GTX 580 To GTX 680 Worth It???

[kanej2007]

Originally Posted by ---TK---

hopefully they will mod newer drivers so you wont be stuck with an old driver.
BTW set gpu 2 as the physics setting

Yeah, I will look out from time to time for newer drivers as it should offer improvements & fixes...

I've set gpu2 as the physics setting...

Originally Posted by lucidus

Wow this is a first .. didn't know about the modded driver! Good for you though!

Yeah, it was the ONLY thing that worked & if it wasn't for the modded driver I'd have to sell one of the 2 cards as there is no easy way around the problem.

By the way I took some screens & fps, was just wondering if they seem good or not for 2 580's...

Also why does gpu1 reach upto 90 degrees and gpu goes to only 55? Does the hardware monitor readouts seem normal for both gpus?

[WhiteLightning]

the card has no room for heat dispense, thats why its heating so much, the fans are basicly against the backside of the other card. which is also heating.
90 is quite hot though. i have the same card and mine is max 70 when gaming. (with oc).

if you swap the cards around will give that more room ?

[Veteran]

Look at your picture,GPU 1 is sandwiched between GPU 2 with no gap at all so there is less airflow getting to GPU1 than GPU2,thats why its hitting 90 degrees,its the same with any cards that are sandwiched,would be better if you could drop GPU 2 down into another slot so more air gets to GPU 1,make sure your case is well ventilated also.

[---TK---]

set an aggressive fan profile, there is literally no room between the cards

[WhiteLightning]

Originally Posted by ---TK---

set an aggressive fan profile, there is literally no room between the cards

can he do that though, since they are different cards with different fans and such

[lucidus]

Got ninja'd by White & Veteran ... exactly what they said. There's no way for the heat to exit the case. That's a shortcoming of custom cooling on the graphics cards, they dump the heat into the case. It's a Saturday today, I hope you have a holiday because you have your work cut out for you Your crysis 2 and Alan Wake numbers look normal to me.

Originally Posted by WhiteLightning

can he do that though, since they are different cards with different fans and such

He technically can do it but like you said, they're different coolers .. not a good idea. Better off with a side vent or switching slots or may be doing something about nearby cables.

[---TK---]

http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/Int...1155/P8Z77_WS/
you need a new m/b with those huge cards

[WhiteLightning]

hmm no room indeed. i would sell the DCII, since its 3 slots and the other 2. then get a duplicate. its still a bit tricky if its a 3gb one though

[---TK---]

Originally Posted by WhiteLightning

hmm no room indeed. i would sell the DCII, since its 3 slots and the other 2. then get a duplicate. its still a bit tricky if its a 3gb one though

I`m guessing the asus is 1.5gb and the other is 3gb

[kanej2007]

Originally Posted by WhiteLightning

if you swap the cards around will give that more room ?

Possible, however, swapping the cards should definately improve temperatures by at least 20-30%

Reason being the second GPU (Inno 3D 3Gb GTX 580) has the custom Arctic Cooling cooler which is one of the best you can buy. Idle temperatures are around 38 and load temps are 50-60...

Originally Posted by Veteran

if you could drop GPU 2 down into another slot so more air gets to GPU 1,make sure your case is well ventilated also.

Yes, as WhiteLightening suggested, I will swap cards as it should improve temperatures. As for the case it's well ventilated.

Originally Posted by ---TK---

set an aggressive fan profile, there is literally no room between the cards

Correct, the gpu's are mm apart & almost touching. I will increase the fan speeds as this should keep temperatures below 90. Current fan speed was just 65%

Originally Posted by WhiteLightning

can he do that though, since they are different cards with different fans and such

Yes, it's possible though I think when changing fan speeds it only changes the speed of the first gpu & not the second.

After swapping gpu's I will know, just have to try and hear if the second gpu produces and more noise at the time of increasing the speed.

Originally Posted by ---TK---

http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/Int...1155/P8Z77_WS/
you need a new m/b with those huge cards

Yeah, a new motherboard will improve temperatures & provide me with more space. Which other motherboards can you suggest that are spacious having enough room for 2 gpu's as well as a dedicated sound card? Using my own Asus Xonar card is a must as I'm against onboard sound.

I have no budget for a new motherboard only want the best of the best.

I was looking at the Titan & the Rampage series motherboards, which would be the BEST for overclocking, cooling & having a $hitload of space?

Originally Posted by ---TK---

I`m guessing the asus is 1.5gb and the other is 3gb

Correct, the very first card is the Inno3D 3Gb GTX 580 with the custom artic cooler having triple fans & the second gpu is the Asus 1.5Gb.

I will swap cards & report back with any news.

[kanej2007]

Quick question guys, it it normal from the first gpu to run far hotter than gpu2?

From what I'm seeing gpu1 reaches upto 90 degrees whilst the second gets no hotter than 50-60, why?

