GTX 670 SLI Questions.

[adbee]

Just after a bit of advice really about my GTX670 SLI setup. Probably should have asked before I bought my second card.

I bought the MSI 670 power edition last year, and have just bought the standard overclock MSI 670 for SLI.

I have got the Rampage II Gene motherboard, so there is only two pci slots and the cards have to sit right on top of each other. I read that if I had two MSI Power Edition cards that the top card will just dump all the heat onto the bottom card. That's why I bought the standard overclock card, so it will dump the heat out of the back of the case. Is there any truth in this? Should I just of bought the power edition for £30 more? Would it make much difference in terms of performance?

The top card is the standard card, and the bottom is the power edition. My theory was the bottom card would blow air downwards and the top card would push it's hot air out of the case. As it is the top card is getting around 15 to 20 degrees hotter than the bottom card, getting to temps of 90c, the bottom card is hitting 70c, this is in Unigine Heaven. I have got the Cooler Master HAF full tower case so I don't think airflow is a problem.

I am gaming at 2560 x 1440, I have an i7 920 overclocked to 3.6ghz and 12gb ram. I have read a lot about bottlenecks, both of my cards in MSI Afterburner hit 99 max usage. Does this prove there is no bottleneck?

I will upgrade my processor and motherboard soon, and go for a full size motherboard this time. I have had the i7 920 for 4 years and it is still doing a great job and felt no need to upgrade.

Thanks for reading and will appreciate any advice given.

 

[wunkley]

I've got MSI PE 670 and and evga FTW 670 (one with the exhaust blower cooler). I have the MSI on top and the evga on the bottom.
I was advised that having the exhaust cooler on the bottom was more effective for airflow and my findings bear this theory out...

At idle both cards are the same temps, in gaming the evga runs about 5 degrees hotter on average. My Motherboard has a fairly decent gap between the 2 pcie slots though.

 

[Gripen90]

If both cards are neck by neck with just millimeters of spacing, the best cooling method it to mount the reference card at top an the non-reference at bottom, since the reference card can "breathe" better in such tight environments.

If you have 1-1.5cm spacing between cards, then swapping the cards around can be the better option so that the hot air from the reference card gets exhausted out of the case right away, while the hot air from the non-reference coolers will rise and get exhausted outside of the case via the case fans.

 

[kPATm]

I had Sli GTX 460 in my Maximus IV gen3 mobo and the gap betweebn the card was onlt about 2mm. No matter what I did I couldnt get the temp of the top card to drop by any noticable margin. The reason the top card gets hotter is because there is very little air in between the card to allow it adequate cooling and the air that is there is already hot as its being dumped by the card on the bottom. I would try the card that exhausts the air out the back on the bottom?

 

[adbee]

The cards are literally sitting on top of each other. So by the sounds of it they are in the right place with the reference card on top and the power edition on the bottom. If I put the power edition on top it is literally going to be blowing hot air straight down at the other card?

Well I have had heat problems in the past with my old case and one card, the system would crash. I have no signs of any crashing or artifacts so I am not overly concerned. Damn those reference cards are noisy though comparer to the twin frozr.

 

[adbee]

I have tried swapping the cards over, both cards got hot instead of just one of them.

I read somewhere to put a piece of paper or rubber in between the cards to keep them away from each other a bit more. Seems to have helped slightly.

Now getting 67c on one card and 83c on the other. I think I can live with that.

 

[Kippered]

I recently prucased a second Msi 670 OC edition. I've not done extensive testing yet but after running Valley and BF3 maxed i only recorded roughly 8-10°C difference in the card temps. Highest value of 70°C.

Mobo is an z77-U3Dh, so there isn't a massive amount of space between the cards, maybe 1" or so but i suppose that makes all the difference if your cards are literally stacked on top of each other.

 

[adbee]

I recently prucased a second Msi 670 OC edition. I've not done extensive testing yet but after running Valley and BF3 maxed i only recorded roughly 8-10°C difference in the card temps. Highest value of 70°C.

Mobo is an z77-U3Dh, so there isn't a massive amount of space between the cards, maybe 1" or so but i suppose that makes all the difference if your cards are literally stacked on top of each other.

Yes an inch would make a massive difference I have got roughly a cm lol

Are you finding the card really loud? It is doing my head in, thinking of returning it.

 

[setter]

I ran into the same problem with x2 windforce gtx 460's in an asus p6 x58 de board. The cards were a few mm apart. One hit 98c after a few seconds in a game. Thankfully my current 670's are in a board with better spacing.

 

[Kyle1987]

I have two MSI 670 power edition oc in SLI in my system and my top card runs around 8-10c more then bottom while gaming on game like bf3 ect. On idle they around 1 - 5c difference, I have about a 2cm gap between them on a z87 gigabyte sniper 5 board in a 600t case.

 

[adbee]

I have two MSI 670 power edition oc in SLI in my system and my top card runs around 8-10c more then bottom while gaming on game like bf3 ect. On idle they around 1 - 5c difference, I have about a 2cm gap between them on a z87 gigabyte sniper 5 board in a 600t case.

What sort of temperatures are you getting then max?