GTX 680 SLI high temps / noise

[Deleted member 106413]

Hello,
I bought yesterday my second GTX 680 from ASUS, the DIRECTCU II triple-slot version.
I put it in my case, just to see the temps skyrocketing and the fans starting to spin hell-fast lol.
I think the problem here is that the two cards are both triple-slots and the airflow is not that much since there is about 1-2mm between the two cards.
I have a Coolermaster HAF 932 Advanced case with a Noctua NH-D14 CPU cooler and a Sabertooth Z77 motherboard. In total I have 6 fans in the case. 3 of them blow air out of the back for the CPU heat, the top one blows hot air through the top, the side one blows out, and the front one blows in.
I really don't know what to do. I might be able to swap the second 680 with the dual slot version from ASUS and get a single slot of space between the two, or I could swap the cooler of the top card with something like the Arctic Accelero Hybrid, so that the temps are at least a little lower.
Please let me know what you think, and sorry for the messy description ^^

 

[Deleted member 106413]

Anyone?

 

[KapiteinKoek007]

what are your temps when gaming/idle/multimedia ? if they are not that high, like in mid 70°c you can always adjust the FAN profile to reduce the noise, and remember hot air rises.... so maybe you can get the side fan to blow air in as the back fans and top fan are already blowing hot air out or as a last resort remove the sidepanel.. see if that helps..

 

[ruff0r]

what are your temps when gaming/idle/multimedia ? if they are not that high, like in mid 70°c you can always adjust the FAN profile to reduce the noise, and remember hot air rises.... so maybe you can get the side fan to blow air in as the back fans and top fan are already blowing hot air out or as a last resort remove the sidepanel.. see if that helps..

I think it is rather the noise that brothers him in combination of high temps.

 

[KapiteinKoek007]

well yeh that's why i suggested adjusting the fan profiles IF the Temps where not that high....

 

[ruff0r]

Anyone?

My own approache on your problem. 2x MK-26

 

[KapiteinKoek007]

yes spending money is also a solution!

 

[ruff0r]

yes spending money is also a solution!

Nearly silent and also very cool 45c° in bf3

 

[KapiteinKoek007]

those are wicked temps my man... my gtx570 oced to 930 mhz core is around 60-65°c in BF3... not bad if u look at the overclock and in bf3 i don't care about sound.. the jets/heli's/tanks/guns are always louder then twin frzr III fans

 

[ruff0r]

those are wicked temps my man... my gtx570 oced to 930 mhz core is around 60-65°c in BF3... not bad if u look at the overclock and in bf3 i don't care about sound.. the jets/heli's/tanks/guns are always louder then twin frzr III fans

You card is probably running at nearly 100% all the time so your temps are majorly fine, mine are caped at 120 fps running both nearly 50-60% load only when playing bf3

 

[Deleted member 106413]

what are your temps when gaming/idle/multimedia ? if they are not that high, like in mid 70°c you can always adjust the FAN profile to reduce the noise, and remember hot air rises.... so maybe you can get the side fan to blow air in as the back fans and top fan are already blowing hot air out or as a last resort remove the sidepanel.. see if that helps..

Yeah, the problem is that the temps of the top card reach ~83°C with the fan spinning at 75%, while the lower one stays relatively cool at ~73°C with the fan almost not spinning at all, say 40%. I already trtied playing with the fan profile but I can either have a card that is always 95°C with a low noise, or maybe get 80°C while destroying my ears.

My own approache on your problem. 2x MK-26
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v110/ruffy1234/GTX SLI 680/20130712_135356_zpsa203795a.jpg

What is that? I've NEVER seen such an aftermarket cooler. So that's basically an improved heatsink, with the possibility to mount any combination on 2x140mm / 2x120mm? That could be a cheaper solution than the hybrid cooler I was thinking of buying. Do you think this cooler would be better / less noisier than the ASUS DCU2 (which I think is one of the best, if not the best VGA cooler on the market)?
Oh and by the way, what fans do you have connected to the MK-26?

