Phoebus

Hi all, first post to Overclock.net -- hope this is the right forum for this topic.

I am having a heat issue since adding a 2nd 8800 GTX card to my system -- hoping to get some advice from the experts. Symptoms include freeze-ups, BSoDs, and lower frame rates during gaming (primarily CoD4) after about 30-60 minutes of play. GPU core temps seem to be around 88 to 101 when this happens, as best I can tell. I'm using HWMonitor and GPU-Z to monitor temps. I'm pretty sure these are heat issues, because if I leave the side panel off the case, I don't see these issues.

I have a Gigabyte 3D Aurora 570 case, which I generally like, but I think this case is contributing to my excessive heat issues. Here is a photo of my SLI setup:



I think the heat issues are due to a few factors:
- the 8800 GTX is a beast when it comes to heat
- installing a 2 slot graphics card in the bottom PCI-E slot doesn't leave much room for air intake / output for the card (maybe an inch), and there is very little air movement at the bottom of the case due to the next point
- the 120mm intake fan on the 570 does not move enough air because it is blocked by the front panel and the sideways-mounted drive cage.

This leaves a lot of heat and very little airflow at the bottom of the case. I've taken several steps to try to alleviate this:
- replaced the stock Gigabyte fan with a Scythe S-Flex 64 cfm / 1600 rpm fan
- removed the air filter on the intake fan assembly (it was the plastic kind, very restrictive)
- attached an 80mm fan to the outside of the drive cage to help draw air into the area and blow directly across the bottom card.
- added a Silverstone 3x 5.25 drive bay 120mm fan (this has helped my CPU temps but doesn't do much for the GPUs)
- added a PCI slot cooler fan below the top card

Here is a photo of the intake fan area, showing the drive cage blockage and 80mm fan added:



These efforts seem to have helped a little, but I'm still experiencing the problems noted above.

Have I missed anything obvious here? Here's what I'm thinking for next steps:
1. remove GPU shrouds, clean off stock thermal paste, and apply the correct amount of Arctic Silver 5 (is there a tutorial for this on the site somewhere?)
2. buy a new case with better airflow. Aside from taking a dremmel to it, I don't see any way to increase airflow in the 570.
3. buy aftermarket cooling for the GPUs. Somewhat reluctant to do this since I do eventually plan to water cool and don't want to waste money, but I'm not ready for that yet and need a short-term solution.
4. replace the side window of my case with the supplied mesh cover. Also reluctant to do this since it already sounds like I'm sitting next to a jet engine (plus I don't like the way it looks)

At the moment I am leaning towards 1 and 2: 1 because there is no cost, and 2 because I really think my case setup is the main source of the issue. I've been looking at the following case options: Cooler Master Cosmos S, Antec 900, and NZXT Tempest. I like the idea of a bottom-mounted PSU, and the top-mounted fans. I'd like to have a window if possible, as aesthetics are important to me as well.

Any ideas or suggestions? Apologies for the extra long post. TIA.

Mhill2029

When i had GTX's in SLI it was a problem also, what makes the largest difference is increasing the fan speed on the cards using Rivatuner 2.09.

Phoebus

Thanks Mhill, forgot to mention that I'm using Rivatuner to keep my fans at 100% all the time. That did make a big difference --dropped my idle temps about 5-8C.

Mhill2029

I was going to suggest 2x 80mm or 120mm fans on the side panel, then realised your side panel has no fans. That's a bit of a bummer.

Your side panel isn't helping dude, you need some fans on that. But that would require some modding.

Phoebus

Yeah, that's one reason I'm considering a new case -- with a side fan. Any suggestions on a case? I would like something roomy (used to a full tower), preferably with a window and a bottom-mounted PSU.

//.DK

you can do a pretty easy mod like what i did:

after my zalman mod on my 9800GTX, it had idled around 40-42C. But after installing two fans out of my junk bin, my temps stay 33-34C.

EDIT: jesus christ, I just noticed how warped my card is!

__________________

1 g0t 0wn3d

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811129025

you may want to take off the plastic covering on your 8800s and a intel stock fan fits on there with its clamps

Robilar

Here is what I did with my pair of 8800gtx

Attached Thumbnails

   

Phoebus

Robilar, do you have that fan blowing ON to the cards or drawing air FROM them? I could try this easily, as I have the extra 120mm Gigabyte fan that I replaced with the Scythe.

Johnnyfive

I don't have any issues with stock cooling on my GTS's. Antec 1200 case.