[midrigs24]

HI i am very new to OC i was just wondering how the hell do i get the temp down on my video card its running idle at 72C and 80C playing any game, I dunno how to get the temp down, once i get the temp down i want to OC it because ik these cards have an amazing OC.

system spec's
cpu=quad core q6600 intel
ram=4gigs A-data
vid card= BFG 8800 GTx2 SlI
case=antec case stock fans + 3 extra fans i added myself

[benbaked]

The cheapest way to bring down the temps is to use a program like RivaTuner to manually increase the card's fan speed. When I was running the stock cooler on my 8800GT I set the fan speed at a constant 85%, that gave me a significant reduction in card temps while at the same time keeping the fan noise relatively low. You'll have to play with the fan speed and see what you feel comfortable with. Because you are running two cards in SLi you might want to set your cards' fans to run at 100% speed.

The better way to handle temps is to replace the stock cooler with an aftermarket piece. There are several aftermarket coolers for the 8800GT that kick the stock cooler's ass into the ground. The Thermalright HR-03GT is a popular one for that card, but very pricey, like all of Thermalright's stuff. I use an AC Accelero S1 Rev2 on my 8800GT and I have been very happy with it, it's cheap, it does the job well, and it's very easy to attach two 120mm fans across the length of the heatsink giving excellent cooling performance that will match or exceed more expensive air cooling solutions ounce for ounce. If you replace the stock cooler be sure that your new one either comes with (or you already have) some small heatsinks to place on the card's VRMs, or at the very least have some active cooling blowing air over that part of the card - it is critical for prolonging the life of the card. BGA ram sinks work well for the VRMs and these can be found online cheaply.

[EarthDog]

Great post Ben! +1

Like someone said in your other thread we need more details in your sig. WHICH Antec case do you have? Where did you place these new fans and what are the doing (intake/exhaust)?

[midrigs24]

umm i added a fan behind the video cards blowing cool air in from the front of the case onto the back ends of the cards, and i added another exhaust fan in between the two cards(it fits perfectly) and then another fan that goes in between the powersupply and the HD's
Antec Performance One P180 Silver cold rolled steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case is my case, and it has 2 exaust fans on the top of it

[EarthDog]

Sounds like you have jacked up airflow, but a picture would be better honestly.

Here is a general rule of thumb: Front/Sides = Intake, Top/Rear = exhuast. Seems like you are just blowing air around in teh case which is counter productive.

[midrigs24]

well all i have really for intake is the front fan that i added, after reading the cooling sticky, then there are 2 exhaust fans on the top/rear top of the case and then the one i added between the video cards is very small and since video cards are large and block the hot air flow to the top of the case i added that fan in between them to help.

[EarthDog]

I cant picture it, sorry. Pics plz! But it doesnt sound as bad as the initial post.

[midrigs24]

here i added full system specs

[midrigs24]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811129154
go to that link its my case, im sure you can picture it then.

[EarthDog]

I dont have trouble picturing the case, Im having trouble picturing what "between the videocards" means and what direction its even going.

[midrigs24]

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....=1124432441317
is the fan between the cards, and I took some pictures with my phone but i do not know how to upload/post pictures

[benbaked]

A fan like that between your video cards isn't going to really help with the stock cooler since the stock cooler covers most of the card with a piece of plastic. I still think you should try increasing your cards' fan speeds manually or just outright replace the coolers with something better. Also, Rivatuner works well for overclocking your cards once you bring the temps down.

[midrigs24]

how much would an aftermarket heatsink cost? i don't have much money to play around with, and would you suggest getting a videocard cooler or processor cooler im torn between the two, and OC which one would bring the most benefit

[benbaked]

Originally Posted by midrigs24

how much would an aftermarket heatsink cost? i don't have much money to play around with, and would you suggest getting a videocard cooler or processor cooler im torn between the two, and OC which one would bring the most benefit

The Arctic Cooling Accelero S1 Rev2 cooler can usually be found online for $25 shipped or less, it comes with all of the heatsinks you'll need. The Thermalright HR03-GT costs nearly double that and it's not worth the extra cost in my opinion, unless looks are your thing. It's definitely more impressive looking then the Accelero...but that is where the comparison ends.

As for a processor cooler, the Thermalright Ultra 120 Extreme is great for quad cores, but again too expensive for what it does. The Xigmatek Dark Knight is at least $10 cheaper then the Ultra 120 Extreme, arguably cools just as well, and it comes with a fan, unlike Thermalright's products. Additionally, Thermalright's heatsinks tend to have poorly uneven bases from the factory, meaning you may have to lap the base of the heatsink. A new CPU heatsink won't do much of anything for your video card temps, it might bring down your internal case temperature. The real benefit with a new heatsink there is that as you are able to overclock your CPU higher and higher the bottleneck on your video cards will go down. A stock Q6600 will surely bottleneck the performance of your video cards, but with a good heatsink if you can get that chip up to 3.2 or 3.4 GHz you will see much greater performance out of your games, even before overclocking the video cards.

[midrigs24]

http://www.censuspc.com/product-pr-6729.html
look like what your talking about? it doesn't say its compatible with the 8000 series

[benbaked]

Yup, that's the one. They may not specifically mention 8800GT compatibility but it will fit.

[EarthDog]

Originally Posted by benbaked

A fan like that between your video cards isn't going to really help with the stock cooler since the stock cooler covers most of the card with a piece of plastic. I still think you should try increasing your cards' fan speeds manually or just outright replace the coolers with something better. Also, Rivatuner works well for overclocking your cards once you bring the temps down.

Exactly. That slot cooler likely isnt doing anything considering how those cards are setup.

[midrigs24]

as for the programs i will need, i have speedfan, which logs my temps, but im kind of confused as to the OC part, will i need another program for that? i have like ppl telling me to download real temp, power strip, and i dunno if im overlapping on the applications i need.

[EarthDog]

Did you read the guide yet?

DL Realtemp or Coretemp to monitor temps. These apps will also show your VID (stock voltage).

You overclock in teh bios.