Crossfire advice

[yaz258]

Hi,

I built my first computer last year and considered it to be quite high end and it has coped with nearly every game i've played on max settigns @ 1920 x 1080. The relevant specs are amd phenom II 955 BE, 4gb ram, 5850 sapphire 1gb and a corsair HX650 power supply. Recently I saw the 5850 on sale for £100 and I'm really tempted to crossfire but the issue I am worried about is cooling. I have a NZXT apollo case and cooling wise its not that great, just gets the job done with one exhaust and one intake through side window (stock fans). The question is will adding another card create too much heat for the case? I also want to add in a sound card but will it be packed too tightly? (motherboard is asus m4a79xtd-evo btw)

Currently gpu temps go up to 75 Degrees Celcius on furmark.

Should I just save up for a year and buy an Ati 8xxx series card or just nab a cheap 5850 now prices have gone so low?

Any help/ advice appreciated

Thanks

 

[buzznut]

Hard to say specifically what heat issues may be occurring with another card. I don't think 75C fully loaded is bad for a powerful video card like the 5850, but I would have to know more like how hot does the card you're looking at run, how far apart are the slots, etc. Is the sapphire card a reference model?

I think I would tempted to add a second card given the current price/ performance of the HD 5850. But I would consider adding some fans, In particular an intake fan in front. It may even be worth it to look at a newer case if you plan to continue crossfire in your PC. Maybe you could move up to a NZXT phantom or one of the HAF cases from coolermaster.
I kinda like the Apollo, which I am modding for my wife. Haven't looked at the cooling much, but I know the cable management is pretty much nil.

 

[megamanx00]

The case heats up let me tell you. Of course, my X-Dreamer wasn't exactly meant to cope with the heat of two 5870s and an overclocked CPU even though it was o.k with one ^_^. Anyway, if your case isn't too obstructed, the back of mine is a little close to the wall, and you add the fan in front you should be o.k. It also depends on what kind of air circulation you have in your room, so if you have a small room it may get a little toasty in there ^_^

 

[buzznut]

BTW, I do think thermals are going to be your biggest challenge with this crossfire. You are wise to be concerned, most people would just buy the card then complain about the results!

 

[megamanx00]

You could also mod your case for increased air flow by adding a fan on top. Of course, that requires using a big hole saw with a power drill and then putting a fan grill on it. You would also have to refinish that part of it . Just a suggestion

 

[yaz258]

Thanks appreicate your reply!

Reason I'm concerned is because I got the Apollo just due to its good looks and not cooling lol but now i kind of regret it. There is not really any extra space for adding fans and it has no front intake unlike many cases and that hinders airflow quite bad. I have considered buying a new case (an nzxt phantom looks really good) but I've decided to just stick with this one for a year then build a totally new system with a new case etc.

Space wise my motherboard does not allow there to be a space inbetween 2 crossfired cards hence they may (will!) heat up more.

 

[yaz258]

Another thing, I do think there is an issue with airflow since my cpu gets up to 56 degrees with prime95 and I'm only running at 3.4ghz @ 1.35v. I have got some scythe cooler aswell which is rated quite well so it must be the airflow. And my other question can anyone answer please is will an audio card (asus xonar dg) fit underneat the second gpu if I do buy and install it?

This is the reason I regret becoming a pc enthusiast lol I always have the need for more hardware!

Cool case btw (X dreamer) lol i might have decided to get that if I saw it when I was looking to get a case.

 

[jrichards]

2 hd5850 vapor-x cards in storm scout case with both side fans installed, my temps on bottom card are in the mid 40c's, top card is in the upper 50c's Gigabyte x58-ud5 board. Cards are close but not touching, installed tight to the top of the pci slot on upper card and as far to the bottom on the lower card. Sort of like this | \ / || if viewed from the back (although not that drastic) seems to be sufficient, and everything screws in. Idle temps are 43c and 38c respectively.