Two 3 slot graphics card in one motherboard

[toilet pepper]

So the girlfriend said she will buy me new graphics card within the next few weeks. What I have right now is the Palit Gamerock 1070 and it is performing wonderfully and quite cool never reaching temps of 70C even when its overclocked to hell. I'm planning to get a 1080 but I cant find a decently priced 2-slot cooler available here. I've been eyeing an Aorus 1080 11Gps costing around $650ish locally but it is another 3 slot cooler. Nobody sells Asus Strix here and an MSi Gaming X costs around $750ish (I wouldn't pay that much for something I can get less with similar performance.) The question right now is how abysmal would my temps be if I stack two 3 slot cards next to each other inside my case. Will it kill my card immediately? Should I get a 1070 gaming X for $550ish and go with SLI (I really want that aorus coz it is so pretty)? Here's a crappy photo of my rig:

PS: I want a 1080 so I have something beefier than what I have now in single card scenario.
PSS: The rig would mostly be used to play the game "Money Making 2000". But I need to have it inside a case as I'm afraid some random critter destroys my rig.Thanks!

 

[Sasqui]

I'm still searching for a question mark somewhere in your post ;o)

 

[Toothless]

Single card will always win, but you could always try your luck with SLI.

 

[cdawall]

two 3 slots cards will run like garbage.

 

[OneMoar]

Get a pcie extension and move it a slot down

 

[jboydgolfer]

Just sell the existing gpu(s), and get a 1080 TI or whatever top-of-the-line card there is . Don't mess around with SLI especially with those massive triple slot shrouds

 

[Shihab]

The question right now is how abysmal would my temps be if I stack two 3 slot cards next to each other inside my case.

Disregarding cooling efficiency differences between the two form-factors, the stacking isn't a problem tied to how many slots the cards take, rather how large a gap remains between the cards when mounted. Even single slot cards can run into issues in SLI, specifically top mounted cards (which often has restricted airflow, and sometimes, in the case of stock, blower-style designs, completely blocked flow).

The reduction of the total capacity within the case going from 2xdual slots to 2xtriple slots shouldn't do much damage to the efficiency if there is adequate airflow within the case.

That's not saying you won't get higher temps, that's something you'll end up not matter what you chose, it's just that the difference between dual and tripe-slot cards shouldn't be much different.

Will it kill my card immediately?

Worst case scenario, your top-mounted card will throttle most of the time or have reduced life expectancy.

(I really want that aorus coz it is so pretty)

I'd stick to the stock Nvidia alloy shrouds for looks, personally, but I guess each to their own. >_>

 

[trog100]

you need to set up custom fan profiles.. over cool the bottom card to run around 60 C this will keep the top card at around 75 C.. the top card runs up to 20 C hotter than the bottom card thats just the way it is..

i have been running a pair of palit 980 TI cards.. these pull about 200 watts more than a pair of 1070s will..

i have a pair of palit 1070 cards arriving today.. i will let you know how the cooling goes..

i am swapping them so as i can leave the rig running 24/7 mining crypto while i aint gaming on it.. the 980 TI cards use too much power for mining..

trog

 

[bonehead123]

Your case does not appear to have a lot of room at the bottom as it is now, and adding another 3 slot card would make it really cramped down there, which would reduce the airflow not only to the cards, but in the case overall. This would be a BAD thing for sure, so I would recommend just getting the 1080 and be happy

 

[Totally]

Short answer: yes. The top card would throttle/overheat/starve for air the degree depending on how good/bad the air flow is in your case.

 

[trog100]

wait a couple of hours till my pair of palit 1070 cards arrive and know for sure..

one thing i am sure of.. if it can be done with a pair of palit 980 TI cards it can for sure be done with a pair of palit 1070 card pulling 200 watts less from the wall..

trog

 

[Vayra86]

Sell the 1070 which will give you a nice amount due to mining

Buy a 1080 for net result of 20-50 bucks

/thread

 

[toilet pepper]

Thank you all for the input. I would welcome more information from you all. I haven't bought the cards yet so more input is great. This is all done in hindsight of buying the case and mobo so theres that. Needless to say I have been searching the web for auch a review and there are none.

I saw a fan from CES2017 that have arms. I think it would help a lot in a setup like this.

 

[trog100]

Sell the 1070 which will give you a nice amount due to mining

Buy a 1080 for net result of 20-50 bucks

/thread

not where i live.. the 1080 costs way more than the 1070.. the OP would take a huge loss for very little performance gain..

but my pair of palit 1070 cards have arrived and they are installed and running..

they look very similar to my palit 980 TI cards.. hard to tell apart at a glance..

the 1070s perform similar to the 980 TIs.. around 10500-ish in timespy and 8500 -ish in firestike ultra..

they are much quieter and run much cooler.. unlike the pair of 980TI cards both top and bottom cards seem to run the same temps.. both show 70 C at a 75 % fan speed.. this is with a custom fan profile set to arrive at 70 C max under full load..

these palit jet stream or gamerock cards all seem to run the same cooler as the 1080 TI version.. which leaves the 1070 version very quite and very cool.. the could be c described as f-cking huge.. he he

i will post a pick..

trog

ps.. pic posted note the little plastic spacer to the right.. this stops the cards sagging and keeps them apart.. my temps figures were arrive at by running furmark which is as toasty as it gets..