Any other way I can tell if SLI is 100% working as it should? Thanks.

[---TK---]

gpu 1 is running way too hot because it is being choked by the other card. I only see a 6-8c difference betwwen my 580`s. you can choose the sli indicator in the CP. it will be a green graph at the left of your screen

[lucidus]

My first card does run a couple degrees warmer but your delta is abnormal .. do something about the airflow.

[kanej2007]

Originally Posted by lucidus

My first card does run a couple degrees warmer but your delta is abnormal .. do something about the airflow.

Yeah, my 2 cards are almost touching!

I however noticed a HUGE difference in performance, especially in Crysis/Crysis Warhead.

Previously with a single GTX 580 fully maxed I was getting between 30-50 fps on average.

Now I'm getting between 77-90 fps, never went below 77 fps & I've never had the pleasure of maxing Crysis while playing it at constant smooth frame rates!

When I mean fully maxed I am running the game at 1920x1080, everything on gamer & both AA & AF were 16X.

Crysis 2 strangely gets a minimum of about 100fps and an average of 110-130fps...

Max Payne 3 fully maxed an average of 116 fps...

Mafia 2 gets over 300 fps!

[INSTG8R]

Originally Posted by kanej2007

Yeah, my 2 cards are almost touching!

I however noticed a HUGE difference in performance, especially in Crysis/Crysis Warhead.

Previously with a single GTX 580 fully maxed I was getting between 30-50 fps on average.

Now I'm getting between 77-90 fps, never went below 77 fps & I've never had the pleasure of maxing Crysis while playing it at constant smooth frame rates!

When I mean fully maxed I am running the game at 1920x1080, everything on gamer & both AA & AF were 16X.

Crysis 2 strangely gets a minimum of about 100fps and an average of 110-130fps...

Max Payne 3 fully maxed an average of 116 fps...

Mafia 2 gets over 300 fps!

You Sir need to learn the joys of V-synch
You now have the horsepower to run games at a solid 60fps at all times. That really is "the goal"

[aayman_farzand]

You should swap the positions. Your GPU2 has a better cooler so it'll handle the additional heat way better than the DCII + there'll be a gap between the cards.

[kanej2007]

Originally Posted by INSTG8R

You Sir need to learn the joys of V-synch
You now have the horsepower to run games at a solid 60fps at all times. That really is "the goal"

Haha, yeah, I tried several games both with vsync on & off, never dipped below 60fps and when vsync is enabled all games get 100+ fps.

Originally Posted by aayman_farzand

You should swap the positions. Your GPU2 has a better cooler so it'll handle the additional heat way better than the DCII + there'll be a gap between the cards.

Yeah, I did this & temps are better. Also increased fan speed from 65% to 80%

Temps are now under 90 when playing an intense game such as Crysis 2/Battlefield 3. Other games not so graphically demanding only make the gpu go to around 74.

Here are some screens with vsync enabled, what a difference it made, I'd say a good 40-60% difference depending on the game. All games were fully maxed in all screens.

Aliens Vs Predator 2010 (DirectX10)



Battlefield 3





Bioshock 2



Half-Life Lost Coast



Left 4 Dead 2



Sniper Elite V2

[WhiteLightning]

do you have metro 2033 ?

[lucidus]

Kane, looks like you're set for, at the very least, 2 years

[---TK---]

you might want to enable some eye candy man lol. aa, af etc. my rig is almost the same as your and I am not seeing those fps. I do max out my games though, max in game settings

[kanej2007]

Originally Posted by WhiteLightning

do you have metro 2033 ?

Yeah, tried it but doesn't look like it likes an SLI setup, well for me that is.

I'm getting around 60fps fully maxed.

Originally Posted by lucidus

Kane, looks like you're set for, at the very least, 2 years

Haha, yeah, thanks.

Originally Posted by ---TK---

you might want to enable some eye candy man lol. aa, af etc. my rig is almost the same as your and I am not seeing those fps. I do max out my games though, max in game settings

Yeah I might do so, why not?

[INSTG8R]

What monitor and resolution are you running at? Stilll putting in my protest to run V-Synch. I dunno about you but I can't stand tearing and at those framerates it's gotta be tearing something fierce.

[---TK---]

I run v-synch off myself

[WhiteLightning]

Originally Posted by INSTG8R

What monitor and resolution are you running at? Stilll putting in my protest to run V-Synch. I dunno about you but I can't stand tearing and at those framerates it's gotta be tearing something fierce.

have fun with mouse lagg and source games

[INSTG8R]

Originally Posted by WhiteLightning

have fun with mouse lagg and source games

Never noticed it outside of one game I play, the Hunter but they tacked on V-synch as an afterthought. It made imouse response a little bit slower. Turned up the mouse sensitivity a notch, problem solved