Hey guys, I did a quick search but didnt find what I needed to know, so here goes ... I have SLI Gigabyte GTX460 OC 1g cards in my PC and the temps from 1 GPU to the next are vastly different when running anything that opperates in SLI. Running EVGA Precision to monitor the results over a 10 min duration each .. Room temp is 22c @idle GPU1 runs 40-45c .. Fan @40% GPU2 runs 32-35c .. Fan @40% @100% load GPU1 runs 95-99c .. Fan @100% GPU2 runs 60-65c .. Fan @60% Edit: Individualy the cards run 70-72c with Fans @65% My second test was to see how the temps go at idle with Fans @100% The result, I must say, was more than strange ... @idle and Fan @100% (10 min run) GPU1 .. Decreased to 39c, then went up to 48c after 5 mins .. GPU2 .. Decreased to 29c, then went up to 37c after 5 mins .. Umm .. WTF ? .. During this test, the PC / GPU's remained 100% IDLE .. Edit: Setting fans back to 40% reduced the GPUs back to normal idle temps Anyone care to explain this strange outcome ? Now I do understand that GPU1 will be hotter due to drawing heat from GPU2, restricted airflow between cards etc. Swapping the cards around gave the same result. But should it be 30-40c higher @100% load than GPU2 ?
Airflow was my 1st thought also, but I can asure you there is plenty of fresh air getting in from the front 2 fans and the hot air is removed by another 2 fans on the rear/top. I even oppened the case and put a 12" desk fan blowing directly into it with only 5 degree difference in results on the GPU temps. Other than GPU1 being restricted by GPU2, there is definetly no other airflow restirctions in my case.
If the cards are using a reference style cooler....100% fan speed is in the area of "diminishing returns".....anything above 80% becomes less effective as speed increases. If you're using this card: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125345 It's probably a case where the top card is simply pulling too much hot air from the lower card...
My cards have a dual fan setup, similar to the one you linked to, but without the full surrounds .. There is a lot more space for the fans to draw fresh air .. As I said I do understand that GPU1 will be hotter due to drawing heat from GPU2 .. But should it be hitting 99/100c which is 30c+ higher than GPU2 ?
No can do atm, I dont have the SLI addapter to fit it That is the next thing on my plan to purchase. Funny thing is, I have been running with a Single card for a couple days now to see how things go and to be honest, I havent noticed any major difference in game performance. Maybe I'll just sell these off and get a better single card solution.
I have exactly same gpu's in SLI as you. Similarly, GPU1 runs around 10c hotter than GPU2 when SLI is being used. Both GPU's are also oc'd further from the default factory oc. However, in any application using SLI, the max temperature GPU1 gets to is around 70c where as GPU2 hovers around 60c. I've set the max fan speed to 82 in MSI Afterburner.
I would be interested to see your results by running your cards at 100% load using Furmark ... This is where my GPU1 seems to be cooking itself, as GPU2 sits comfortably at 60-65c During games in SLI, I now see that both GPU's never reach 100% load and the temps are sitting more around 80c for GPU1 and 55c for GPU2 .. Still, the diference from both GPU's seems a little large... Are you using PCI 1&2, or PCI 1&3 ?
Ok .. I have been thinking about this for a while now and I have decided its time to move onto water cooling. This will eliminate the overheating problems and also reduce the noise from my PC .. I've had a look myself, but there are just way to many options for me to decide which is the best way to go. System: CPU: i7 920 MB : Gigabyte EX58-Extreme GPU: Gigabyte GTX460 OC in SLI My case has 3x empty Drive bays to fit the radiator into. Since I have never had anything to do with Watercooling, can anyone suggest a good kit to start with, that will suite the setup I have ? If there is a system anyone can recommend for my PC, I would be very greatful
Did the factory leave masking tape between the GPU and the heat sink? They did on mine. See here: http://forums.guru3d.com/showthread.php?p=3957658
No, no tape anywhere ... I think the cards are working just fine, as by themselves they both run 'normal' temps under full load. Its only when I have them in SLI that the top card reached crazy temps compared to all the reports I have seen from various hardware sites. As stated above, both cards heat up to 90c+ if I have them in PCI slot 1 and both cards run at 60c-70c in slot 2, regardless of which one is on top .. It is definitly an airflow issue with Slot 1 drawing heat directly from the back of the card in Slot 2 .. But as I have tried everything I can think of and there is nothing else I can try to correct this problem other than going Watercooling..
