How to keep His 6870 x2 cool?

What is the temp at load? 45C at idle is fine.

I have seen it go up too 85c while i was playing skyrim on high settings. The graphics start to get distorted and what not

That's not good. And with the fan at 100%, you get no graphical glitches?

How old is the card. If it isn't brand new, then check (and blow out) the fan for dust. If it is brand new, return it to the store or manufacturer. Stock artifacts is not acceptable.

Also, how is the airflow in your case? No fan will do well if it doesn't have good case airflow.

Finally, do you have the newest drivers (11.11c I think) as they have some enhancements specifically for Skyrim.

And one more, this is two 6870s, not a card with 2 6870 chips right? How much space is between the cards. Can you take the side of the case off and use a room fan to blow directly on the cards?

There is a dual GPU card called the 6870x2 out there, it's two 6870s on one board. I believe he has this card. Dual GPU cards run hotter than single GPUs, that's a fact of life. As said above, try setting the fans to 100% when gaming. You can use MSI Afterburner if you want to set a custom fan profile. Also check the airflow in your case, with the dual GPU cards you pretty much need to have optimum airflow unless you are using a water cooling solution. You'll probably want a side fan blowing beneath the card to allow for the card's fan to pull in more air.

If the noise is really that much of an issue with you, you may want to look at a water cooling solution, though that will be a hassle. Personally, I'd just game with headphones on, it's cheaper and more convenient than setting up water cooling for your card.

If you have 2 separate cards, make sure that there is at least one slot empty between them, and have a fan mounted on the side of your case blowing into the gap between the cards to ensure both cards get adequate airflow.

Im sorry I have 2 separate cards that are cross fired. There is about one slot empty in between them. Most of my wires are on the other side of my motherboard so I get good airflow. I have 2x120mm in the front, 2x140mm on top, 1x 120mm on the side and 1 120mm at the rear. The noise isnt an issue for me its my gf that keeps complaining lol.