Do I need more cooling?

[ookoo]

So I'm looking to add another GTX 560 Ti to my current PC (since most benchmarks seem to be showing ~100% increase in framerates), but before I go gambling on one from Ebay, I want to make sure I can add another card without melting both cards.

 

At the moment, I already have a problem with heat. My current GTX- which is a blower- is blowing straight down into the PSU's fan which is blowing up, so on hot days especially (~80-90F ~26-32C) the GTX's fan starts spinning especially faster and loud; so I'm worried that adding another card right in the path of the current one's fan will cause 1) Large amounts of whirring and 2) Might very well cause both cards to melt.

 

Pic (yes I know my cables are a clusterfuck):

 

 

So, do I need more fans before I add another card? Or can I not add a card notwithstanding more cooling?

 

 

[Cacao]

Can you take out that top hardrive cage and have a fan sucking air from the front and blowing directly onto the cards? By the way, are you sure about getting another 560ti? It might be best to save up a bit and get something like a 7950 or something from the 9000 series.

[ookoo]

Can you take out that top hardrive cage and have a fan sucking air from the front and blowing directly onto the cards? By the way, are you sure about getting another 560ti? It might be best to save up a bit and get something like a 7950 or something from the 9000 series.

 

That sounds plausible. About how big of a fan should it be?

 

As to just saving up, I'm pretty much in a situation of either upgrading my PC a tad for ~$100 or just saving up and doing a full upgrade (new case, GPU, HDD and possibly CPU). So at the moment I'm investigating how much trouble a minor $100 upgrade will give me.

[Cacao]

That sounds plausible. About how big of a fan should it be?

 

As to just saving up, I'm pretty much in a situation of either upgrading my PC a tad for ~$100 or just saving up and doing a full upgrade (new case, GPU, HDD and possibly CPU). So at the moment I'm investigating how much trouble a minor $100 upgrade will give me.

I'm not sure what kind of mounts your case has, but a descent 120mm should do the job, maybe you can also fit a 140mm, which would obviously be even better. 

 

I'm not sure what the rest of your system specs are, but if the GPU is the only thing holding you back, then you might as well spend your money on getting a better one, you would want to avoid SLI if you can, especially when you're looking at 2-3gen old cards. However if you feel like the rest of your specs are also lacking, then you might as well do a full (or almost full) upgrade.

[Classics]

Get a case with better airflow and a bottom vent with a dust filter for the PSU. Or remove the upper hard drive cage and add more fans. 

[lachyman]

If the case has some standoffs and isn't on a carpet, just switch the PSU fan down. If not then leave it this way and save up for a better case. And don't buy 2 series old cards, just sell the one you have and get a 7950/70 depending on your budget. But the upgrade is worth it only if you have sufficient CPU, RAM and PSU so you could list your components here.

[nightlitezzz]

Clean up the cables, check temperatures. Does that PSU have the fan facing up? If so flip it down. Remove the middle HDD cage and mount your HDD on the lower one. Check temperatures.

[ookoo]

Just for clarity, here are my specs:

 

Intel i5-2500k @3.30 GHz

Msi Z68A-G43 (G3) Motherboard

Four 4-Gig sticks of Corsair Vengeance DDR3

Thermaltake TR2 600W PSU

WD3200AAJS 320 gig HDD

Nvidia (manufactured) GTX 560 Ti

OCZ Agility 60gb SSD (used almost solely for the OS)

Cooler Master HAF (not sure which model exactly, none of the pics on Cooler Master's site match it)

 

What else would I want to upgrade aside from the GPU?

[SheriffHD]

Get a PCI cooler slot. they cost about £10 and they instake the air direct from the GPU and exhaust it out the rear of the case.

 

Or if your PSU is blowing air into the case, invert the fan so that it draws air in, and blows it out the back.

Also putting a Fan in the front and removing the HDD cage is a good idea too.

[ookoo]

Get a PCI cooler slot. they cost about £10 and they instake the air direct from the GPU and exhaust it out the rear of the case.

 

Or if your PSU is blowing air into the case, invert the fan so that it draws air in, and blows it out the back.

Also putting a Fan in the front and removing the HDD cage is a good idea too.

 

Hate to sound stupid, but would I be putting the PCI cooler on the GPU's fan, or replacing the GPU fan entirely?

