GTS250s in SLI > One is 15C Hotter Than the Other
jedihobbit
Central Virginia, USA New
Have built my first SLI system over at http://icrontic.com/forum/showthread.php?t=88449 and noticed one of the cards in HWmon is running up to 15C hotter than the other, with Precision naming the hot one GPU1. The average is 13C by both utilities. This is with one card in the mid to low 50s and the other as high as 76C. This is while folding with the cards in SLI. When time and attitude come together I will knock out the SLI part.
Now is this a "normal" occurance for this kind of setup or should I figure out which card is #1 and redo the thermal goop? For those not wanting to go over to the log.....
I removed the hsf so as to paint the plastic covers. The first one I did actually ran 3 - 5 C cooler than "stock". I used zalman thermal paste (the one in the bottle) on both BTW. I did note that the second one in stock mode appeared to be running about 5C warmer but thought changing the thermal paste might fix that.
Now is this a "normal" occurance for this kind of setup or should I figure out which card is #1 and redo the thermal goop? For those not wanting to go over to the log.....
I removed the hsf so as to paint the plastic covers. The first one I did actually ran 3 - 5 C cooler than "stock". I used zalman thermal paste (the one in the bottle) on both BTW. I did note that the second one in stock mode appeared to be running about 5C warmer but thought changing the thermal paste might fix that.
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Comments
So many potential factors, positioning in the case, air flow from other fans and compoenets, but a 15C difference seems pretty big.
Have you given the thermal compound time to cure on each chip?
I don't run SLI so I can't say if a 15c difference is unusual or not.
1. Still haven't confirmed it but believe the top card is number 1 (has cable)
2. #1 is doing the lion's share of the work in SLI
3. If you look at the second picture the 120 blows directly on the bottom card.
4. A notoriously hot NB sits under under the top card.
5. Old case equals only 1 x 80mm exit fan, need to work on something here as removing the the side panel dropped temps by 10C.
And to "prove" that it is card position etc and not the an individual 250 I swapped the cards and still had the 15ishC temp difference.