580 gtx SLI temperature question

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nchabazam

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Sorry if this belongs in another sub-forum. A few questions. I've had 2 evga 580 gtx running in SLI for ~11 months now. I bought the system from cyberpowerpc. It has been a good rig for the last year. Anyway, I just started checking the temperatures recently using SpeedFan. Unfortunately I hadn't bothered to run it when the PC was newer so I have no ability to reference what it used to run at. I run a 2 monitor setup with the main monitor running at 2560x1600.


CPU #1 Intel Core i7 Extreme 980X
CPU Name Intel(R) Core(TM) i7 CPU X 980 @ 3.33GHz
12GB 1333 MHz DDR3
Motherboard: P6X58D Premium
Case: Raven RV01
V8 coolermaster.
1200 watt power supply.


I hadn't been doing a ton of gaming lately, but had noticed that battlefield 3 seemed to run fine on ultra at 2560x1600, and skyrim was struggling in some areas on ultra at 2560x1600 (I have the newest beta drivers). I'd also noticed WoW definitely doesn't run quite as well as it did when I got the PC (still runs it well, just stutters sometimes, but this could be some WoW/driver related issue as the game can be weird like that).

Anywho before I cleaned the inside to the best of my ability my GPU #2 was at 67 degrees idle (it's the card I plug my monitors into). GPU 1 was idling at 60-61 degrees. I cleaned my case and it got the temps down to 57/63 respectively. After cleaning my case skyrim ran at 89-90/81-82, and battlefield 3 was running at 96-97/85ish. CPU was running at about 42 degrees c during both periods gaming, ~34 deg at idle.

Way too hot right? What's my best course of action? My motherboard has 6 PCI slots, I think each 580 takes up 2 yet they're in the adjacent slots (well they take up 1-4).

Also, when I went in today I noticed that there was a sticker still on the outside of one of them... (yay cyberpower/yay me). I tried to rip the whole thing off but left a little of it still there, not sure if that's a big deal.

Here are a few pics if it helps. I'm thinking I need to spread apart the cards more? I found a thread earlier where people were saying that was probably the problem in another guy's rig, but the OP didn't stick around to let people know how it worked out.

photo3.jpg


photo-1.jpg


I'm open to w/e (including things like a new case or watercooling if need be).

Thanks for the help.
 
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gmcizzle

gmcizzle

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97c is incredibly hot, right up there at the limit. Looking up your case, I see that there are no side fans. Side fans are really good for SLI setups like yours because it can push fresh air right in between the cards. Try removing the side of the case and have a fan of some sort blow into it, and see if that helps temps. If it does, then you may want to look into a case with good side intakes.
 
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ilysaml

ilysaml

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Put the GPUs in the following Configuration
P6_X58_D_P_01.jpg

Throw a side fan to cool down the cards, the EVGA GTX 580s are refrenece design cards, ref designed cards run hotter and noisy than the non-ref designed GPUs such as the MSI TWIN FROZER II/III, or the Asus Direct CU II.
Put the GPUs in those PCIE slots, and report back what temperatures you get @ IDLE and Load.
 
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nchabazam

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Great, thanks for the replies. Anything special I need to know about switching the video card to a different slot? I'm a newb when it comes to do it yourself type of stuff.

Also, what is a good side fan/what new case would you recommend?
 
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ilysaml

ilysaml

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What's your current case ?

The White PCIE 2.0 slot is routed at X8 not X16, technically there's no difference between X8/X8 VS X16/X16, unless you run a benchmark software like 3D Mark you might find a slight increase for the x16/16 by 1-3% which in real world performance is no issue.
 
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ilysaml

ilysaml

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gmcizzle

gmcizzle

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For cases:

Xclio Windtunnel - Full tower
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811103011
This is basically the same case I have, minus a top and rear fan, so you should get a 120mm rear exhaust fan along with it. It has excellent side intakes and is a solid case. The downsides: There are no dust filters, so you will have to dust it out every couple months, and the side 250mm fans are very expensive to replace at about $25 a fan. Luckily, all my fans are still working great and I've had this for over 2.5 years.

Antec Lanboy - Mid Tower
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129093
Has two side 120mm fans along with front and rear fans along with lots of optional fan placement. Not sure if this has dust filters or not.

There are other cases in case you don't like either of these.
 
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fullforce

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i have 2 580's SLI as well i have the same problem and i have the HAF X which has a massive 200m side fan and there still hot to what i do is use MSI afterburner to make the fan speed 100% when it reaches 75... proberly your best beat

oh and i left a space between the two cards so theres room to breathe
 
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nchabazam

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You have this case fullforce? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119225

Do you have the same reference design cards (which ilysaml pointed out run hotter/louder)? What sort of max temps do you pull when you stress your cards?

I'm a little hesitant to change cases, but it seems there's no way to add a side fan on mine (unless I'm mistaken, I'm really pretty newb when it comes to hardware stuff). Although my friend is coming in on saturday who knows this stuff and could help me rebuild my rig (or is there any sort of service you guys could recommend? I'm always afraid I'll break something if I do it myself). I live very close to a microcenter if they can help with this stuff.

