XFX 4870 1GB in CF on ASUS PT6 SE TEMPS

[John1975]

Ok, usually I am able to do my research here, find someone who has had the same problem I am having and find their fix. Not this time.

As the title states, I have a pair of 4870s on a PT6 SE. The design of the board is such that there are 3 slots, X16/X16/X4. The two X16 slots are beside each other. Screen resolution is 1920x1200...so I do need a bit of power for games.

I have put the video cards in the computer and everything appears to work fine........

The problem is there is about 4mm of room between the top and bottom card, causing the fan on the top card to be almost completely plugged off.

Temps were about 75c for idle as the cards sat. I have since wedged a bit of plastic between the cards to open the gap to 10mm or so and idle is now 65ish.......but this is not a solution!!!

Below are a list of options I am considering, and I was hoping to get input from the people on here as to what would be the best solution.

1) Get another MB and keep the cards.
2) Get a single 5850 and keep the MB
3) Find a cooler for the top card that has an unobstructed intake(does one even exist?)
4) Use the X16 and X4 slot and take the performance hit.
5) Leave it as it is, get a carton of eggs and use it to cook my breakfast!!

Thanks for reading and many more thanks if you leave a response.
John

[CharlieCS]

Take off the shroud from the first card and have a fan point at it it from the side if possible , should work well .Generally getting another cooler for the card would be a best idea .

[John1975]

Pulled the heatsink, took the cover off, cleaned it up, threw some compound down and put the heatsink back on without plastic cover.

Temps are around 68 for the top card and 60 for the bottom.

It is too bad, the fan for the GPU is the loudest in the box.

Do you know what a good replacement heatsink would be......that would fit in such a tight spot.

[CharlieCS]

There is actually a thermalright cooler that points up , by that i mean , regularly a cooler takes a bottom slot below the card , this thing has heat pipes bend upwards so that the cooler takes up the the slot above the card . am not sure of the exact model but am sure google will assist :)

[OnDborder]

Option #6: Crank up the fan speed on the top card via rbe bios editor or software?
Or figure a way to put a fan on the side or ends of the cards.

[John1975]

I was trying to find a way to limit the noise of the card in the first place, so cranking up the fan won't work for me.

Also, I looked into the thermalright heatsink, but the price of it turned me off.

I have come to the conclusion that this board was not right for me.
It is fine as a basic overclocking board, but if you want to run crossfire......don't get it!!!!!





[Qualification for above statement] It would be ok to get this MB for crossfire if the video cards picked up air from the ends, rather than the sides.

[vixro]

4) Use the X16 and X4 slot and take the performance hit.

http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=571156
HD 4870 CF on P35 -- P45 --X48 Chipset - OCF Testing

Performance hit of 8x 8x, vs 16x 16x is pretty non-existent. Now that might be a bit different when comparing 16x and 4x at 1920, but I still feel like it's not going to be so significant you would really notice. This seems like the easiest solution that keeps your sound levels the same and doesn't cost you any money.

[John1975]

From what I read in that thread, I could expect a 20-40% decrease in performance going with the x4 slot, and I am not really prepared for that.

Removing the cover on the fan did help quite a bit with noise and heat, but it is still the loudest fan in the case.

My feeling right now is I will leave this as it is for now, then replace the two cards with a dx11 card......if I need more power than that, then the MB and another card later.

Thanks for the replys.
John

[vixro]

From what I read in that thread, I could expect a 20-40% decrease in performance going with the x4 slot, and I am not really prepared for that.

You can always test it and find out. Might take you a good 20-40 minutes at the most running a few before and after benchmarks.