 

[ruff0r]

What is that? I've NEVER seen such an aftermarket cooler. So that's basically an improved heatsink, with the possibility to mount any combination on 2x140mm / 2x120mm? That could be a cheaper solution than the hybrid cooler I was thinking of buying. Do you think this cooler would be better / less noisier than the ASUS DCU2 (which I think is one of the best, if not the best VGA cooler on the market)?
Oh and by the way, what fans do you have connected to the MK-26?

Yes and yes but ....you will have the same problem as i have...3 slots the cooler itself is 2,5 slots no way to mount any fans on the top card if you use SLI.

I myself have an open air case :x so my fans lay on top of both cards ...well at the moment one big 200mm fan blowing from above down on them

 

[KapiteinKoek007]

You card is probably running at nearly 100% all the time so your temps are majorly fine, mine are caped at 120 fps running both nearly 50-60% load only when playing bf3

yep while playing bf3 @ 1900x1200 all settings maxed out, the card is almost always around 80 85 % usage which is weird... i get around 75 fps and when it's total chaos ingame round 50 fps. Usage is around 95 to 100 then not bad for a single gtx570

 

[ruff0r]

yep while playing bf3 @ 1900x1200 all settings maxed out, the card is almost always around 80 85 % usage which is weird... i get around 75 fps and when it's total chaos ingame round 50 usage is around 95 to 100 then not bad for a single gtx570

Multiplayer is very much CPU Based performance capped.

 

[Deleted member 106413]

Yes and yes but ....you will have the same problem as i have...3 slots the cooler itself is 2,5 slots no way to mount any fans on the top card if you use SLI.

I myself have an open air case :x so my fans lay on top of both cards ...well at the moment one big 200mm fan blowing from above down on them

Oh, so you have just the heatsink, without any fans on any of the two cards? And you get 45°C with a passive cooler basically?

 

[ruff0r]

Oh, so you have just the heatsink, without any fans on any of the two cards? And you get 45°C with a passive cooler basically?

One 92mm fan in front near the VRM section to make sure they stay cool.

 

[Deleted member 106413]

One 92mm fan in front near the VRM section to make sure they stay cool.

Wow, that's impressive. Anyway, I don't think I'm going to get nearly as good temperatures in my Coolermaster HAF 932 Advanced, and my MB doesn't have a slot between the two cards so that would also be a problem (Sabertooth Z77).
I might trow a bunch of money for a new MB and a couple of these coolers to give it a try, or I might just sell both 680 and go for a 780 right now (less performance, more compatibility / less heat and noise).

 

[ruff0r]

Wow, that's impressive. Anyway, I don't think I'm going to get nearly as good temperatures in my Coolermaster HAF 932 Advanced, and my MB doesn't have a slot between the two cards so that would also be a problem (Sabertooth Z77).
I might trow a bunch of money for a new MB and a couple of these coolers to give it a try, or I might just sell both 680 and go for a 780 right now (less performance, more compatibility / less heat and noise).

Same thought here...but to be honest...you would lose performance just a bit...but i would wait for the 790GTX as a single card.

While playing WoW

 

[Deleted member 106413]

Same thought here...but to be honest...you would lose performance just a bit...but i would wait for the 790GTX as a single card.

While playing WoW
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v110/ruffy1234/sagdasgs_zps53d798eb.png~original

Wow, that's REALLY good What do you think is the major component that helps with the temps, the heatsinks or the open air case? And what room temps do you get after say a couple of hours of game?

 

[ruff0r]

Wow, that's REALLY good What do you think is the major component that helps with the temps, the heatsinks or the open air case? And what room temps do you get after say a couple of hours of game?

The open Air case man. Just the massive air around it no heat stacking up also the heatsinks are pretty heavy on they own. Room temp at the moment is 24C° and it goes up to 25-26 in the summer while gaming without opening a window XD yes done that before.

Not to miss understand me The cooler on the Asus DC2 is pretty good. the only problem you have is the Space in between the cards the first cards fans just can´t breath good enough anymore otherwise both cards would run like your second card!

