Jump to content

A cool SLI on mATX (ASUS Gryphon Z87) Does it exist?

When I purchased my Asus Gryphon Z87 I had just started building systems and I was not a gamer therefor did not look for things like SLI compatibility or PCI-e slot spacing. I started off with a low end piece of junk GPU then over time I began to do more and more video editing and playing more games. Like it was destined to be I came across a refurb Asus GTX 660 ti, which is absolutely perfect for the light to moderate amount of gaming I do!

 

Just as everything was rainbows and lollipops I got a little too clicky on Ebay one night and became the proud owner of a second, identical, graphics card. I was super stoked to try SLI out and see what difference it would make and as I clicked the card in under my original card I realized they are rather close together. So close as to pretty much restrict all air from reaching the fans on the upper card. A couple times I even heard the fan blades grinding into the PCB on the card below. They are like cannibalistic Siamese twins. The newer card is just trying to smother the card that I have fonder memories and a pleasant history with. First case of component jealousy.

 

post-116318-0-29868300-1407180124_thumb.

 

I attempted to move the lower card to the lower x16 slot. I am aware that the lower slot is at the 2.0 speed and the upper at 3.0, but read in forums that it would not matter. This config ended up removing my option to enable SLI from Nvidia Control Panel. I figured they may have to be running at the same speed so I went into BIOS and dumbed all of the slots down to 2.0, but no success with that either. 

 

post-116318-0-32664500-1407180135_thumb.

 

I assume my best bet would be a PCI-e riser of some sort to move the cards further apart. My biggest dilemma is how/where to mount the lower card now that it has to be out of the way of the lower PCI-e x16 as well as be within range so the SLI bridge can connect. Does anyone know of some sort of GPU cage or PCI bracket mounting solution? Any ideas are greatly appreciated because I'm completely out of them. 

 

post-116318-0-00149900-1407180143_thumb.

 

post-116318-0-29868300-1407180124_thumb.

post-116318-0-32664500-1407180135_thumb.

post-116318-0-00149900-1407180143_thumb.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

Watercool them.

NEW PC build: Blank Heaven   minimalist white and black PC     Old S340 build log "White Heaven"        The "LIGHTCANON" flashlight build log        Project AntiRoll (prototype)        Custom speaker project

Spoiler

Ryzen 3950X | AMD Vega Frontier Edition | ASUS X570 Pro WS | Corsair Vengeance LPX 64GB | NZXT H500 | Seasonic Prime Fanless TX-700 | Custom loop | Coolermaster SK630 White | Logitech MX Master 2S | Samsung 980 Pro 1TB + 970 Pro 512GB | Samsung 58" 4k TV | Scarlett 2i4 | 2x AT2020

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

Get this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA0U00Y42971&cm_re=pci_e_riser-_-9SIA0U00Y42971-_-Product

 

Then put the gpu on something non conductive, fan upwards.

 

Tada, problemo fixed.

 

Or get another mobo (z97 g55 sli might be a good choice?)

 

or 

 

Watercool (but that's gonna be fairly expensive and you have to maintain it.

Spoiler

Samung Tab S 8.4

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

When I purchased my Asus Gryphon Z87 I had just started building systems and I was not a gamer therefor did not look for things like SLI compatibility or PCI-e slot spacing. I started off with a low end piece of junk GPU then over time I began to do more and more video editing and playing more games. Like it was destined to be I came across a refurb Asus GTX 660 ti, which is absolutely perfect for the light to moderate amount of gaming I do!

 

Just as everything was rainbows and lollipops I got a little too clicky on Ebay one night and became the proud owner of a second, identical, graphics card. I was super stoked to try SLI out and see what difference it would make and as I clicked the card in under my original card I realized they are rather close together. So close as to pretty much restrict all air from reaching the fans on the upper card. A couple times I even heard the fan blades grinding into the PCB on the card below. They are like cannibalistic Siamese twins. The newer card is just trying to smother the card that I have fonder memories and a pleasant history with. First case of component jealousy.

 

attachicon.giffireSLI.jpg

 

I attempted to move the lower card to the lower x16 slot. I am aware that the lower slot is at the 2.0 speed and the upper at 3.0, but read in forums that it would not matter. This config ended up removing my option to enable SLI from Nvidia Control Panel. I figured they may have to be running at the same speed so I went into BIOS and dumbed all of the slots down to 2.0, but no success with that either. 

 

attachicon.gifnoSLI.jpg

 

I assume my best bet would be a PCI-e riser of some sort to move the cards further apart. My biggest dilemma is how/where to mount the lower card now that it has to be out of the way of the lower PCI-e x16 as well as be within range so the SLI bridge can connect. Does anyone know of some sort of GPU cage or PCI bracket mounting solution? Any ideas are greatly appreciated because I'm completely out of them. 

 

attachicon.gifSLIbridge.jpg

A pci-e Extender would do it just do you have enough room in your case, watercooling them is an  option but it would be better suited just to get a single higher end cooler then getting something like 2 nzxt G10's with like x40's wasting money that you could use for a higher end video card

CPU: Intel Core i7 4790k CPU Cooler: Corsair H100i Chassis/Case: Fractal Design Arc Midi R2  Motherboard: Asus Z87-Deluxe RAM:  Team Vulcan 2x4Gb(2133Mhz)  Video Card: Asus 7970 Direct CU II Custom Rom (150% Power, 1100 core 6Ghz Memory)  Power Supply: Fractal Integra R2 750 Watt  Keyboard: Cooler Master Quick Fire Rapid (MX Blue Switches)  MouseCorsair M90 Storage: SX900 128Gb, Seagate 1TB 7200RPM, WD Green 1TB 7200RPM   MY OLD BUILDLOG


The Fastest 8350 @5.33Ghz with a score of 9.16pts in Cinebench 11.5

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

Unfortunately my case is a Fractal Design Node 804 so there isn't much extra room. The bottom of the chassis is vented. I'm thinking I can install some sort of makeshift standoffs and just place the card on bottom although I would prefer a more stable solution. 

