- Sep 24, 2012
- 16
- 0
- 10,510
Hey folks,
I'm running two ATI Radeon HD 6870 cards in Crossfire. They work like a charm, but I have serious problems with heat. If I play Borderlands 2, Skyrim, or anything else that is intensive, the fans crank up to full, but the temps continue to rise. They generally hold in the 80s, but last night during a Borderlands 2 session (which only lasted 20-30 minutes) they both reached 99 (according to Afterburner). I think the main issue is that the cards are very close to each other. Technically, a slot is between the two, but with the size of the cards and the heatsinks, separation is minimal.
My question is this: would it be worth my while to try to develop some type of cooling solution? I bought the cards a little over a year ago, so they are still solid cards (read: they do what I need them to do). Also, I'd like a solution that does not make my end of the bedroom sound like a jet runway. I'd like to be able to game without headphones and without disturbing the rest of the house.
If cooling is not viable, what would be an equivalent-to-slightly better upgrade? I really don't have a lot in the budget ATM, but could possibly eBay/sell one of the cards to fund it. I am tending to lean this direction, since I think it would help both the heat and sound issues. Any recommendations would be great!
Also, FWIW, I'm not an ATI fanboy, so I'm good with either brand for recommendations.
I'm running two ATI Radeon HD 6870 cards in Crossfire. They work like a charm, but I have serious problems with heat. If I play Borderlands 2, Skyrim, or anything else that is intensive, the fans crank up to full, but the temps continue to rise. They generally hold in the 80s, but last night during a Borderlands 2 session (which only lasted 20-30 minutes) they both reached 99 (according to Afterburner). I think the main issue is that the cards are very close to each other. Technically, a slot is between the two, but with the size of the cards and the heatsinks, separation is minimal.
My question is this: would it be worth my while to try to develop some type of cooling solution? I bought the cards a little over a year ago, so they are still solid cards (read: they do what I need them to do). Also, I'd like a solution that does not make my end of the bedroom sound like a jet runway. I'd like to be able to game without headphones and without disturbing the rest of the house.
If cooling is not viable, what would be an equivalent-to-slightly better upgrade? I really don't have a lot in the budget ATM, but could possibly eBay/sell one of the cards to fund it. I am tending to lean this direction, since I think it would help both the heat and sound issues. Any recommendations would be great!
Also, FWIW, I'm not an ATI fanboy, so I'm good with either brand for recommendations.
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