GTX 980 ti SLI Custom Fan Profile

[jonathan1107]

I'm using 2x MSI gtx 980 ti gaming cards in SLI.

I'm trying to figure out if there's a custom fan profile I could set for either "both" or "each card" to help them stay cooler.

I reach temps like 82c under load in games and I know it's normal and the cards can still operate at that point but I'd rather try and make sure they last for a long time. Would you put a more agressive FAN PROFILE on the bottom card or the top? or both?

I'm beginning to think I should have either bought reference cards (to exhaust the heat out the back) or reference cards to remove their heatsink and make put them in a custom water loop.

 

[droopyRO]

The top one is usually the hottest, try monitoring both and see what % the fans spin on auto, then adjust them to your thermal and noise requirements.

 

[newtekie1]

Use Afterburner to set a custom can profile. It will apply it to both cards, but control them individually. Adjust it to balance temp and noise to your liking.

 

[GhostRyder]

I'm using 2x MSI gtx 980 ti gaming cards in SLI.

I'm trying to figure out if there's a custom fan profile I could set for either "both" or "each card" to help them stay cooler.

I reach temps like 82c under load in games and I know it's normal and the cards can still operate at that point but I'd rather try and make sure they last for a long time. Would you put a more agressive FAN PROFILE on the bottom card or the top? or both?

I'm beginning to think I should have either bought reference cards (to exhaust the heat out the back) or reference cards to remove their heatsink and make put them in a custom water loop.

What @newtekie1 said, you will need to use a program to set a different profile but just apply it to both and the system will automatically take over as needed. The top card is going to be the one needing more fan speed overall because all increasing the bottom ones fan speed will due is have it push more heat away from it which will in turn get absorbed into the top GPU.

 

[jonathan1107]

What @newtekie1 said, you will need to use a program to set a different profile but just apply it to both and the system will automatically take over as needed. The top card is going to be the one needing more fan speed overall because all increasing the bottom ones fan speed will due is have it push more heat away from it which will in turn get absorbed into the top GPU.

In fact, I read somewhere that I can "de-sync" the MSI AB settings so they don't apply the same settings to both cards and then that would allow me to create 2 seperate fan profiles...

But yeah, guys I really need your help. I've run into serious HEAT issues even though I got tons of fans and agressive Fan profile going on. Here are some visuals so you know how I'm setup:
http://imgur.com/a/m4nsN

I'm desperate to find ways to lower that TOP card temperature. I'm getting 84-87c whilst playing The Witcher 3 (while the bottom card stays at around 70-74c)
I'm trying to find creative ways of getting rid of the heat. Here are some ideas I've got. Let me know what you think about them:

• Get a Stronger 140mm fan to shoot cool air onto the top GPU
• Replace the Thermal Compound on the Top gpu (shove off a few degrees maybe)
• Pray to God I find a way to water cool them with some sort of an external 240mm radiator setup (no more room in the case for it)
• Lower my OC in hopes of lower temps (not sure how much difference that would make, I haven't added much voltage)
• Sell my Cards and buy either 2x reference Blower type cards in hopes of better temps or buy 2x Gigabyte G1 models (I hear they cool better) or maybe the Strix model if it cools better as well
• other suggestions

 

[newtekie1]

In fact, I read somewhere that I can "de-sync" the MSI AB settings so they don't apply the same settings to both cards and then that would allow me to create 2 seperate fan profiles...

That isn't necessary. You can set the same fan curve for both cards in AF, and it will run the cards at different speeds depending on temperature of the card.

 

[jonathan1107]

EUREKA!

I found a solution to my problem. Just when I was about to give up I thought about my Fan position.
The 140mm fan that I have blowing cool air onto the GPUs was positioned facing the front of the cards (on their long side) with the 140mm fan edges a bit over and under both graphic cards...

For some Lucky reason, I thought I ought to try and higher the fan or lower it. Maybe changing the position will help. So I opened up my case and kept the PC running. I held the 140mm fan in one hand and raised it a bit higher (so that it would blow most of it's air onto the TOP of the TOP graphics card) which was the one that needed the cooling the most (the one getting in the 88c+ range)

As soon as I did that the top card dropped to 70-71c and stayed that way. After that I even went through the trouble of trying 2x 140mm fans on top of each other (1 for the bottom card and 1 for the top card) and it lowered the temps another 3c and now I have perfectly acceptable temps.

Hallelujah

 

[4Kgaming]

Good to hear about the temps. I am considering buying a second card tomorroq, any other issues with SLI? I previously had two 295x2 in quadfire and it was pretty disappointing in game play. Synthetic tests were great but min /max fps variance ruined the party for me. Let me know. Msi 980ti 6g is rock solid. Need another to up the fps in 4k.

 

[jonathan1107]

No issues up to now with 2 cards. Fixed my temp problems.

Been playing witcher 3 and nosgoth mostly lately. I get 75-95fps in the witcher 3 with ultra settings with everything maxed at 1440p res. I get a solid 99fps constant when I turn off some settings like hair works or if I lower shadows a bit or draw distance

 

[Dieinafire]

Sli G1 980 ti's stay under 70c at full load even with a high OC. I'm glad I went G1

 

[jonathan1107]

any of you have worst frame rates since patch 1.08 (witcher 3) ??