Different mobo for SLI config?

Hey guys I have 2 GTX 470 gpu's I posted a thread a while ago about getting a water cooling system because the 2 gpus were so close together on my EVGA X58 FTW3 mobo that the bottom gpu was heating up the upper gpu immensely but I was seeing if there were any mobos that had the gpu slots vertical so the heat could freely rise up and therefore keep both cards cooler. The water cooling system is just not in the budget right now. Also been reading that the 500 series cards are much more efficient therefore creating a lot less heat. thoughts about upgrading from 2 gtx 470s to a 5 series card?

I would say in terms of efficiency you need to looks at the 6900 series AMD cards, they run much cooler than their nvidia counterparts

Reference 69xx cards are also EE (External Exhaust). The heat is exhausted out the back so the temp difference in crossfire is much less. Not sure about the 5xx series from NVIDIA, might be the same way.

before you buy new cards, try adding a decent cfm fan in front of them set to PULL heat away from them.

SLI cards pretty much garentees extreme temps.

What temps are you seeing anyways?

Anything under 90c is fine, 95c is pushing it tho.

If you have to, place the fan like..on top of the cards , and another fan on the end(if theres room) set to push(pulling air towards the cards)

Its easier to spend $15 for two fans than $400 for two cards.


Even though it is a good half a year away or so, the 600 series and 7000 series are on their way(If replacing is what you want to do.).(not sure if that is what they are going to be, but Kepler and Southern Island or something for AMD(I don't follow AMD too much, someone could probably elaborate on this.)

Thanks for all the input guys... Suppressor 1137 could you direct me to some quality fans that I should consider?

Yes sir. I'll link GREAT ones that are expensive as hell, and decent ones that "get the job done"

Great fans:
Gelid Solutions Wing 12 UV blue reactive(120mm)(64.3CFM)(12-25dB)$19.99
Gelid Solutions Wing 12 UV Green reactive(120mm)(64.3CFM)(12-25dB)$19.99

Both of those fans are the same except fan blade header being a diff color. They are a bit pricy, but I can't even hear them at 100% unless I put my ear right up to the side. Great CFM too. These fans also will last pretty much for a lifetime. 100,000 hours lifespan, Dust proof, Waterproof, Great aesthetics.

If you don't care for it to "last forever", these will get the job done, and preform just as well, if not better. Just lacks some features and aesthetics.

Less expensive, but good fans:
Gelid Solutions TX-12(58 CFM)(12-25dB)$9.00
Xigmatek Extreme Silent 120(20dB)(75CFM)$9.00