Help with hot 560s in SLI

[Jon]

Hi, I realise that running 2 560s in SLI was never going to be chilly. But the fan noise is driving me nuts and I want to try and lower the temps. I have 2 x Palit Sonic Platinum 560s (they have the single fan coolers).

In a room of around 28 degrees they idle: lower card at 39, upper card at 44. During gaming I've seen them as high as 95 upper and 86 lower. For some reason 95 seems the limit so I'm not sure if the card is throttling at that point. But at 95 degrees the fan is screaming at 100%.

From what I've read, +10 degrees on the upper card is about normal for SLI. So far, I've swapped the cards round, temps are still the same (so its not just that one card). I have 2 large intake fans and 3 large exhaust fans on my case. I also have a fan over the GPU area. If I have the GPU area fan blowing on the cards it adds about +4 degrees. If I have it drawing air off the cards I get +2 degrees. It actually seems better with no fan.

At the moment I have the side off the case and the top card temps are still in the 90s. I've been reading about reapplying a decent thermal paste. Will this help enough to justify removing the warranty stickers over the heatsink screws?

[Rollo]

The best way to fix this is more slots between the cards if you have 3 PCIE on your motherboard. (or to get a motherboard with 3 PCIE)

I had two Palit 560Tis and that Sonic heat pipe design is a little thick for a lot of mobos.

[Spartan 117]

Also, the type of computer case you have has a large impact on temperatures too. If your case has poor airflow, then that could be the source of all the heat. I myself have a Cougar Evolution case and it's great, I'm running 2 GTX 560 Ti's in SLI and a GTS 450 for PhysX and they all stay below 70 degrees on full load.

[Jon]

Hi, I think the space between the pci-e slots is definitely an issue. Last night whilst they were running at 89 / 79 degrees I turned the fan speeds up manually. The temps dropped to 86 / 66! This was under heavy load. So it seems theres nothing wrong with the actual cards, just the bottom card heating the top one.

I only have 2 x pci-e slots (other than 1x slots)... so I can't move the card over either. This is my mobo:

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showpr...=5&subcat=1990

I've currently got the side of the case off and I've tried a strong 120mm fan all around the cards but in most cases it increases the temp by 4 degrees and at best lowers it by 1 degrees.

Although, I have managed to get them to 80 / 65 by putting them back to stock speeds, lowering the voltage to 1000mv and having the fans on 75%. But at 75% the fans are really irritating.

Would this fit / help?

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showpr...=57&subcat=787

This is the card I want to fit it to:
http://www.guru3d.com/article/palit-...atinum-review/

[Rollo]

Yep, doesn't help to blow cooler air on the top of the shrouds of two cards jammed together.

Can't comment on whether the Gelids would help. They are good, but if they're not a lot thinner installed, you'll be in the same boat with the whole back side of your bottom card radiating heat up into your intake.

I like more space between cards and Raven cases to let heat radiate up personally. (or water cooling)

[Viral]

If you go for an aftermarket cooler save your money and just get one for the hottest card. I think it's worth a go, especially if it's slightly thinner.

[Jon]

Well, I think I'm happy with the temps and cooling solution. Its just the noise I'm not happy with. So what if I removed the shroud and fan and replaced it with a quieter 12cm fan that shifts roughly the same amount of air?

As long as I match the CFM of the fan would that work?

Also, am I right in thinking these fans blow onto the heatsink rather than exhausting off it?

[Jon]

Well, I've measured and an aftermarket cooler would put the fans literally touching the back of the lower card.

What if I got one of these:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/PCI-Expres...ht_1822wt_1037

Hopefully I can move the top card higher (I don't have space to move the bottom lower because the psu is mounted in the bottom). Would the extra slot space make a big difference?

Or what if I put a sheet of acrylic (like you'd use for a case window) between the two cards? Or is this more likely to start a small fire?

[Rollo]

The slot space between the card allows your side fan to push cooler air between the cards for use cooling the top card. Spacing of PCIE slots is one of the most important factors when considering a SLi/CF motherboard.

[john19055]

If you can put a 12cm or 14cm fan above them this will cool it quite a bit ,I had three GTX 470's and bought a case that has a clear window on it ,but it did not have a side fan cut in it ,so I measure it so the fan would fit right above all three and brought my tempertures down by 10 to 15 degrees,But the fan nosise got to me so I took the middle one out.Now I keep my fan set at 65% and even running them at 750/1500/1800 they get no hotter then 74c to 78c.

[batterbrain101]

Running 2 EVGA GTX 560 Ti SC in SLI, Asus M4N98TD-EVO mb with 1 slot of space in between them (slot plate removed to help exhaust air) so it sounds like I have more room between the cards.

I have an Antec P-160 performer case modded with a ducted 170mm Xigmaqtek fan blowing half it's airflow to the bottom card the other to the rest of the case. 120mm in the front with a 92mm in front of that for just the gpu,s Corsair H-70 exhausting the cpu heat (that alone dropped case temps by 20 deg F), Corsair HX750W psu with a 120mm fan and a 140mm Xigmatek in the top of the case exhausting. Running F@H temps are 62 deg C bottom, 46 deg C top with ambient @ 74F or 24.3 C Gaming sees both at around 66 C to 70 C so proper airflow makes a huge difference. Pic attached.

Card space:


Case: