Best combination for SLI

[Nbuilder]

I have been reading that the best cards to use for SLI are blower-style founders edition because they dump the heat outside the case.

I am in the process of building a multi gpu system for rendering, and was wondering, if I am working with 2 cards. Would it not be better instead of getting 2x founders edition, to get one founders edition and put it below an open air card?

So you get the best of both worlds kind of thing?

I am building in an enthoo primo case and the cpu (5960x) will be air cooled by a D15s by the way and the card is to be a 1070.

So should I get both cards in FE editions or get one FE and one open air?

Many thanks.

 

[beany_bot]

I, personally would get two of the same card. It's just looks so much damn better.

As the partner cards don't exactly clock well then if you don't care about noise. Yes, in this instance I would say get 2 reference cards.

 

[Dirk Diggler]

You can use two non ref cards as long as you have good case airflow, and with your case that shouldn't be a problem. I've had sli G1 980s in the past and they sat around 60c in my Air 540.

 

[Tacitus]

You can use two non ref cards as long as you have good case airflow, and with your case that shouldn't be a problem. I've had sli G1 980s in the past and they sat around 60c in my Air 540.

Apologies for the thread hijack.

Which 980Tis do you have and what temps do they sit at? I also have an air 540.

Would you recommend that setup?

 

[Dirk Diggler]

Apologies for the thread hijack.

Which 980Tis do you have and what temps do they sit at? I also have an air 540.

Would you recommend that setup?

My 980ti's are under water (see link in sig).

It was 980's that I had on air, Gigabyte G1 Gaming. Personally, through past experience I wouldn't SLI unless under water regardless of air cooler available (reference or non reference).

 

[Tacitus]

My 980ti's are under water (see link in sig).

It was 980's that I had on air, Gigabyte G1 Gaming. Personally, through past experience I wouldn't SLI unless under water regardless of air cooler available (reference or non reference).

Why wouldn't you sli on air? Just the noise?

 

[Dirk Diggler]

Why wouldn't you sli on air? Just the noise?

It's possible to have both cards on air at acceptable temperatures, as I had with my 980s. A reasonable target would be mid 60s on both cards.

The problem is that you have two little space heaters pumping out heat, and the only way to keep the space heaters cool is to have the heat extracted out of your case. With an Air 540 and a motherboard set up for SLI on slots 1 and 3, it's possible to have the air extracted from the case at bearable sound levels... But ultimately, it's the heat that gets to me. After an hour of gaming, the cards are still working away perfectly in the mid 60s but the room is approaching Sahara levels.

With a custom loop, it's cool and near silent. Of course, it's a big financial outlay so I would only look at doing it with top end cards so that there's some longevity there. I expect to be swapping my 980ti for 1180ti at the earliest unless I've got some spare cash available.

I actually find two cards under water to be cooler and quieter than one card on air.

 

[Tacitus]

Two cards under water may be cooler on the core, but heat is heat and it has to go somewhere. The fact more of it is dissipated suggests more of it is distributed away from the case, ie, into your room. There isn't less electrical energy converted into heat energy in the first place.

I run a pair of 290xs and the room gets pretty toasty (no ventilation now). I am considering 1070 SLI or 980ti SLI, if it's significantly cheaper.

 

[Dirk Diggler]

Two cards under water may be cooler on the core, but heat is heat and it has to go somewhere. The fact more of it is dissipated suggests more of it is distributed away from the case, ie, into your room. There isn't less electrical energy converted into heat energy in the first place.

I run a pair of 290xs and the room gets pretty toasty (no ventilation now). I am considering 1070 SLI or 980ti SLI, if it's significantly cheaper.

On air, all of the heat is blown out of the case and into the room. Under water, most of the heat is absorbed by the water (raising it's temperature) and it's the heat from the rads that is blown into the room. So yes the room gets warm air whichever method, but with air it's 60C hot air being blown into the room whereas with water it's 30C air being blown off the rads and into the room.

If I was choosing between 1070 and 980ti, I'd go for 1070 seeing as you don't already own a 980ti.

 

[Tacitus]

On air, all of the heat is blown out of the case and into the room. Under water, most of the heat is absorbed by the water (raising it's temperature) and it's the heat from the rads that is blown into the room. So yes the room gets warm air whichever method, but with air it's 60C hot air being blown into the room whereas with water it's 30C air being blown off the rads and into the room.

If I was choosing between 1070 and 980ti, I'd go for 1070 seeing as you don't already own a 980ti.

Even if 980ti SLI worked out to be about £150 cheaper?

 

[Dirk Diggler]

Even if 980ti SLI worked out to be about £150 cheaper?

That's a decision for personal circumstance and opinion. All I can say is that I find 980ti SLI to be the best system I've ever had and it compliments my X34a and 3440*1440 resolution perfectly. I really can't see me changing them out for a 10 series setup of any kind, even a single 1170 when it comes around will struggle to best it by much, surely?

In short, I would buy the newer tech if I was buying from scratch right now but if the cost saving is important to you then 980ti SLI is the best alternative option without a shadow of a doubt.