Hi,
 
I just recently purchased a second GTX 570 SC and have placed them on the first and third slot to keep temps down. I have a slight overclock of 825 with card 1 @ 1.050 (factory voltage) and the other at 1.013 v. ( I found this weird since first card came so high default ...  any thoughts?)
 
So I have ran heaven, furmark 11, oc scanner and no artifacts ... but in Idle and in gaming I have a delta of 10C even while both are at the same GPU usage. Is this normal? Temps never go above 79C in stress tests ... (too high??)
 
Should I place the cooler card with lower voltage on the first slot to be the primary card for SLI?
 
Any help greatly appreciated! 
 
Thank you!
 
CM Storm Sniper
I7 920 @ 4 ghz 1.31v 
6 GB RAM @1600 Mhz
2 GTX 570 SC @ 825/1950
Corsair 850HX
WD 750 GB Caviar Black
WD 2 TB Caviar Green
 

Correction: My lower voltage card runs cooler than my higher voltage inversed them. I apologize

elmaizal


Hi,

I just recently purchased a second GTX 570 SC and have placed them on the first and third slot to keep temps down. I have a slight overclock of 825 with card 1 @ 1.050 (factory voltage) and the other at 1.013 v. ( I found this weird since first card came so high default ...  any thoughts?)

So I have ran heaven, furmark 11, oc scanner and no artifacts ... but in Idle and in gaming I have a delta of 10C even while both are at the same GPU usage. Is this normal? Temps never go above 79C in stress tests ... (too high??)

Should I place the cooler card with lower voltage on the first slot to be the primary card for SLI?

Any help greatly appreciated! 

Thank you!

CM Storm Sniper
I7 920 @ 4 ghz 1.31v 
6 GB RAM @1600 Mhz
2 GTX 570 SC @ 825/1950
Corsair 850HX
WD 750 GB Caviar Black
WD 2 TB Caviar Green

Have you flashed your cards with the latest "Firmware & Fanspeed unlocker" specifically for your cards?  If & when you do, your voltages will match.  Do you have more than 1 monitor attached to your 1st GPU?  Also on temps, 79c is well within acceptable limits.  I personally make sure mine never exceed 80c, but that's my preference.  Some might say 85c for their max, but if you're staying under 80c, you'll be fine. 
 
1 other note: If you're using Precision, you can set an automatic fan curve for yourself to keep your cards even a bit cooler under load.  That is unless your 79c temp is with fan speed already at 100%.
 

Thank you for your reply!
 
I had completely forgotten to update the firmware since I had an RMA that had it and skipped my mind.
 
Have flashed successfully but are still with 10C difference after 3dmark 11, heaven benchmark ... no artifacts ... 
 
Should I reseat the heatsink and apply better thermal paste?
Or is this completely acceptable to have the cards running at different idle and load temps ... which are safe ...
 
BTW 79C Fan @ 72% so have plenty of head room but hate the noise.

elmaizal


Thank you for your reply!

I had completely forgotten to update the firmware since I had an RMA that had it and skipped my mind.

Have flashed successfully but are still with 10C difference after 3dmark 11, heaven benchmark ... no artifacts ... 

Should I reseat the heatsink and apply better thermal paste?
Or is this completely acceptable to have the cards running at different idle and load temps ... which are safe ...

BTW 79C Fan @ 72% so have plenty of head room but hate the noise.

Hey, no problem...10c is quite a difference.  When you see that difference while benching, is the GPU usage rate the same on both cards?  Or is the card running cooler being used less?
 

elmaizal


Thank you for your reply!

I had completely forgotten to update the firmware since I had an RMA that had it and skipped my mind.

Have flashed successfully but are still with 10C difference after 3dmark 11, heaven benchmark ... no artifacts ... 

Should I reseat the heatsink and apply better thermal paste?
Or is this completely acceptable to have the cards running at different idle and load temps ... which are safe ...

BTW 79C Fan @ 72% so have plenty of head room but hate the noise.

If your GPU usage is about equal & you still have that 10c gap, it wouldn't hurt to re-apply some new thermal paste.  Might even want to do both right away if you're doing 1 anyway.
 
EDIT: Just had 1 other thought.  Is it possible the card running that much cooler is just getting that much better air flow to it?  Just a thought...
 