 

[Deleted member 106413]

The open Air case man. Just the massive air around it no heat stacking up also the heatsinks are pretty heavy on they own. Room temp at the moment is 24C° and it goes up to 25-26 in the summer while gaming without opening a window XD yes done that before

Lol I'm getting 27-28°C max but here in the summer it can be pretty hot. About the open air case, I've seen the Antec Skeleton which seems reasonable for my needs or the LIAN LI PC-T60B which seems better made. One thing I NEED though, is 3 3.5" HDD slots + 1 2.5" SSD slot, and I have no idea if one os those two has them (gotta check).
What about the cable management and dust on the case? Those seem to be the biggest problems of an open-air case.

 

[Random Murderer]

I read the entire thread, but this sticks out to me:

In total I have 6 fans in the case. 3 of them blow air out of the back for the CPU heat, the top one blows hot air through the top, the side one blows out, and the front one blows in.

You're running negative pressure. You need more intake than exhaust to create a positive pressure environment.
Looking at the case on Newegg, I don't understand how you have three fans mounted on the back. There's only one fan mount on the back.
Personally, I would make the rear fan and the top fan your only exhaust fans. You have to keep in mind the PSU always exhausts and GPUs normally exhaust, but with GPUs that don't exhaust their hot air, it just gets circulated around the case until it's forced out. In a negative pressure setup like yours, the coolers(all of them, CPU, GPUs, etc.) are fighting for fresh air. In a positive pressure setup, you have so much air being drawn into the case that it forces the hot air out of any openings it can find while supplying fresh air to the components that need it.
That's the theory, at least. It doesn't always work that way, but I have always had better temps with positive pressure. On my current system, I have three intakes and three exhaust, but because my intake fans are high pressure and high CFM, I still have more air being drawn in than is being exhausted, even by three case fans, three 7970s, and my PSU(which can't really be counted in my case since it draws air in directly from outside of the case and then immediately blows it out of the back).

 

[Deleted member 106413]

I read the entire thread, but this sticks out to me:


You're running negative pressure. You need more intake than exhaust to create a positive pressure environment.
Looking at the case on Newegg, I don't understand how you have three fans mounted on the back. There's only one fan mount on the back.
Personally, I would make the rear fan and the top fan your only exhaust fans. You have to keep in mind the PSU always exhausts and GPUs normally exhaust, but with GPUs that don't exhaust their hot air, it just gets circulated around the case until it's forced out. In a negative pressure setup like yours, the coolers(all of them, CPU, GPUs, etc.) are fighting for fresh air. In a positive pressure setup, you have so much air being drawn into the case that it forces the hot air out of any openings it can find while supplying fresh air to the components that need it.
That's the theory, at least. It doesn't always work that way, but I have always had better temps with positive pressure. On my current system, I have three intakes and three exhaust, but because my intake fans are high pressure and high CFM, I still have more air being drawn in than is being exhausted, even by three case fans, three 7970s, and my PSU(which can't really be counted in my case since it draws air in directly from outside of the case and then immediately blows it out of the back).

About the 3 fans blowing out of the back, I meant the back fan of the case + the 2 fans of the CPU cooler And the top and rear fans are the only ones exhausting air, all the others push air into it.

 

[the54thvoid]

Step up to the mantle and be brave:

http://www.ekwb.com/shop/blocks/vga...0-series/ek-fc680-gtx-dcii-acetal-nickel.html

If you're considering a new mobo to get better spacing, buy 2 waterblocks and the required peripherals and stick em under water.

 

[Random Murderer]

About the 3 fans blowing out of the back, I meant the back fan of the case + the 2 fans of the CPU cooler And the top and rear fans are the only ones exhausting air, all the others push air into it.

But you said the side fan is an exhaust, too.
Whichever way the side fan is blowing, you want it to be an intake.

Step up to the mantle and be brave:

http://www.ekwb.com/shop/blocks/vga...0-series/ek-fc680-gtx-dcii-acetal-nickel.html

If you're considering a new mobo to get better spacing, buy 2 waterblocks and the required peripherals and stick em under water.

And you could always just do that as well, lol.