MSI’s New 3-Way, 4-Way SLI Bridges Have Fans

[kewlguy239]

MSI launched two new SLI bridge kits for 3-way and 4-way multi-GPU system configurations designed for use with the company’s GeForce GTX 900-series graphics cards.

MSI’s New 3-Way, 4-Way SLI Bridges Have Fans : Read more

 

[thundervore]

If you have enough money for 3 way SLI and 4 way SLI then chances are you have enough money for a custom liquid loop. This SLI bridge with fan bracket is just a band aid to an issue they will have to revisit in the future.

So why, why in the hell would someone want another fan in their system just circulating the same hot air....

 

[koga73]

I think it's a pretty good idea. Not everyone wants to deal with water cooling.

 

[thor220]

Kind of late, SLI bridges won't be required for Pascal.

 

[ZeusGamer]

Kind of late, SLI bridges won't be required for Pascal.

How do you reckon we won't be needing SLI bridges on Pascal GPUs? I don't recall them using NVLink for consumer grade GPUs yet.

 

[alidan]

If you have enough money for 3 way SLI and 4 way SLI then chances are you have enough money for a custom liquid loop. This SLI bridge with fan bracket is just a band aid to an issue they will have to revisit in the future.

So why, why in the hell would someone want another fan in their system just circulating the same hot air....

yea, and every 6-12 months you have to rip everything apart and clean it and hope to god you put it all together right. id rather make a custom extension for my pci slots and have an extra fan out the back pulling air out that way and funnel it through the back of my desk to somewhere where where it wont get sucked back into the case.

ah the joys of having a 3d printer and being able to do this with very little hassle.

 

[wifiburger]

that picture look like a cube from hell ! 7 fans ! MSI put waterblocks and re-take the picture,

 

[twstd1]

I think it looks bad A$$. If I could afford 3 or 4 SLI I'd want that in my system.

 

[junkeymonkey]

cheapskate like me would just zip tie a fan in place and call it good to go with any cards using the ''free'' bridges I get with the motherboard .. how much is that gimmick gone a cost to ''look cool''

 

[ZeusGamer]

cheapskate like me would just zip tie a fan in place and call it good to go with any cards using the ''free'' bridges I get with the motherboard .. how much is that gimmick gone a cost to ''look cool''

Agreed. Also, a setup like this isn't just going to cool a GPU significantly. Doubt it'll change the GPU temps at all really.

 

[Unolocogringo]

If you have enough money for 3 way SLI and 4 way SLI then chances are you have enough money for a custom liquid loop. This SLI bridge with fan bracket is just a band aid to an issue they will have to revisit in the future.

So why, why in the hell would someone want another fan in their system just circulating the same hot air....

yea, and every 6-12 months you have to rip everything apart and clean it and hope to god you put it all together right. id rather make a custom extension for my pci slots and have an extra fan out the back pulling air out that way and funnel it through the back of my desk to somewhere where where it wont get sucked back into the case.

ah the joys of having a 3d printer and being able to do this with very little hassle.

Back when running SLI GTX 460s ,I did the same thing.
Removed all of the PCI slot covers. Then drilled and mounted a 120mm fan on the exterior of the case as exhaust.A couple plastic Shrouds for top and bottom of the fan. Temps dropped 10c for the top card and 5c for the bottom card.

 

[hpram99]

If you have enough money for 3 way SLI and 4 way SLI then chances are you have enough money for a custom liquid loop. This SLI bridge with fan bracket is just a band aid to an issue they will have to revisit in the future.

So why, why in the hell would someone want another fan in their system just circulating the same hot air....

If you have enough money for 3 way SLI and 4 way SLI then chances are you have enough money for a custom liquid loop. This SLI bridge with fan bracket is just a band aid to an issue they will have to revisit in the future.

So why, why in the hell would someone want another fan in their system just circulating the same hot air....

If you have enough money for 3 way SLI and 4 way SLI then chances are you have enough money for a custom liquid loop. This SLI bridge with fan bracket is just a band aid to an issue they will have to revisit in the future.

So why, why in the hell would someone want another fan in their system just circulating the same hot air....

Not sure why you're at -2 but I agree. Even on modest terms for 3-way SLI you're looking at $1000+ in cards. Fluid dynamics are difficult, a fan does not exactly cool by blowing, it works by effectively relocating cold and hot air. I really can't see how a fan just blowing on hot things in the middle of a hot case is worthwhile.

 

[rantoc]

Ran quad sli in the past and had my case moded with a powerful sidefan to blow into the cards. Aided the cooling pretty well

 

[gondor]

It's "Zarathustra", not "Zarathrustra".

