ACX Cooling SLI setup

[Arguilleres]

So a while ago I got a EVGA GTX 770 4gb ACX cooled gpu, and then I got the second one so I ran them in sli with a fair amount of space in between the two cards (like 5"). However, the mobo I used recently died, and so I had to buy a new one. However, because of the way the pcie slots are wired, the two cards are much closer together (running it on the first two pcie slots).

 

So my question is how badly will the top card heat up running like this? Should I be really concerned?

 

(the motherboard is a Z97 FTW also from EVGA)

[Guest]

I think you mean PCI slots, not lanes. Lanes are totally different.

[MegaDave91]

The best thing you can do is monitor the temperatures.

[Najuno]

As a generell rule of thumb I´d always recommend the first card (only nVidia) to be in reference design when using an aircooled multi GPU solution.

 

Sure thing you probably won´t buy another graphics card, so I´d do what MegaDave91 said, just monitor your temp curve and maybe indiviually adjust the fan levels to the best setup regarding the overall air flow and size of your case.

 

GreetZ Naj

[Arguilleres]

I had this thought- if I install a backplate on the bottom card, would that improve anything?

[winningsince1337]

I had this thought- if I install a backplate on the bottom card, would that improve anything?

 

It might smooth out the airflow a bit but, it probably wouldn't do to much. However, won't make that much of a difference. The most important thing is getting the hot air out. since I assume you're using the same case, you should be fine. Have fun with the SLI setup!

[Arguilleres]

After benchmarking the cards I saw that the top card under load was reaching almost 100 C. If I used a fan to force cool air between the cards, that should help right?

[79wjd]

After benchmarking the cards I saw that the top card under load was reaching almost 100 C. If I used a fan to force cool air between the cards, that should help right?

An exhaust would probably be better as it would pull the hot air away as well as draw fresh (or fresher) air in due to a low pressure zone. 

[Arguilleres]

The third PCI express slot is a pcie 3 x4, but I heard it has the same bandwidth as a pcie 2 x8. Can I run the second card there?