 

To be quite honest custom water cooling systems scare me. I don't feel confident enough and really don't want to spend any more money to piece one together. 

 

post-116318-0-48907300-1407251687.jpg

post-116318-0-48907300-1407251687.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

Well it looks like a PCI-E extender will have to do, and leave your card kinda sagging in the bottom or build some sort of mount.

 

Yup, liquid cooling is expensive, I plan on doing a custom looping one myself when I get a new rig, but I'm thinking about upgrading often so water blocks on GPUs would last about 1 year so not really into it. Maybe when I get filthy rich :P

Considering CPUs are good for 5 years, it may be a sound plan B)

You can bark like a dog, but that won't make you a dog.

You can act like someone you're not, but that won't change who you are.

 

Finished Crysis without a discrete GPU,15 FPS average, and a lot of heart

 

How I plan my builds -

Spoiler

For me I start with the "There's no way I'm not gonna spend $1,000 on a system."

Followed by the "Wow I need to buy the OS for a $100!?"

Then "Let's start with the 'best budget GPU' and 'best budget CPU' that actually fits what I think is my budget."

Realizing my budget is a lot less, I work my way to "I think these new games will run on a cheap ass CPU."

Then end with "The new parts launching next year is probably gonna be better and faster for the same price so I'll just buy next year."

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

those are some nice cables :o

watercooling it would get rid of your problems, but it is expensive.

i would look for a z97 board that could do the job, bc z87 is SOOOOO last gen right

anyway, good luck!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

I love my mother board! I can't think of one feature exclusive to the Z97 chipset that I'd utilize in the foreseeable future and I damn well don't want to spend another $150 - $250 on a mobo. I think my next mobo purchase will be on the Hx7 linage of chipsets because overclocking doesn't really get my gears a-churnin'. I'm all about a well rounded feature set and consistent reliability. I've purchased one mobo that was not Asus and wouldn't do it again AND I've never overclocked nor had an urge to. 

 

I'm also a stickler for design and style so I tend to put a tad more emphasis on aesthetics in my builds. I simply couldn't "half-ass" or "ghetto rig" something in my case and live with it day to day knowing I didn't do the best I could on a personal project. I guess it could be considered a curse. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

You can use hypersli with the bottom slot

#killedmywife #howtomakebombs #vgamasterrace

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

 I have no clue what HyperSLI is, but I'm about to Google the crap out of it...Thanks

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

I could also dedicate my life to helping orphaned giant river otters in South America. Will either happen? Probably not. 

The whole point of this post was to come up with a solution that did not involve spending a ton of money. I'm perfectly happy with the component choices they just aren't too happy with each other. 

 

post-116318-0-60447300-1407350988.jpg

post-116318-0-60447300-1407350988.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

you can mount a fan beside the two graphics cards, with will at least squeeze SOME air for the top card? 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

I don't know if this would fit on your 660 ti and this might be a bit crazy but you could possibly try an all in one liquid cooler with something like a Kraken G10 mounting bracket (http://store.nzxt.com/Kraken-G10-GPU-Bracket-Black-p/rl-krg10-b1.htm) on your top card. I may be in the wrong and someone should let me know. It also may be too costly for you.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

I don't know if this would fit on your 660 ti and this might be a bit crazy but you could possibly try an all in one liquid cooler with something like a Kraken G10 mounting bracket (http://store.nzxt.com/Kraken-G10-GPU-Bracket-Black-p/rl-krg10-b1.htm) on your top card. I may be in the wrong and someone should let me know. It also may be too costly for you.

I believe the NZXT solution actually takes up 3 slot spaces once installed. I thought about possible installing one on each of the cards. It also has a fan which would again be choked if it were butted up against the back of the next card.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

I believe the NZXT solution actually takes up 3 slot spaces once installed. I thought about possible installing one on each of the cards. It also has a fan which would again be choked if it were butted up against the back of the next card.

yeah I looked it up and it is basically a triple slot with the kraken g10 on it,  corsair is doing something similar but its not compatible with your card, sorry but it looks like you need to get creative if you want that second card

. Here's the article on the corsair bracket if you are interested (http://www.corsair.com/en-us/blog/2014/june/hg10_announcement)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

  • 2 months later...

You need more cooling/air flow around the cards... Even an internal fan blowing into, even zip tied to the cards them selves. Unless you get a side panel cut out to help with air flow, this Heap pipe open air style cards will stay hotter until you get them more air.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Grab 2 NZXT Kraken G10's ( GPU cooling brackets) and two 120 AIO coolers (Corsair h55) thats much simpler than a custom water cooled loop.

Intel i5 3330, Asus P8H61-MX USB3, Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2x4GB), XFX R9 280x, Samsung 840 Evo 120GB, WD Caviar Green 1TB, Corsair CX500M, Acer S220HQL, Corsair H55, Corsair SP120 fan, Fractal Design Node 804.

 
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now

×