Mobo fit question - 2 asus DC II 680 in sli

[radiomir]

Anyone know if 2 ASUS DC 2 Top 680s will fit on an ASUS z77-Deluxe mobo? I just need one now, but may want a second later.

 

[larkspur]

Physically they will fit. But there will be very little space between the two cards. This will cause the card closer to the CPU to run really hot and its fan will be very loud. Depending on your case's design, the bottom card may also butt up against a case wall causing the same effect. It will be hot and loud and I wouldn't recommend a three-slot card for SLI on a traditional setup. But they do make great single cards.

If you plan to SLI, then get a two-slot card. I highly suggest "blower-type" cards that exhaust all their air out the back. You don't really need to get a blower-type if you have a nice big case with plenty of airflow, but I've always preferred the hot air to go out and away rather than recirculate particularly in SLI/XFire setups. It means your case fans can run a bit slower and quieter. It also immensely helps if your case has a side panel intake vent with a fan blowing down on the cards to provide a good source of fresh air.

 

[radiomir]

Thanks. I had a standard EVGA GtX 670 that I returned because it was very loud. I liked the ASUS DC2 cards because they are much more quiet than the stock cards and a little more quiet than the gigabyte windforce OC. Because there have been problems with the 670 DC2 cards, I was going to go with the 680 rather than the 670. I wonder, do you think the increase in case fan noise that might result from cooling 2 of the ASUS cards in sli would overshadow the relative silence of the ASUS Top?

My case is a Corsair 500r, so I do have a side intake fan.

in the end, the chances of me adding a second card aren't very great, especially if I go with the 680 Top over the 670, but I did want the option just in case.

 

[vmem]

Thanks. I had a standard EVGA GtX 670 that I returned because it was very loud. I liked the ASUS DC2 cards because they are much more quiet than the stock cards and a little more quiet than the gigabyte windforce OC. Because there have been problems with the 670 DC2 cards, I was going to go with the 680 rather than the 670. I wonder, do you think the increase in case fan noise that might result from cooling 2 of the ASUS cards in sli would overshadow the relative silence of the ASUS Top?

My case is a Corsair 500r, so I do have a side intake fan.

in the end, the chances of me adding a second card aren't very great, especially if I go with the 680 Top over the 670, but I did want the option just in case.

personally, I would imagine 2 of your ASUS cards in SLI would be just as loud if not louder than the EVGA 670 you had (unless that 670 had a defective fan and was just extra loud). the reason being not only that you'll have 2 cards, but your cards will be very close together, so the fans on your top card will be running at high speed almost all the time, even on idle. since any air it's taking in will have already been heated by the back of the card beneath it. if you manually crank up your fan speed to around 70-80%, I think that would be the level of noise you should expect from SLI

 

[radiomir]

personally, I would imagine 2 of your ASUS cards in SLI would be just as loud if not louder than the EVGA 670 you had (unless that 670 had a defective fan and was just extra loud). the reason being not only that you'll have 2 cards, but your cards will be very close together, so the fans on your top card will be running at high speed almost all the time, even on idle. since any air it's taking in will have already been heated by the back of the card beneath it. if you manually crank up your fan speed to around 70-80%, I think that would be the level of noise you should expect from SLI

Hmm, sounds like if I am serious about sli, I should steer clear of the ASUS Top with my mobo. Perhaps I should look at getting a Gigabyte Windforce OC 680 , though they run significantly hotter than the ASUS (and louder under load). Or maybe i'll wait for ASUS to fix the problems with their 670 tops being unstable (and for them to be available at their actual msrp).

 

[larkspur]

Perhaps I should look at getting a Gigabyte Windforce OC 680

On your board, two windforces will be a LOT quieter than two DCIIs and should run cooler too (because of what vmem described above). SLI will add additional noise when under load but it shouldn't be enough to bother you when wearing headphones.

 

[radiomir]

Best answer selected by radiomir.