Too many video cards

cardogab7341 · 2014-12-25, 16:45

I inherited a new (for me) video card from my son who got a new video card for his system, Now I have 3 cards in mine running TF and the middle one is running HOT (99 deg. C). I'm thinking of an aftermaket cooler, but the problem is that being sandwiched like that there is no room for fresh air to enter. The fan is at 100% and quite loud. FYI the new card is a GTX 670 and the other two are GTX 460's. I'll see how long the hot card lasts or how long I last listening to the fan whine.....

tha · 2014-12-25, 17:05

Quote:

Originally Posted by cardogab7341

I'll see how long the hot card lasts or how long I last listening to the fan whine.....

Not long. I recommend finding a spare system and putting it in there. Plenty of people doing away with systems that are perfectly OK for jobs like this. Have you considered the possibility that the result of this action may be that all three cards break down or even worse?

TheMawn · 2014-12-25, 17:09

That's a tough spot to be in. I would pretty much always recommend water cooling when a person gets beyond 2 GPU's but I'm guessing that you don't want to go there.

There are PCI-E slot extensions that you may find of use. Something along the lines of this.

kladner · 2014-12-25, 17:15

Quote:

Originally Posted by cardogab7341

I inherited a new (for me) video card from my son who got a new video card for his system, Now I have 3 cards in mine running TF and the middle one is running HOT (99 deg. C). I'm thinking of an aftermaket cooler, but the problem is that being sandwiched like that there is no room for fresh air to enter. The fan is at 100% and quite loud. FYI the new card is a GTX 670 and the other two are GTX 460's. I'll see how long the hot card lasts or how long I last listening to the fan whine.....

Does your case have a side fan port? Do you have a fan in it, if so? Something good for high static pressure could make a difference here. Besides the side fan, when I was running (just!) two GPUs, I had two Antec Spot Fans blowing into the space between the cards. Thing is, I had a whole-slot gap in between, so it was possible to ram some air in there. Obviously, you as dealing with much tighter clearance, so I'm not sure how much you can improve things.

One alternative to the current situation would be to put the middle card on a riser cable (as shown above!) to get it out of the tight spot. You could also try leaving the side cover off and putting an external fan to blow on things.

ewmayer · 2014-12-25, 22:55

Quote:

Originally Posted by kladner

Does your case have a side fan port?

The OP should consider leaving the side panel opposite the MoBo off - then the case fans can blow air out the top and back and continually draw a nice airflow from the room.

(Leaving the panel off also makes it easy to get in there at short notice, keep an eye out for dust buildup, etc.

cardogab7341 · 2014-12-25, 23:53

Thanks for the tips. I decided the easiest and cheapest solution was to put one of the 460's in my son's machine and run it from there. His main card is a GTX 970, so the 460 won't interfere with anything he's doing. Just out of curiosity I tried to run MFAKTC on the 970 but it did not work. Is there a newer version that is compatible with the 900 series cards?

manfred4 · 2014-12-26, 01:11

Runs smoothly on a GTX 970 with this one:
http://www.mersenneforum.org/showpos...postcount=2404

Chuck · 2014-12-26, 02:48

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheMawn

That's a tough spot to be in. I would pretty much always recommend water cooling when a person gets beyond 2 GPU's but I'm guessing that you don't want to go there.

There are PCI-E slot extensions that you may find of use. Something along the lines of this.

That's what I did; I hung the video card outside of the case (I have one side of the computer case permanently removed).

Mark Rose · 2014-12-26, 03:32

If you can turn your drive cage sideways, do it. Your front intake fan is facing a lot of static pressure from the metal bits in the way.

2014-12-25, 16:45	#1
cardogab7341 Mar 2013 Dallas, TX 30₁₀ Posts	Too many video cards I inherited a new (for me) video card from my son who got a new video card for his system, Now I have 3 cards in mine running TF and the middle one is running HOT (99 deg. C). I'm thinking of an aftermaket cooler, but the problem is that being sandwiched like that there is no room for fresh air to enter. The fan is at 100% and quite loud. FYI the new card is a GTX 670 and the other two are GTX 460's. I'll see how long the hot card lasts or how long I last listening to the fan whine..... Attached Thumbnails

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
custom drivers for video cards?	ixfd64	GPU Computing	1	2013-11-16 01:13
Best use for my cards?	Mark Rose	GPU Computing	14	2013-10-02 18:31
Cudalucas on cheap cards	PageFault	GPU Computing	13	2012-05-04 13:44
credit cards- should they be illegal ?	science_man_88	Science & Technology	36	2010-11-26 11:27
Using the GPU on video cards for GIMPS?	dans	Hardware	4	2004-05-09 23:58

2014-12-25, 17:09	#3
TheMawn May 2013 East. Always East. 11·157 Posts	That's a tough spot to be in. I would pretty much always recommend water cooling when a person gets beyond 2 GPU's but I'm guessing that you don't want to go there. There are PCI-E slot extensions that you may find of use. Something along the lines of this.

2014-12-25, 23:53	#6
cardogab7341 Mar 2013 Dallas, TX 2·3·5 Posts	Thanks for the tips. I decided the easiest and cheapest solution was to put one of the 460's in my son's machine and run it from there. His main card is a GTX 970, so the 460 won't interfere with anything he's doing. Just out of curiosity I tried to run MFAKTC on the 970 but it did not work. Is there a newer version that is compatible with the 900 series cards?

2014-12-26, 01:11	#7
manfred4 Mar 2014 Germany 2³·3·5 Posts	Runs smoothly on a GTX 970 with this one: http://www.mersenneforum.org/showpos...postcount=2404

2014-12-26, 03:32	#9
Mark Rose "/X\(‘-‘)/X\" Jan 2013 29·101 Posts	If you can turn your drive cage sideways, do it. Your front intake fan is facing a lot of static pressure from the metal bits in the way.