I ended up doing a few things

1. Changing the thermal paste on both cards - had a negligible difference of 1 or 2 degrees. I wouldn't bother if I were you as it appears Gigabyte did a decent job here.
2. Change the 3 intake fans to gentle typhoons and stuck a delta fan as one of the exhaust fans - so airflow is pretty good now - a few degrees cooler
3. Attaching a plastic zip wrap to the top of the back of the top GPU and pulling it up a bit and attaching to the top of the case. This creates a little more space between the 2 cards - see next point
4. Modding the side of the case and sticking in a 5000 RPM 120 mm Delta fan that blows directly into the space between the 2 cards - horizontally spaced so it is flush with the heatsink. At full speed this drops temps down by at least 15 degrees but when you boot up your PC it will sound like a Boeing 747 taking off! However I attached it to a fan controller and at half speed I find the noise ok so that suits me for most applications.