What methods are effective for cooling your SLI setup?
What methods are effective for cooling your SLI setup?
Hi. Does anyone have a good idea on how I can properly cool my SLI gtx 970 configuration? I've got the Gainward ones, non-phantom (http://www.gainward.com/main/vgapro.php?id=954). They're heating up pretty quickly, seeing temperatures at around 80 - 85°c on full load, which I'm most definately not comfortable with. I have looked at AIO cooling for these, but available space in my chassis is very limited right now. Are there any good custom blowers I can mount on these?
Also, i'm currently running my i5-7600k at 4.8ghz at stock voltage, idle temps are averaging at 43°c and full load with prime 95 v26.6 is < 75°c. The current cooler is Hyper 212 Evo. Should I upgrade my cooler to an AIO solution before pushing the chip further?
Thanks in advance
Hey - I understand this has been a few weeks, and since it hasn't been addressed yet, I thought I'd contribute...
The cards you have are blower coolers, which is great for SLI because they expel most of the heat from the back of the case.
But you'll notice that blower coolers tend to run hot or cooler with a significant amount of noise.
For example, my GTX660s in SLI operate at 73c with a high fan speed, so they stay warm but produce a lot of sound (it sounds like two hairdryers working together) to achieve the cooling effect. Mine maintain similar temperatures since my motherboard has an empty slot between the cards, allowing both to breathe more freely.
I don't think your cards are broken—it's just how it is...
The airflow around your setup is a concern... A common issue with SLI is that it tends to push air out through the sides and can draw in warm air. Additionally, the top card often feels warmer than the lower one. One fix I discovered is ensuring proper ventilation inside the case. Adding fans to direct airflow can help... Also, placing fans on the top and back can efficiently expel hot air, preventing the GPU from reusing that heat...
Hey - it's been a few weeks now, and since it hasn't been addressed yet, I thought I'd contribute... The cards you have are blower coolers, which is great for SLI because they expel most of the heat from the back of the case. But you'll notice they tend to run quite hot, or they might run cooler but with a lot more noise. My GTX660s in SLI operate at around 73°C when using high fan speeds, so they stay warm but produce a significant amount of sound (it sounds like two hairdryers running). On the other hand, mine maintain similar temperatures because my motherboard has an empty slot between the cards, allowing both to breathe more freely. I don't think your cards are broken—it's just how blower coolers work. I recommend using MSI Afterburner and setting up a custom fan profile that boosts fan speeds when temperatures exceed 70°C. It might get noisy, but it's likely the best option available. Temperatures between 80 to 85°C for a GPU are usually fine and not a major concern. Regarding SLI top card versus bottom card, do you have any space between them? Some boards force the cards together, limiting airflow for the top one. Still, the top card often gets hotter due to usage patterns, and SLI tends to make it even hotter, possibly because it also needs to sync the GPUs and send signals to the display. So your CPU is at 4.8GHz—amazing! For voltage, avoid going over about 1.35V, as that could cause overheating and possible damage. A better cooler would help lower temps further, though the Hyper 212 is already handling it well. I only think about pushing overclocks if you raise the voltage significantly. If you reach 1.3V or higher, an air cooler would be beneficial, but high-end options like the Noctua NH-D15 should perform similarly, maybe even better. At this point, you're likely reaching at least 5GHz. Hamster