Low profile nvidia GPU?

[Castiel]

I am looking to get a low profile, very cheap (under £50 or as low as possible) nvidia Dx11 GPU to power a second monitor used generally for 1080p MKV.....and act as a physx processor.....I have a OC'd GTX580 currently powering a 1920x1200 monitor and a 1920x1080 monitor so suffer from high idle temps, a second GPU would solve this.

I tried my old GTX285 but as it blocks the airflow to the GTX580 it defeats the purpose really and I still had high idle temps......so obviously any GPU must be small enough not to restrict airflow to the GTX580.

Anyway, I've upped the fanspeeds on the GTX580 for now and had a look around around at another 1920x1200 monitors etc....but I'm not ready to go sideways on a monitor right now....so suggestions please?

 

[Castiel]

No recommendations at all?

I was looking at GT520 and GT430....But I'm not sure how they will drive a 1920x1080 monitor for 1080p mkv and decent HW acceration for bluray et al...

 

[Cleeecooo]

GTX 460 off the MM?

They're circa £70 and still very powerful cards.

Also, physx is pointless!

My 570 can power two monitors on its own, unless you want 3, your 580 alone will be fine

 

[Castiel]

GTX 460 off the MM?

They're circa £70 and still very powerful cards.

Also, physx is pointless!

My 570 can power two monitors on its own, unless you want 3, your 580 alone will be fine

I want to reduce the idle temps....i realise that the GTX580 is capable of running both monitors, but with either idle temps of 65C+ or increased fan noice to compensate I want to negate both by buying a cheap low profile card....

I don't want to buy from the second hand market.....and besides the GTX460 is too large and too expensive even second hand.....as it would block the airflow to the GTX580....like I said in the OP I have a GTX285 I used but that blocks airflow which in turn raises the temps of the GTX580 so defeats the purpose somewhat.

 

[Cleeecooo]

65 idle is abut high?!

40-45 would be about right!

A GT430 would do just fine.

My 570 currently handles two 1080p monitors at around 46 and it has a crappy Cooler on it.

also, can't you move your current card down a slot?

If you're worried about temps, I'd replace the cooler on your 580

 

[Castiel]

65 idle is abut high?!

40-45 would be about right!

A GT430 would do just fine.

My 570 currently handles two 1080p monitors at around 46 and it has a crappy Cooler on it.

also, can't you move your current card down a slot?

If you're worried about temps, I'd replace the cooler on your 580

Single monitor temp is about 40c......add a second and the card is permanantly in low-level 3D mode and doesn't downclock...hence the higher temps.....

Moving the GTX580 down a slot won't change that and the GTX285 will not fit in the 3rd slot.....

Replacing the cooler will negate my warranty, something I don't want to do...neither do I want to take apart a £400 GPU with the risks that implies.

The problem with the GTX580 is that it is factory overclocked, yet has the reference cooler....simply to add a cheap low profile second card than spending the same on a new cooler and the risks of installing it....

 

[Cleeecooo]

I know why the temps are higher with two monitors!

By moving down a slot, I was talking about the 285, although that's not an option

Can I ask, which make an model is it? A lot of manufacturers don't care about you removing the cooler and OcUK are happy to carry out an RMA even If you tell them you've removed the cooler.

Setter or rrof said an Antec spot cool hugely improved their temps, maybe try that?

But as I said, the 430 will be fine running that second monitor. Heck, even intell 3000 graphics can do that!

 

[Alicarve]

why not underclock it then with msi afterburner?
65c is hot for idle sure is it free of dust and has ample airflow to it?

physx wise if you get another card you might even see a drop in performance with that budget, but if not maybe the gt430 as someone else has reccomended?

 

[Castiel]

I know why the temps are higher with two monitors!

By moving down a slot, I was talking about the 285, although that's not an option

Can I ask, which make an model is it? A lot of manufacturers don't care about you removing the cooler and OcUK are happy to carry out an RMA even If you tell them you've removed the cooler.

Setter or rrof said an Antec spot cool hugely improved their temps, maybe try that?

But as I said, the 430 will be fine running that second monitor. Heck, even intell 3000 graphics can do that!

It is a POV Charged GTX 580..........

There is a dirty great big sticker warning that you will invalidate the warranty if you remove the cooler.

I have a HAF932 with excellent airflow across the case....extra fans and good ambients.

why not underclock it then with msi afterburner?
65c is hot for idle sure is it free of dust and has ample airflow to it?

physx wise if you get another card you might even see a drop in performance with that budget, but if not maybe the gt430 as someone else has reccomended?

Airflow is good, it is a new card so no dust issues.....it seems a relatively common issue when running two monitors at different resolutions....

I have tried underclocking with AB, but while that reduces temps a bit (55c) it is a clunky and not ideal.....I use AB at the moment to control the fan speed instead.

The second card doesn't have to process the physx, it would primarily to run the second monitor for 1080p mkv and accelerating video playback......and of course to reduce the idle temps on the GTX580 which are around 40c when driving my 27" Dell, but jump 20c when driving a second monitor.


I assume that everyone thinks the GT520 is no good then?

 

[Cleeecooo]

Go for whichever is cheaper. They'll both perform the same

 

[Alicarve]

if your not running games the gt520 will be fine

 

[Castiel]

Games I will use the GTX 580 for.....

 

[setter]

The spotcool works well with multi gpu setups. But, due to running dual monitors your still gonna get high idle temps. Im on a single screen. Due to board spacing, the topmost card will run higher because the airflow is impeded by the bottom card.

Gtx 470's with spotcool.

Running gtx 460 sli in another machine, very closely spaced, therefore a lot warmer than the 470's. Which have a reputation for being notoriously hot.

460 sli

 

[Castiel]

The spotcool works well with multi gpu setups. But, due to running dual monitors your still gonna get high idle temps. Im on a single screen. Due to board spacing, the topmost card will run higher because the airflow is impeded by the bottom card.

That is what I found with adding the full size GTX285 into the mix.....the top card was still suffering high idle temps...but the load temps increased as well.

I have an added 1200rpm 120mm fan blowing cool air directly onto the GPU already.....with a reduction of around 5c-8c on the idle temps, but they are still 10c-15c above the downclocked idle....

I am hoping a low profile card driving the second monitor will negate both issues.

 

[Castiel]

Ok, I have messed about a bit with fans and added the GTX285 back into the system......preliminary temps seem to be around the 42c-50c (sitting around 45c at the moment) on idle for the GTX580 and with a load...(Skyrim 1920x1200 Ultra settings) maxing out at around 72c......

Fan speeds are lower at around 40% to 70% depending on load. currently (45% at 45c)

That would seem ok.....don't you think?

 

[Cleeecooo]

Ok, I have messed about a bit with fans and added the GTX285 back into the system......preliminary temps seem to be around the 42c-50c (sitting around 45c at the moment) on idle for the GTX580 and with a load...(Skyrim 1920x1200 Ultra settings) maxing out at around 72c......

Fan speeds are lower at around 40% to 70% depending on load. currently (45% at 45c)

That would seem ok.....don't you think?

eein as the stock cooler is pretty quiet until 80%, i'd say that's alright!

 

[Castiel]

eein as the stock cooler is pretty quiet until 80%, i'd say that's alright!

Thats what I thought.

Thanks for the advice people.