Dual FE or Hybrid + FE
tkz
Posts: 149
I'm considering picking up a second FE card... and wondering whether I should consider a hybrid instead of the second FE.
My case is a NZXT s340... and I was reaching the max temp of 85C pretty quickly when rendering. I purchased a couple intake fans (case didn't have them stock)... and that helped shave a few degrees.... Then I took the front panel off, the one that covers the intake screen, and that got another 8C down.. for a max of 74... which I was happy with.... but now I'm looking at upgrading a little and fearful that I'm going to be back in throttling land / wasting money. (for case fans, I have 2 intakes on the front, exhaust in upper back, another at the top, and the CPU is pushing towards the back... PSU has intake on the bottom and exchaust in the back)
My research thus far is indicating that in a dual GPU setup, especially dual FE, the top card tends to get starved for air... getting hotter and then throttling... Seems the suggested route is to get a hybrid for the top slot, and run the FE lower where it can breathe better... but since most of what I read tended to be coming from gamer orientated forums, I was hoping to get some intel from people who share my use case.
If you are running dual GPUs (or more), what is your setup, and what are your temps? What would you recommend?
Thanks in advance!
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Comments
If possible, I'd always recommend watercooling.. and the hybrids are a nice all-in-one if you don't run a custom loop.
So yea, I say go for it.. and can't really see a reason not too. I assume you have room to mount the radiator for it ok?
The case has 2 mounts in the front, one in the top, and one top rear. I was thinkng to try both top rear and the upper front... and see which worked better. That said, the hybrid is $150-200 (cad) more expensive, so would prefer to save the money if temps aren't going to be a bottleneck....
I'd say it's definately worth it.. if you're spending that much anyway it's worth the extra to ensure the card runs cooler for longer (plus hopefully the actual noise is reduced too). Either of those mounts sound like a good idea, too :)
For reference, my loop stays at 60c under load (that's 4 Titans, Dual Xeons.. a pair of 480 radiators).
Roger that, thanks Jack!
OK, I'm researching a new build and this interests me, but what in the world do you mean by FE?
Only thing I or Google comes up with is Founder's Edition. The Nvidia Founder's edition cards don't have water coolers available for them, right?
Fan Enclosure
FE = Founder's Edition
Seems that blower style cards (Mainly the FE's - which used to be called reference) tend to be better in multi gpu setups as they exhaust the air out of the case... however they can get starved for air if they don't have enough room to breathe.. hence considering the hybrid for the top PCI slot, which will have the second GPU right under it.
I have one of my systems in that case, and I love it. But I don't think it will take a radiator on the top mount, or even the rear. If you get it to fit in either location, I'd love to know. Thanks.
Good point.
I never really considered getting water cooling until now. I just ordered two Hybrid GPUs. I have 2 systems with 2 cards, air cooled both straight from Nvidia. In both, the top card barely goes over base clock. So, I figure the Hybrid cards will give me a nice boost over straight air cooled, as both cards should be going near peak boost clock. The AIO setup will get my feet wet to see personally if it's worth it.
Not sure which model case mine is, may not be sold anymore it's some Corsair that has 2 mounts on the side panel.