Possible GTX 780 3 way SLi setup ?

[Gripen90]

So my plan has from the start been going 3-way SLi with GTX 780 . However the plan was going with 3 cards with the reference cooler, but now I've gotten an offer on a nearly unused MSI GTX 780 TwinFrozr Gaming OC 3GB card for £404, and saying yes to this is very tempting.
However it uses the the TwinFrozr cooler, and I'm wondering if the type of cooler will cope with a 3 way SLi setup ? and due to the nature of the cooler and the card as far I can see can only be bottom mounted in a 3 way SLi setup since there is a bar from the cooler that will interfere with a standard 3 way SLi bridge that isn't flexible.
You can see what I mean on this picture.

I have the setup like this now, and with the MSI GTX 780 TwinFrozr I would place that as bottom card and the two reference card in the upper PCI-E ports. Although do you think there will be enough "breathing" room for the TwinFrozr cooler to cool the GTX 780 ?



I just want to hear if any of you have tried 3 way SLi configuration like this and if it's problem free ?

 

[Tonester0011]

They'll be plenty of room there for that kind of cooler, the actual card will still run cooler than the blower style coolers.

 

[Gripen90]

Yea I think there will be ok breathing room for the TwinFrozr cooler - I just had a tape measure inside and theres around 2.3cm breathing space down to the PSU. I'll see if I can snatch that MSI GTX 780 TwinFrozr Gaming OC 3GB card and make a good deal !

 

[Kaapstad]

I would try before you buy, things may get a bit toasty with one card dumping all it's heat into the case.

 

[whyscotty]

After running 3 Titans on air for a while, I would say heat will be a issue.(IMO)

Mine where hitting mid to high 80's and that was with good air flow and all cards expelling heat out the the case

If your going to get a 3rd card I'd get one to match your existing cards.

 

[Gripen90]

I would try before you buy, things may get a bit toasty with one card dumping all it's heat into the case.

Hmm unfortunately that's not really possible since we live to far from eachother and I doubt he'd agree to ship the card just for testing first. So it would be a purchase and then selling it again if it's a no go.
I didn't think about that about the bottom card dumping heat into the case, eventhough it's highly ventilated (8x120mm & 2x80mm fans).

I've seen another guy running 3x EVGA GTX 780 ACX in 3-way SLi, and asked him what kind of temps he's getting, but he hasn't answered.

After running 3 Titans on air for a while, I would say heat will be a issue.(IMO)

Mine where hitting mid to high 80's and that was with good air flow and all cards expelling heat out the the case

If your going to get a 3rd card I'd get one to match your existing cards.

Yea it's was quite the same with my 3x GTX 670 reference cards before the max temp was about 85 centigrades for the hottest of the cards.

Hmm should I try or not... it's not like many are selling 780 reference cards at the moment and £400 is tempting.

 

[oldestgregg]

Your best bet is to put the twin frozr on the top and a ref card on the bottom so the bottom cards sucks air in and dumps it from the case out the rear whilst the top card isnt kicking out warm air into another cards path,so to speak. Those twin frozr cards are awesome by the way. Got mine yesterday and I love it! Its quiet as a mouse and has no problem reaching 1200mhz and 7ghz mem.

 

[Gripen90]

Your best bet is to put the twin frozr on the top and a ref card on the bottom so the bottom cards sucks air in and dumps it from the case out the rear whilst the top card isnt kicking out warm air into another cards path,so to speak. Those twin frozr cards are awesome by the way. Got mine yesterday and I love it! Its quiet as a mouse and has no problem reaching 1200mhz and 7ghz mem.

That cannot be done unfortunately. You see the metal bar on the twinfrozr card will interfere with the non flexible SLI bridge so i can't mount the sli bridge so far i see.

 

[Orangey]

Do you own a Dremel?

 

[Kaapstad]

Thinking about it, paying the extra for another reference GTX 780 could be the best move. Not only would you avoid excessive heat problems, it also gives you the option of going watercooled at a future date.

 

[bemaniac]

this should be ok but reference coolers are best for cards next to each other as they rear exhaust. I tried 3 in a line of the windforce cards and they just dump it in the case and throttle after even 10 seconds however normal cards were fine.

 

[Gripen90]

Do you own a Dremel?

Unfortunately not. But cutting would also void the warranty.

Thinking about it, paying the extra for another reference GTX 780 could be the best move. Not only would you avoid excessive heat problems, it also gives you the option of going watercooled at a future date.

I have given the heat a thought but theoretically then shouldn't two GTX 780 twin frozr card then disperse a lot more heat into the case than one Gtx780 twin frozr and two GTX 780 reference cards ?

As for H2O cooling in my system that will not happen since I'm paranoid about water and electricity together.

 

[Kaapstad]

I have given the heat a thought but theoretically then shouldn't two GTX 780 twin frozr card then disperse a lot more heat into the case than one Gtx780 twin frozr and two GTX 780 reference cards ?