 

[Vayra86]

not where i live.. the 1080 costs way more than the 1070.. the OP would take a huge loss for very little performance gain..

but my pair of palit 1070 cards have arrived and they are installed and running..

they look very similar to my palit 980 TI cards.. hard to tell apart at a glance..

the 1070s perform similar to the 980 TIs.. around 10500-ish in timespy and 8500 -ish in firestike ultra..

they are much quieter and run much cooler.. unlike the pair of 980TI cards both top and bottom cards seem to run the same temps.. both show 70 C at a 75 % fan speed.. this is with a custom fan profile set to arrive at 70 C max under full load..

these palit jet stream or gamerock cards all seem to run the same cooler as the 1080 TI version.. which leaves the 1070 version very quite and very cool.. the could be c described as f-cking huge.. he he

i will post a pick..

trog

ps.. pic posted note the little plastic spacer to the right.. this stops the cards sagging and keeps them apart.. my temps figures were arrive at by running furmark which is as toasty as it gets..

So let me get this straight. Did you just trade 2x 980ti for 2x 1070? To get the same performance, and on top run at 100% fan speed so there is no noise/temp advantage either.... And how did you arrive at 2x 3 slot cards? It doesn't make any sense lol... And that spacer man, if you want your bottom card to die from sag, keep it in there

@OP: as far as trading in these cards goes, I honestly don't see this is a cost effective upgrade in any case; but:
- SLI has its problems, which means you're throwing away money on an already badly timed and rather minor upgrade
- When you're down to one card, you've gained zero
- Extra heat, power consumption
- The trade up to 1080 is 25-30% performance, best case. What do you expect to be able to do with that, that you can't do now? Its not enough to drive 4K either way, 2x 1070 isn't either (VRAM bottleneck), so just like the 1070 purchase, the move to a 1080 kinda feels like a short-lived useful upgrade.

This is why I arrive at selling the 1070, it does have an inflated price point right now which is in your advantage (and does NOT favor buying another one atm) and this way you'll have your hands on a stronger single card that is likely to be much more consistent across all games you play now and in the future at a minimal loss.

 

[trog100]

my decision was based on what i need for gaming and what i need for mining..

just for gaming my pair of 980 TI cards were fine.. for mining 24/7 not so fine.. saving 200 watts adds up.. the pair of 1070 cards also run much cooler and quieter.. the rig now mines in the background without it being noticed.. it wont game and mine at the same time but it seems to do everything else quite happily..

my 980 TI cards are now on ebay for £350 one sold the day before yesterday and the other is still up..

allowing for the sale of the 980 TI cards the swap around will cost me about £150 in all.. roughly about what i will save in leccy over a year..

mulitple cards scale 100% in mining not so much in gaming but i find at 1440 the games that dont scale well dont really need to.. they play fine on just one 1070.. games like witcher or say crysis 3 that really do need extra power scale well enough..

1070 cards in the UK run between £400 and £500.. 1080s run between $500 and £600.. both are over priced.. 1080 TIs run between £700 and £800..

mining wise two 1070 cards piss all over a single 1080 TI card..

mining on my daily rig did influence my thinking.. without that i would have just stuck with my pair of room heater 980 TIs.. he he

i joined this thread just to show what 1070 SLI does for real.. i happen to think its getting more of a bad press than it really deserves..

trog

ps.. happily mining away in the background .. nice and cool and nice and quite.. he he..

i do rather like the "better than 99% " it tells me in firestrike as well.. i just did a test run (miner off) at 23.500.. all nice and cool and nice and quite.. he he..

 

[Outback Bronze]

i happen to think its getting more of a bad press than it really deserves..

I've had my 1070's since day dot and they have been awesome

 

[neatfeatguy]

I ran 2 Zotac GTX 980Ti AMP Omega cards in my build for about 8 months. I had about half an inch between the two cards. The top card ran hot quick, it would easily hit the thermal threshold of 83C or whatever it is (this is even with 1 bottom intake fan and 2 front intake fans blowing directly across the GPUs). The bottom card would stay cool and generally never went past 45C. Just not an ideal setup without having a proper motherboard to give ample space between the PCIE slots.

I moved the second card to another build now since I don't really need that kind of GPU power in my gaming rig. I only really got the second card because the price drop once the 10xx hit the shelves.

 

[trog100]

I ran 2 Zotac GTX 980Ti AMP Omega cards in my build for about 8 months. I had about half an inch between the two cards. The top card ran hot quick, it would easily hit the thermal threshold of 83C or whatever it is (this is even with 1 bottom intake fan and 2 front intake fans blowing directly across the GPUs). The bottom card would stay cool and generally never went past 45C. Just not an ideal setup without having a proper motherboard to give ample space between the PCIE slots.

I moved the second card to another build now since I don't really need that kind of GPU power in my gaming rig. I only really got the second card because the price drop once the 10xx hit the shelves.

its more of an ideal set up with a couple of 1070 cards.. the lower power (200 watts less) draw seems to make all the 980 TI sli cooling problems go away.. having just made the direct swap from a couple of 980 tI cards to a couple of 1070 cards the difference is very very obvious..

i think its to do with the backplate temps.. the backplate on my 980 TI cards used to run at a similar temp to the core.. the entire card heated up..

i just measured the backplates on my palit 1070 cards.. they are reading about 45 C with the core reading 70 C.. the problems with the 980 TI card isnt so much the narrow gap its the excessive heat coming of the bottoms cards backplate..

i was expecting something similar with the 1070 cards but its just not there.. both top and bottom cards run at similar temps.. the over the top cooler on the palit 1070 cards seems to work wonders..

trog