Aside from the thermal paste, I'd also look at the air flow. Are there any restrictions over the fan (like cables, etc)? What does the rest of your air flow look like in your case? If you have decent air flow, and you have the latest software, maybe the thermal paste will fix it. Also, you said you RMA'd a card - is the RMA card the one running hotter? Also, from a temp standpoint, i think you are fine if that is what you are hitting while stressing. I have my three 580's OC'd to 875 and, during gaming, don't go above 65. While stressing, I usually get to about 78-79 on my middle card. Lastly, on the temps, it really is a point of personal comfort. Everyone is going to have a different comfort level. For me, 79 under stess is just fine. Others may tell you higher or lower.

Thanks for the replies!!!
 
I have excellent airflow inside the case with one card at idle regardless if first pci or third @ 32 C. 
 
In regard to reapplying thermal paste I would like to do this as a worst case scenario since I am not 100% comfortable removing the heatsink but will do it if necessary. Any thermal compound suggestions?
 
I have already flashed the new bios with no help in regard to temps except I can crank up fan up to 100%.
 
My RMA card is actually the one that has the 32C at idle temps; its the other one that worries me that it is a precursor to it failing and leaving with my planed 3d vision monitor without SLI and terrible framrates ...
 
Thanks for suggestions guys; gonna monitor over the weekend and take out the toolkit worst case scenario if changing slot position and undervolting (only if stable of course) dont work.

elmaizal


Thanks for the replies!!!

I have excellent airflow inside the case with one card at idle regardless if first pci or third @ 32 C. 

In regard to reapplying thermal paste I would like to do this as a worst case scenario since I am not 100% comfortable removing the heatsink but will do it if necessary. Any thermal compound suggestions?

I have already flashed the new bios with no help in regard to temps except I can crank up fan up to 100%.

My RMA card is actually the one that has the 32C at idle temps; its the other one that worries me that it is a precursor to it failing and leaving with my planed 3d vision monitor without SLI and terrible framrates ...

Thanks for suggestions guys; gonna monitor over the weekend and take out the toolkit worst case scenario if changing slot position and undervolting (only if stable of course) dont work.

No problem.  Sounds like a plan.  As far as thermal compound, I have always had good luck with Artic Silver, but I'm sure there are other brands also good. I believe EVGA has there own brand also that's good.  Maybe do some browsing through the forums here, I'm sure you'll read some reviews from users about what's good to.  Good luck!
 

Case environment plays a pretty big factor in the card temps. Before putting my new 550 in this brand new build over the weekend, I had it in my stock hp case, usually seeing temps around 74c under full load (clocked at 1015). Now with this new case, I have the exact same clock settings and even playing some of my most demanding games (witcher 2, skyrim with hd textures, all on max/ultra settings in both the game and card control panel etc..) I have yet to see my card hit anything above 60c. I really can't believe it makes that much of a difference. So I would really look at the airflow for everything in your case, maybe even replace/add a fan or two if your able, and see if that helps. Like said before me, I'd also check to see if there is anything that might be in the way of getting cooler air through the card. Thermal paste "might" help, but really doubt that is going to end up being your "fix-all" for this. I have found that its better for air to move in from the front and side of a case, and then exhaust it out the back and top (if possible that is). A well ventilated area with minimal dirt/dust in the area is also optimal. Sure those temps are well within the max operating range, but heat is also the enemy, and cooler is better (as I'm sure your well aware lol). Let us know how you end up doing!

The top card will always be hotter than the bottom card because of the heat coming off the back of the pcb on the second card. I had that with my 8800gtx's and had with my 260's, but I put a fan pointed towards the first card and noticed a 5c difference in temps immediately. You should try adding an extra fan pointed towards the entrance of the fan on the first card.

ki11joy92


The top card will always be hotter than the bottom card because of the heat coming off the back of the pcb on the second card. I had that with my 8800gtx's and had with my 260's, but I put a fan pointed towards the first card and noticed a 5c difference in temps immediately. You should try adding an extra fan pointed towards the entrance of the fan on the first card.

That could very well be what your experience has been, but it's not "always" the case.  It would depend on your case, air flow, & mobo layout.  I say this because both my 580's run at most 1c different at idle & under load.  And it was the same when I ran tri 470's with a 430 for my extra monitors.  Now if you run 2 monitors off your 1st GPU, then yes, at idle your GPU won't downclock so will run warmer.