 

[jerdle]

lol, this just tells me NVidia plans on requiring SLI bridges again for their NEXT generation of GeForce cards too. I'm sure they'll catch up to AMD one of these days.

 

[g00ey]

Well, I'm not a fan.

 

[Guest]

"Kind of late, SLI bridges won't be required for Pascal"... Not everyone is going to be jumping all over Pascal GPU's upon their release or even down the immediate road; i.e. say, GTX 900 series owners.

 

[lp231]

This idea already exist. It's called a side panel case fan.

 

[JackNaylorPE]

Agreed. Also, a setup like this isn't just going to cool a GPU significantly. Doubt it'll change the GPU temps at all really.

About 10C based upon my experience. The typical SLI setup results in the top card being 10C hotter than the bottom card. In a typical case flow scenario, testing with a fog machine shows a situation similar to what is seen here (1:00 mark) except there is no air flow between the cards.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkRJsjuvQVY

I put a fan on the back of the HD cages on our SLI builds to perform this very function and it results in an immediate and effective 10C drop on the top card. As for water, ... and I say this as an avid water cooler typing from a water cooled SLI system, there is no performance reason for water cooling with the 9xx series cards. Your, as well as the card manufacturers, hands are tied both legally and design wise as to voltage modification.

And the design is so efficient that there is no thermal barrier to be erased with water cooling. You gain no advantage bringing the GPU down from 65-75C to 50C when the throttling point is 85C. And if using a CLC, our chances of diminishing the cards overclocking ability may be diminished as many do a poor job of VRM cooling which is what usually limits OC'ing on air cooled cards.

So yes, this will undoubtedly improve the cooling on air cooled, especially the top card. That is not why this thing exists however. This is a "wow" feature and it exists primarily for shows and for modders ... those doing exacting builds where aesthetics is a primary criteria. If you are picking components where the RAM, MoBo and GFX card colors are of more or equal consideration, or you are paying price premiums for other aesthetic improvements,your not gonna balk at the cost of the bridge.

 

[rostrow416]

Doing 3 or 4 way SLI means water cooling is the best way to go. Just throwing another fan in the middle of these isn't going to help much.

 

[photonboy]

Side fans do help. I wish people would do actual research rather than just guess at stuff:
https://www.pugetsystems.com/labs/articles/Side-Panel-Fans-Are-They-Worth-It-102/

"We have known for a while now that side fans can greatly increase system cooling, especially in relation to video cards and chipset. "

(and the CLOSER you are to the thing to be cooled the better. An SLI-mounted fan can focus the air flow where it's needed... )

A dekstop case isn't ideal anyway, but this is the next best thing to liquid cooling.

(Curious to see what's required to keep Polaris and Pascal cool.)

 

[burkhartmj]

Side fans do help. I wish people would do actual research rather than just guess at stuff:
https://www.pugetsystems.com/labs/articles/Side-Panel-Fans-Are-They-Worth-It-102/

"We have known for a while now that side fans can greatly increase system cooling, especially in relation to video cards and chipset. "

(and the CLOSER you are to the thing to be cooled the better. An SLI-mounted fan can focus the air flow where it's needed... )

A dekstop case isn't ideal anyway, but this is the next best thing to liquid cooling.

(Curious to see what's required to keep Polaris and Pascal cool.)

The issue here is that if you're buying such a flashy SLI bridge, you're probably showing it off through a window. How much airflow can you get through a solid piece of glass? What you linked is about side fans built into the case panel, which means there's guaranteed access to external air, that's not the situation here.

 

[Alan Caldwell]

Nice idea by MSI

 

[thundervore]

I see a lot of comments here about side fans gives improvement but there is a tradeoff.

What most do not understand that if you buy something like this then chances are that you are showing it off through a side window.
Where are the cases with side windows that have vents on the side window in 2016? None, and if there is a case with a side window vent then chances are that there is no dust filter which means more dust in the system specifically in the cards since they are so close together.

So in a typical setup what ends up happening is that cool air comes into the front of the case, it then exhausts out of the top and back.
A side fan in a case that does not have vents on the side window means it will just circulate the hot air inside the case.
If you have a side window with a vent then chances are it is not dust proof.

I would understand if this was used with rear blower cards to get the heat out of the case but these are open air cards that will just pump hot air into the case.

 

[JackNaylorPE]

Side fans do help. I wish people would do actual research rather than just guess at stuff:
https://www.pugetsystems.com/labs/articles/Side-Panel-Fans-Are-They-Worth-It-102/

I was thinking same thing.... as I said in the post immediately above:

1. Adding a fan on back of HD cage dropped tip card by 10C (in windowed case)

2. Water cooling does squat for performance on 9xx series cards.... Unless you use a poor quality case w/ inadequate air flow, you simply can't get the GPU temp to the throttling point.