Maximus V Formula & Asus GTX680 SLI Set Up

[Marwood2]

Hi, new here and just wanting to know a if anyone has had any heating issues with a Asus GTX 680 SLi set up on a Maximus V Formula Board? i currently have the Asus 680 OC and wanting to add another i currently have 1000w PSU is this enough? i7 3770k @4.4 16G Ram Thermaltake Armor Revo Gene Snow case, Samsung 120Hz 27" 3D Monitor any help, suggestions or information would be greatly appreciated....

[Chino]

Welcome to the ROG boards, Marwood2.

Typically in any SLI setup the top card will always run hotter than the bottom one (Assuming we're air cooling). Remember how they always teach us in Physics class that heat rises? But I don't think you'll have a major problem with heat considering the TT Armor Revo has a nice side fan for cooling SLI setups. Although you might want to check ths specs for that fan and see if it's adequate. There are many higher quality fans on the market for you to choose.

As for the PSU, 1000w is more than enough for a SLI GTX 680 assuming that it's a high quality unit from a respected manufacturer.

[Marwood2]

thanks for the fast reply, yes at the moment i have only the stock fans with the case as cooling, so i will upgrade to a quality fans. Done Also this is my PSU http://www.thermaltake.com.au/produc...?id=C_00001779
should be enough i hope
also what would be the max safe temps for these's cards under load?
is there anything i need 2 do extra to ensure i have a smooth transition to sli gtx 680.
not sure on the spacing between the bottom card and the PSU if this will also cause heating issues?
i only ask as this is my first computer build as i have always brought an of the shelf computer ready to go and currently i am enjoying this build, it becoming a drug atm...
i have also found this site very helpful and informative.
Keep up the nice work.

[Chino]

Not sure about the temperatures for that particular card. We might have to wait for someone who actually owns the card to drop in and give us that piece of information. But the first thermal throttle point for Kepler is at 70C so it might be wise to keep them under that. But with the monster cooling solution Asus put in those cards, you should have no problem achieving that.

You're equipped for for SLI, so I wouldn't worry about it. I don't know how you installed your PSU lol. The proper way is to install it with the fan facing down. If i'm not mistaken, you should be able to put another 120mm fan as intake at the bottom beside the PSU. That should help with the cooling too.

[rexbinary]

Your PSU looks great.

The maximum safe temperature for a 680 is 98C.

http://www.geforce.com/hardware/desk...specifications

The cards also auto-throttle and boost depending on their temperature and other factors such as power draw.

The cards are designed to work with multiple of them side by side and still be cool. So your power supply just being close to the cards should be fine.

I have two ASUS GeForce DC2 670s in SLI which are rated at a maximum temperature of 97C. Only under heavy stress (Heaven benchmark) testing the top card reaches 73C. Under normal gameplay (Battlefield 3 Multiplayer) the temperature is lower. My case has four intake fans and two exhaust fans for comparsion.

I think you will achieve similar results with your 680s and will be fine.

[Marwood2]

Cheers, guy's currently i have the fan on the PSU facing up (blowing into the case), So this will be corrected tonight, Thanks for the tip did not know this was incorrect
also i will add a good fan at the base aswell should this fan blow fresh air in or out including the side fan?
currently i draw air in from the front and in on the H100 and 1 single fan out at the rear...
Is this correct?
Also is there anywhere i can learn how to overclock these cards slightly or any setting that are safe i can use in the GPU Tweak?
i will upload some photos later today for any opinons or feedback which could be useful...
any cablemanagement help would also be great (for looks) as i have been looking at these bitfenix products http://www.bitfenix.com/global/en/pr...lchemy-cables/

[Chino]

The purpose of the fan inside the PSU is to cool the internal components. That's why it is recommended to have it facing down to draw in cooler air from the outside. The way you had it installed had your PSU and GPU competing for air. lol

The bottom fan should be drawing fresh air into the case since it'll be blowing towards the GPUs.

The side fan doesn't have a specific orientation. It can be intake as in blowing cool air into your GPUs or it can work as an outtake to suck the warm air outside. You'll just have to experiment with both orientation and see which works better for you.

The front fan is fine as intake and the rear as outtake.

Now the H100 is a polemical subject. Some people use its fans as an outtake to blow the warm air out of the case. Some use them as intake to draw cooler air into the case. Once again, experiment with both orientations. See which works better for you.

[Marwood2]

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[Marwood2]

thanks for the info just finished turning psu over lol, made my cable mess heaps better, and temps have dropped! as before the cables were to short and run through the case everywhere and now i know why
have the new gtx680 on order and should see it arrive tuesday or wednesday.
i have been looking for replacement fans through-out the case as recommend in other post...
any recommendation for this as there are many types and brands avaliable.
hopefully im on the right track for a great gaming rig

[Chino]

The Alchemy cables you listed earlier from Bitfenix are pretty awesome. They'll allow you to extend the length of your cables while making them look good in the process. They have cables for everything from power cables to SATA and even fan cables lol. So you can take a look at their catalog.

Fan shopping is easy. There are only two things you need to know when looking for case fans: Airflow and Noise Level. Airflow is measured in CFM (Cubic Feet per Minute) so the higher the better. Noise Level is measure in DBA. So the winning formula is High CFM/Low DBA.

And if you want to have complete control of your fans or just want to bling out your case, you can grab one of those fan controllers. Lamptron, Scythe, NZXT and Bitfenix makes some good ones.