 

As to everyone else's suggestions, my case does have pegs and is on a desk, so I can flip the PSU with no problems, yes? Removing the first few HDD slots seems easy enough.

 

However, I'm wondering if (as previously noted) it might just be better to upgrade to a 760 and perhaps upgrade a few other parts. Does anything else on my specs list look like it needs replacing?

[SheriffHD]

It doesnt connect to the GPU at all.

In the rear of your case you will notice that there are metal slots that can be removed for the case which allows for cards to attach with screws.

 

The fan I mentioned will just screw into place taking up the PCI slot under it.

 

Basically what will happen is that the fans from the GPU will blow out to the fans on the cooler then will get launched directly out to the rear of the case, really handy bits of kit. and can be purchased at a pretty low price.

[loglog]

What directions are your 120 rad and top case fan; intake or exhaust?

 

As others have stated i'd recommend putting a fan by the HDD's blowing cold air under the card. A good 140mm or 120mm fan (maybe even 2 if there is room) could do wonders. Also keep in mind that you can take out the extra PCI slot covers to keep exhaust flowing out if need be. I'd also tell you to buy a better case before getting a new or 2nd graphics card, such as a Corsair 200R or 300R. PCI coolers look terrible and preform okish, so that should settle that.

 

As for the card itself, another 560 wouldnt be bad by any means, especially if you got a new case, but why not just upgade to a nvidia 7 series or a amd 7970 or 7950?

[ookoo]

What directions are your 120 rad and top case fan; intake or exhaust?

 

As others have stated i'd recommend putting a fan by the HDD's blowing cold air under the card. A good 140mm or 120mm fan (maybe even 2 if there is room) could do wonders. Also keep in mind that you can take out the extra PCI slot covers to keep exhaust flowing out if need be. I'd also tell you to buy a better case before getting a new or 2nd graphics card, such as a Corsair 200R or 300R. PCI coolers look terrible and preform okish, so that should settle that.

 

As for the card itself, another 560 wouldnt be bad by any means, especially if you got a new case, but why not just upgade to a nvidia 7 series or a amd 7970 or 7950?

 

The side panel is intake and the top is outtake, my logic being that heat rises.

[R4STABAN]

PSU fans don't blow into a case and gpu blower fans suck air into that intake and exhaust it out the vents in the back.

 

Could you take a better picture so we can confirm the type of cooler on your gpu is a blower?

[ookoo]

It's late here, I'll have one up tomorrow.

 

EDIT: I lied.

 

As to cases with better cooling, what options am I looking at? What sort of layout does a case with good cooling have?

[JoshM6789]

Just upgrade to a 760 or 670 no point buying another 560 ti...

[LapFox]

Clean out that GPU cooler, it's caked in dust.

 

Buy some compressed air and blow it onto the heatsink, that'll dislodge all the dust, and I guarantee temperatures will go down.

 

Also, remove that top HDD cage, and move your current drives into the lower one. If there isn't already two fans in the front of your case, then buy two fans that are the correct size. This way, you have airflow directly onto your graphics card, and also airflow over your drive(s), reducing their temperature and elongating their life-spans.

 

 

As for buying another 560 Ti? Don't.

 

Just buy a single GPU that does everything you want it to, and then you'll be good to go. Two cards equates to double power consumption, however doesn't always equate to double performance.

 

My recommendation? An overclocked 7870 or a non-overclocked 7950, whichever sits in your prefered price bracket. There is a big difference in performance though, so I always recommend the 7950.

[R4STABAN]

bad news - that is an axial gpu cooler which chucks air out both ends of the card.

imo that would require a side panel fan for sli.

[ookoo]

Alright, so after 30 or so minutes of work I think I might've cleared up the clusterfuck-of-cables problem. 

 

 

Most of the excess power cables are tied up in the back, with one cable sitting on the bottom of the case just off-camera. So, is this good?

[slasher0161]

Don't sli fermi's on air would be my advice, they are a hot chip at the best of times and the only way I can see you not melting them would be some serious butching of the case. Try sell you current one and drop money on a 760, even if it means you have to save a couple more dollars.

They aren't a bad card they just run too hot to make sli worth it (plus you will feel boned when you encounter something with 0 sli support).