In one of my PCs I have two Asus Matrix Platinum HD 7970s on a RIVE mobo which leaves a gap beween them. When running flat out I leave the side panel off as the heat generated with it on makes all the tubing to my CPU waterloop sag and the level in the res drops noticeably.

If you run 3 cards together with no gaps the heat build up could be quite large. The only to find out though is to try it unless someone else has already done it.

 

[Gripen90]

In one of my PCs I have two Asus Matrix Platinum HD 7970s on a RIVE mobo which leaves a gap beween them. When running flat out I leave the side panel off as the heat generated with it on makes all the tubing to my CPU waterloop sag and the level in the res drops noticeably.

If you run 3 cards together with no gaps the heat build up could be quite large. The only to find out though is to try it unless someone else has already done it.

I have run sli with gtx 460 windforce and gtx 660 twin frozr in a sound dampned fractal r3 case where the temps were ok. Around 60 centigrades in load...but it may be different with these hotter cards. I haven't found any one with experience from mixing cards with reference and third party coolers, so I guess I'll take the jump and try setting the msi gtx 780 twin frozr as bottom card and then watch the temperatures for all the cards.

 

[Gripen90]

So I said yes to the card for £400. I'll mount it at the bottom and will monitor the temperatures and check if the hot air will get out of the case fast and not build up any exces heat inside.

 

[Nadleeh]

I think putting the TwinFrozr card at the bottom is ideal. I run 2x GTX 660 TwinFrozr card in a sound dampned Fractal Define R3 case and have 2x120m intake fans, 1x 120mm bottom intake fan and one rear 1x120m rear exhaust fans. Both card dissipate hot air into the case but the temperatures are still very good. Both GPU's around 65 centigrades in load.

 

[Gripen90]

I think putting the TwinFrozr card at the bottom is ideal. I run 2x GTX 660 TwinFrozr card in a sound dampned Fractal Define R3 case and have 2x120m intake fans, 1x 120mm bottom intake fan and one rear 1x120m rear exhaust fans. Both card dissipate hot air into the case but the temperatures are still very good. Both GPU's around 65 centigrades in load.

Well I'm giving it a go nevertheless. Putting the Twinfrozr in the bottom position and then I hope the 2x 120mm exhaust fans in the top of the case and the 1x 120mm in the rear will be able to pull out the hot air quickly enough so the case won't heat up more than normal.

 

[Gripen90]

Hmm weird and annoying situation. Seems like the seller cheats and stalls me with bad excuses. Card should have been shipped Monday, then delayed to Tuesday, then I don't hear from him until yesterday that writes he hope he can ship today. Our deal was I would get the card Wednesday at the latest. Luckily I paid via PayPal so now I'm in the process of claiming my £400 back.
It's very strange since it was he from whom I bought my other MSI GTX 780 reference card with no issues.

 

[dakotha]

Hi,

I've been thinking 3-way on 780s as well. I've had 8800 Ultras, GTX 280s, GTX 285s and GTX 580s in 3-way SLI. Though I never got the 580s to work properly in 3-way SLI, they were overheating all the time regardless of fan speeds or fans in the case. But on the other hand it was not a great surprise as the previous setups had run at nearly 100 degrees C anyway while gaming..and yes, that was normal for them.

Some thoughts...

This had kept me thinking if it's worth the trouble again as 780s tend to throttle easily in 2-way already if not kept at manual fan speed. Probably would need a custom BIOS to set the fan at 100 % instantly under load. Another thing is that in our rather small apartment, the whole apartment would get very warm after 20 minutes . I have Asus 780 reference cards. Also going from 2-way to 3-way is sometimes a punch into face, as it needs a substantial improvement in case cooling and a hefty PSU.

I only game at 1920x1200 but the benefit of 3-way SLI for me has been the increased minimum FPS and huge gains in particular games. Some games on the other hand...

I am also thinking about going to a 120 Hz monitor later on.

 

[Gripen90]

Hi,

I've been thinking 3-way on 780s as well. I've had 8800 Ultras, GTX 280s, GTX 285s and GTX 580s in 3-way SLI. Though I never got the 580s to work properly in 3-way SLI, they were overheating all the time regardless of fan speeds or fans in the case. But on the other hand it was not a great surprise as the previous setups had run at nearly 100 degrees C anyway while gaming..and yes, that was normal for them.

Some thoughts...

This had kept me thinking if it's worth the trouble again as 780s tend to throttle easily in 2-way already if not kept at manual fan speed. Probably would need a custom BIOS to set the fan at 100 % instantly under load. Another thing is that in our rather small apartment, the whole apartment would get very warm after 20 minutes . I have Asus 780 reference cards. Also going from 2-way to 3-way is sometimes a punch into face, as it needs a substantial improvement in case cooling and a hefty PSU.

I only game at 1920x1200 but the benefit of 3-way SLI for me has been the increased minimum FPS and huge gains in particular games. Some games on the other hand...

I am also thinking about going to a 120 Hz monitor later on.

You'd get more response if you post your own thread regarding that topic