Huge drop in EVGA 1080 Ti SC2 temps with added case fans and change in location

[Amin S]

Some of you may think that this is really obvious, and I admit I am far from an expert here, but I'm gonna share it anyway in case it helps someone looking to lower the temps on their EVGA 1080 Ti SC2.

 

These are the specs on my PC:
Case: Fractal Define R6
CPU: i7-8700K @ 5GHz all cores
CPU cooler: Corsair H115i Pro
Power supply: Corsair HX850i
OS: Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
Boot and app drive: Samsung 970 Evo 1TB NVMe M.2 SSD

Scratch: Samsung 970 Evo 500GB NVMe M.2 SSD
Storage drives: 3 x Seagate 4TB BarraCuda
RAM: G.Skill Ripjaws V 32GB (2 x 16GB) DDR4-3200
Motherboard: ASUS ROG STRIX Z370-E
GPU: EVGA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti SC2 @ +55 GPU +200 MEM

Display: ASUS ROG Swift PG279Q (1440p G-Sync IPS) @ 144Hz

 

I had been using the H115i fans as intake with a single rear exhaust.  Pic:

 

 

 

In most games, I was seeing decent enough GPU temps, no higher than mid 60s, but in some games I was getting much higher.  For example, Final Fantasy XV on max settings kept the GPU temp consistently near 80 deg with fans at 50%.  I prefer to keep the GPU fans no higher than 50% because they are pretty loud at 60% or higher.

 

I went to my local Microcenter and asked some of the sales folks there what I could do to get better GPU temps.  I explained my current case and fan setup and asked if adding or moving case fans might help.  They said it wouldn't make much difference at all and suggested I try replacing the thermal paste in the GPU.  If that didn't work, they said I could install the EVGA GTX 1080 Ti SC Hybrid Kit.

 

I decided to try adding some fans back in anyway since it is easier to do than either of the solutions they mentioned,  I moved the H115i fans to the top as an exhaust and added two 140mm intake fans in the front:

 

 

 

Result: Massive drop in GPU temp.  With the same modest overclock and GPU fan curve, I'm seeing mid 60s instead of high 70s in FFXV.  Around a 13-14 deg drop in temp.  I'm not sure if my CPU temps have changed a little, but they remain good, regardless.  And my PC is overall just as quiet as before.  The added 140mm fans aren't loud at all.

 

To me the moral of the story (and again I realize this is obvious to some of you) is not to assume anything - test some different fan configurations.  What works for one system may not work for another!

[Origami Cactus]

Yeah all the heat of the cpu was blown right into the gpu and that caused the higher temperature.

Now the heat of the cpu is going straight out of the case.

[Tristerin]

1 hour ago, Amin S said:

Some of you may think that this is really obvious, and I admit I am far from an expert here, but I'm gonna share it anyway in case it helps someone looking to lower the temps on their EVGA 1080 Ti SC2.

 

These are the specs on my PC:
Case: Fractal Define R6
CPU: i7-8700K @ 5GHz all cores
CPU cooler: Corsair H115i Pro
Power supply: Corsair HX850i
OS: Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
Boot and app drive: Samsung 970 Evo 1TB NVMe M.2 SSD

Scratch: Samsung 970 Evo 500GB NVMe M.2 SSD
Storage drives: 3 x Seagate 4TB BarraCuda
RAM: G.Skill Ripjaws V 32GB (2 x 16GB) DDR4-3200
Motherboard: ASUS ROG STRIX Z370-E
GPU: EVGA GeForce GTX 1080 Ti SC2 @ +55 GPU +200 MEM

Display: ASUS ROG Swift PG279Q (1440p G-Sync IPS) @ 144Hz

 

I had been using the H115i fans as intake with a single rear exhaust.  Pic:

 

 

 

In most games, I was seeing decent enough GPU temps, no higher than mid 60s, but in some games I was getting much higher.  For example, Final Fantasy XV on max settings kept the GPU temp consistently near 80 deg with fans at 50%.  I prefer to keep the GPU fans no higher than 50% because they are pretty loud at 60% or higher.

 

I went to my local Microcenter and asked some of the sales folks there what I could do to get better GPU temps.  I explained my current case and fan setup and asked if adding or moving case fans might help.  They said it wouldn't make much difference at all and suggested I try replacing the thermal paste in the GPU.  If that didn't work, they said I could install the EVGA GTX 1080 Ti SC Hybrid Kit.

 

I decided to try adding some fans back in anyway since it is easier to do than either of the solutions they mentioned,  I moved the H115i fans to the top as an exhaust and added two 140mm intake fans in the front:

 

 

 

Result: Massive drop in GPU temp.  With the same modest overclock and GPU fan curve, I'm seeing mid 60s instead of high 70s in FFXV.  Around a 13-14 deg drop in temp.  I'm not sure if my CPU temps have changed a little, but they remain good, regardless.  And my PC is overall just as quiet as before.  The added 140mm fans aren't loud at all.

 

To me the moral of the story (and again I realize this is obvious to some of you) is not to assume anything - test some different fan configurations.  What works for one system may not work for another!

 

I love seeing this post because I have argued multiple times on this forums about people front mounting radiators as intake - no other option that will WORK - but by no means is it EVER optimal lol.

 

As much cold air in as possible (DBa levels) while exhausting the hot air out as fast as possible - thermals baby!