GTS 250 x2 in SLI - one card overheating to 95C

[killswitch1968]

Hello! I have an Asus P5N-D Motherboard with 2 GTS 250 cards in SLI. One of the cards is overheating with any 3D application (games especially), see the chart below:

It eventually settles to 60C, but the other card stays at 40C.

I think it has to do with my case setup, note it's the top card that is the one that's heating up:

Are these cards just too cramp? Is this just a circulation problem? There is no dust - both these cards are brand new. There are of course just the 2 SLI slots and one of the cards is very bulky.
Unfortunately the temperature is causing freezing and crashing. What about changing which card takes the output to the monitor? Would that help? Do I have to buy another heatsink? Seems like such a waste for $50 cards!

Below are my abbreviate system specs, thanks everyone!

Asus P5N-D SLI Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 LGA775 Dual-Core (45nm / 3.0GHz / 6MB / 1333FSB)
8GB 667MHz (4X-2GB) DDR2 PC2 5300 Dual-Channel RAM
320GB 7200RPM, + 1 TB and 2 TB drives, SATA2 Hard Disk Drive x 3
GeForce & eVGA GTS 250 Video Card - 512MB DDR3, PCI-E 2.0, DVI-I, VGA, HDMI, SLI Ready
Hanns·G HH-251HPB Black 24.6" 2ms HDMI Widescreen LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 DC 15000:1(800:1) Built-in Speakers
Windows 7 64 bit x 2 in SLI
DirectX 11
Corsair HX850W PSU.

 

[bucknutty]

I got the same board and I am rolling 2 gtx470s. They both hit 90 at load. Nvidia cards are made to run at 90. If you look at the fan profile I bet the fan is only at like 50%, if the card wanted to it could turn the fan up higher.

Are these temps under load or at idle. If they are idle, then there is something wrong with the fan or heat sink on the hot card.

What program or game are you using. Some games just dont have SLI profiles and will not work.

Any way I bet the reason why the main card is really hot and the second card is at like 40-50 is because the second card is at idle. It is not doing a thing. Check your SLI setting in the SLI driver and enable the SLI visiual indicator so you can see them scaling.

Or use a program like MSI afterburner with the onscreen display set to show gpu usage. You will see the main card at like 100% usage and the second card at 5%.

SLI might not be enabled because the cards dont match. They need to have the same GPU running at the same speeds, as well as the same amount of ram. A GTS250 1gb will not SLI with a GTS250 512.

 

[bucknutty]

P.S. the P5n-d is a little picky about SLI. I have had 3 sets of video cards on my board over the past 4 years, and it is tough to make stable. Once you get SLI working and your temps under control, that board will still cause random "driver has stopped Responding" or graphical glitching once in a while.

Another thought, get some aero PCI slots, and make sure you have an intake fan on the front of you case blowing cool air toward the cards.

 

[monsta]

Swap the cards over and see if the other card sustains better temps att eh top slot , this can happen when using two different brands of cards especially if they have different coolers , give it a try and check if the temps are better with the cards the other way around, this can be a good solution for set ups like yours.

Removing the side panel when gaming or adding a side fan makes a big difference in temps too.

 

[killswitch1968]

I got the same board and I am rolling 2 gtx470s. They both hit 90 at load. Nvidia cards are made to run at 90. If you look at the fan profile I bet the fan is only at like 50%, if the card wanted to it could turn the fan up higher.

Are these temps under load or at idle. If they are idle, then there is something wrong with the fan or heat sink on the hot card.

What program or game are you using. Some games just dont have SLI profiles and will not work.

Any way I bet the reason why the main card is really hot and the second card is at like 40-50 is because the second card is at idle. It is not doing a thing. Check your SLI setting in the SLI driver and enable the SLI visiual indicator so you can see them scaling.

Or use a program like MSI afterburner with the onscreen display set to show gpu usage. You will see the main card at like 100% usage and the second card at 5%.

SLI might not be enabled because the cards dont match. They need to have the same GPU running at the same speeds, as well as the same amount of ram. A GTS250 1gb will not SLI with a GTS250 512.

You were right! i thought I had the most updated drivers but the auto updated didn't grab the latest drivers - SLI wasn't working for the game (kingdoms of Amalur).

I updated the driver, and checked it again and confirmed SLI was working - results are similar. GPU temp still 91C on one card and 50 on the other. Fan speed on the cooler card is only ~50%. The hot card is running 100% fan speed. GPU load on both cards is similar - about 60%.

The cards are both 512 MB cards.

Swap the cards over and see if the other card sustains better temps att eh top slot , this can happen when using two different brands of cards especially if they have different coolers , give it a try and check if the temps are better with the cards the other way around, this can be a good solution for set ups like yours.

Removing the side panel when gaming or adding a side fan makes a big difference in temps too.

Unfortunately one card is much bigger than the other, and it won't fit if they are swapped.

 

[monsta]

Thats a shame , can you fit a side fan to the side panel or be comfortable playing with the side panel off?
Try it and see the temperature differences

 

[killswitch1968]

Thats a shame , can you fit a side fan to the side panel or be comfortable playing with the side panel off?
Try it and see the temperature differences

If you mean removing the side panel and having a household fan blowing into the cards - then yes it actually helped quite a bit, about 65C it topped out at. That's liveable. The case'll get dust without a panel but I have compressed air at least.

 

[monsta]

I only suggest it while you game as you are getting crashes when it overheats, you dont even have to use a household fan , the heat will escape very easily, its a pain constantly having to pull it off and put it back on again, and it also becomes a space heater.LOL
Up to you , just a suggestion, but it works.
Play around using more fans and tidying up as much cabling as possible to get some good airflow in the case, also use something like msi afterburner and adjust your fan speeds to get your cooling optimal.

 

[bucknutty]

So one card is at like 90-100 and the fan is at 100%. That card is having problems keeping cool then. You could try to remove the heatsink clean it out and apply new thermal paist.

Or see if there is some way to add another intake fan. Vented PCI slots will help alot because those cards just throw the heat back in the case. They will give it some place to go.

 

[killswitch1968]

Best answer selected by killswitch1968.