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Question

How should i cool my Crossfire-GPU's

Apr 2, 2015 11:14PM PDT

I have a problem with my GPU temperature's since I added a second GPU. They are both Radeon-6870's.

Under load they can reach temperatures of around 90C (left one) and 95 (right one) respectively.

Here's an image showing the inside of the PC

I'm note sure how I should cool them, I see the airflow is not so good here. Would putting a fan right onto the GPU's help?
Any tips are welcome!

Discussion is locked

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Answer
That's a strange looking fan.
Apr 3, 2015 2:01AM PDT

or is that liquid cooling? What kind of video card is it?

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An XFX Radeon 6870 Double Dissipation and a stock AMD 6870
Apr 3, 2015 11:08AM PDT

The XFX is on the left. This is actually the card which gives the most heat problems. I switched them so now the XFX is on the right. Now the stock Radeon overheats too much. The GPU's are not liquid cooled..

For some reason the card on the left seems to have the biggest problems with overheating (maybe because the right card profits from the PSU fan?)

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That computer looks like it's really pack.
Apr 3, 2015 11:26AM PDT

I looks like you may have do some improvising. Did you have that problem when you didn't have the crossfire setup?

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Nope, should have told that...
Apr 3, 2015 8:03PM PDT

Without crossfire one GPU used to heat up until around 85 degrees.
Now right one heats up to 90 degrees and the one on the left can reach temperatures up to 95 degrees.

Do you think putting a fan on the GPU's would help?

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5 degrees is not that much of a difference.
Apr 4, 2015 1:37AM PDT

So it seem maybe that case is just compact but not being there to see the situation I am afraid I don't have any suggestion...sorry.

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Answer
Frankly that's one tight case.
Apr 4, 2015 2:09AM PDT

Too bad it's not full size but if this was mine I may do the old leave the side cover off move. And maybe point a house fan at the open side. That will give it as much air as possible. With the case cover on, you should be cooking parts.
Bob

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Thanks for the tip!
Apr 4, 2015 4:08AM PDT

Unfortunately I have a cat walking around my room who really likes warm spots, so I'm afraid she'll try to crawl into my pc if I leave the cover off..

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Answer
Heat build-up
Apr 4, 2015 3:33AM PDT

Yours is classic example of small case holding heat build-up and little to exhaust it all. On top of that you add another GPU which are far greater at generating heat and these are next to each other is bound to cause problems. You flat out need a bigger case and one that allows "airflow" greater access to vent all that heat build-up. While "liquid cooling" will help, it still is hampered by the severe small size of the case. Once you really step-up the demands, this PC will age quickly and have problem(s) pop-up one way or another. While a household fan will that too maybe limited because you really need to vent that heat away and you don't want to hear a fan(s) all the time. Get some ideas from gaming PCs that genrally are more liberal in cooling methods, visit or checkout gaming PC builders to see what they do.

tada ------Willy Happy

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Answer
Thanks for the replies guys!
Apr 4, 2015 4:15AM PDT

I see I've got a too small housing problem. And heat is inevitable unless I would use some liquid cooling or get a bigger housing. This PC setup is however too outdated for it to invest in such upgrades. I might try to putting a simple fan pointing at the GPU's somewhere in the housing to see if that would help..
I'll post a reply later to let you know if it helps.

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Answer
-UPDATE-
Apr 4, 2015 4:57AM PDT

It seems that the Stock radeon GPU's fan is perfectly capable of keeping temperatures well below 90C under full load, which I think is acceptable. The GPU however allows its temperature to go up to almost 100C (the fan will then only be running at about 50-60% speed).

I will reconfigure the fan profile to let it run faster and keep the temperatures down, or do you think that poses a risk of the fan breaking?

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Even at 90C you're losing GPU speed.
Apr 4, 2015 5:39AM PDT