And I'll definitely look into overclocking my CPU. My computer doesn't get taxed too much (except maybe by the witcher 2) so I haven't really bothered, but it does seem a bit wasteful not to.

Any other components worth upgrading? I'm getting a crucial M4 256gb at some point soon, is my motherboard good enough for the time being?

Thanks again!
 
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ilysaml

ilysaml

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@fullforce
At the end, it does depend on the ambient temperature and the good ventilation.
@OP
You can mod your side case panel to have 2 120mm fan or 1 240mm fan, but as you said you might wanna leave it for someone professional.

You're strong enough to face all the upcoming games.
 
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fullforce

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Yea thats the case mate!

also my idle temps atm are top card 42, bottom one 38
and when im playing BF3 there normally around the 80 mark as i have set the fans to go up to 100% when it reaches 66 degrees

here a few pictures if ya want

IMAG0087.jpg

IMAG0088.jpg


yes i know i need to clean the dust filter, but im lazy :D
 
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fullforce

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oh yea i think there the same as yours i have EVGA "superclocked" 580's they should have called them barely clocked lol :p

if i was you though i wouldn't get a new case yet, i would just try splitting your cards up, and use MSI afterburner to manually set the fan speed and see what its like then
 
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nchabazam

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I opened the case up again to investigate. The bottom PCI slot is blocked by wiring (it's at the very back edge of the case). So I can't move them.

I'm in the process of trying to find a new case. (full tower, side vent, good cooling).

Thermaltake Level 10 GT is in the lead for me at the moment. I'm open to more suggestions.

And not to sidejack this thread too much, but I'm also looking for heatsink advice (and I guess I'll get a better thermal paste this time).

I will try the fan profile in the meantime.
 
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nchabazam

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thought I'd bump this thread one more time to see if anyone in the graphics card forums had advice for an SLI motherboard?

Seems like the one I currently have can't really support a card in that 3rd slot as there are a bunch of plugs in the way (good design asus), and without being able to move that card I don't think I can lower my temps at all.

I ordered a thermaltake level 10 GT case, prolimatech megahalems rev b with 2 120mm fans (which is a consideration for a motherboard), and a crucial m4 256gb ssd to upgrade while I'm changing cases.

Thanks!
 
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locoanciano

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you must consider installing a slot fan they are not very common, but improves incredible the temperatures of the cards, and there are many variants in order to fit perfectly on your limited space inside....
 
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nchabazam

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Keep in mind I'm a newb at all this stuff. From what I've read most people are having trouble putting a card in the 3rd expansion slot because you lose "USB connect 2 x Sata connects and the connect for the external I/O on the top of the case not to mention is 4 lane only." Seems like some people think you can squeeze it in there with enough force, but I'm not sure.

P6X58D-PREMIUM.jpg


A slot fan isn't a bad idea, they're quite cheap so I might pick one up to see if there's any noticeable improvement in temperatures (even 2-3 degrees would be great). Ideally I'd like the GPU #1 to not get above say 85 degrees under load with fans at 85%. Anything under that should be fine.

So ya I have the new case coming (with an extra PCI which is also more in the middle of the case) so I can try to see if I can fit the 2nd card in the 3rd slot there. If not I'll need a new motherboard. It's also tough because I bought that huge heatsink and while most motherboards should be able to deal with it, I'm worried about ram clearance! Bleh.

Since I've never put together my own PC I've found someone local to assemble it for ~$100 (strip out/clean my old components and reinstall them with new components in the new case).

I will report back temps and whatnot if I ever get this all up and working....

Oh and cyberpowerpc still hasn't got back to me in 3 days, last PC I'm buying from them.
 
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nchabazam

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I separated the cards, managing to get the card in the 3rd pci slot with my new case (thermaltake level10 gt). Interestingly cards are running at 51/68 idle (with my 2 monitors plugged into card #2). This is different from the 59/66 of before. I guess since they're separate the top card has more room to vent hot air onto the bottom card than before, raising its temperature. Not sure exactly.

After about 40 minutes of BF card 2 maxed out at 92c, which was only between rounds (not sure why it revved up during the score screen). It was 87-90 during gameplay. This at 2560x1600 with SLI turned on, ultra settings. Card 1 was about 2-3c cooler the whole time, so that maxed out at 90c.

Seeing how battlefield would quickly get my GPU up to 99c during gameplay, I'd say a 9 degree drop is a pretty good result. 90c is still a little hotter than I'd have hoped, but it's still well under the 97c cap that evga has listed on their website.

I also have my CPU running steadily at 68c after 30 minutes of prime95 upgrading to the prolimatech megahalems heatsink with 2 fans in a push/pull setup. This is quite a bit better than my old setup as well.

Thanks for the help, hopefully this thread can be useful to someone in the future.
 
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