Looking for upgrade advice: SLI + cooling

Luck100

Hi guys, I'm looking at upgrading my graphics and cooling (for overclocking). Currently have the following

Intel Core i7-3770K (not overclocked currently)
Gigabyte G1.Sniper 3 EATX LGA1155
G.Skill Ares Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1600
Mushkin Chronos Deluxe 240GB 2.5" SSD
Western Digital Caviar Green 3TB
EVGA GeForce GTX 670 2GB
Antec Eleven Hundred ATX Full Tower
SeaSonic 1050W
Dell U2713HM 27.0" (2560 x 1440)

For graphics, it seems like the obvious move is to add a second gtx 670 in SLI. Scan has a Zotac for 175 pounds, seems like a good price:
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/2gb-zotac-gtx-670-overclocked-28nm-pcie-30-(x16)-6008mhz-gddr5-gpu-954mhz-boost-1033mhz-cores-1344-d

What do you think? Or wait for the 8xx series cards? That could be a while. The 7xx series doesn't really seem sufficiently better to make it worth selling my 670 for an upgrade.

I was also thinking of adding cpu cooling (and maybe some case fans) to handle extra heat from SLI and overclock the cpu. Right now I only have stock case fans (one top and one rear exhaust) and stock intel cpu cooler. Frankly I'm baffled by the cpu cooler reviews - very different results for the same coolers depending which one you look at.

Basically I want to get a reasonable overclock but I'm not looking to set any records. I'd rather keep the system reasonably quiet if possible.

Bepolite

I'd hold off on a new GPU if you can. Fair amount going on with the upcoming AMD releases. If anything it will push prices down elsewhere.

TBH I tend to avoid SLI/Xfire these days, too much like hard work cooling them. That said I do like overclocking stuff so maybe it's different if you're going to run at stock, to me that's like leaving money on the table though!

Luck100

Like I said, I don't need to set any records here. But surely I gain a lot from a second gtx 670? Even without additional overclocking? I'm running at 2560x1440 so I could use the additional firepower for some of the more demanding games.

What's not so clear to me is how much I'll gain from overclocking the cpu, and what would be the best choice for cooling. I have the space for a big air cooler, but the installation seems a bit scary.

The Golden Teapot

I went from around 50 fps to over 90 when i went sli with my 660 ti's on far cry 3 at 1440p. So pretty decent scaling i'd say. As long as your motherboard can handle sli i'm sure you will be happy with adding a second!!

Bepolite

Obviously (and it kinda goes without saying) there's not point in more than 60FPS if the monitor can do over 60Hz.

BloodBath

You don't need a big air cooler. Something cheap like a Cooler master hyper 212 evo should get you around 4.5ghz with that cpu if your case airflow is decent. You could go for something slightly bigger and better like the Thermalright True Spirit 140 mm if the case is wide enough to support it.

You should fill out all or most case fan mounting options. I'd add 4 intake fans to that case. 2 at the front and 2 at the side. You will probably need a fan controller then as well to power and control the speed of these. Choosing decent fans will help airflow and reduce noise levels as well.

Luck100

Thanks BloodBath, that's what I was looking for. For cooling/airflow purposes, let's assume I have the 2 gtx 670's installed. They're both reference design coolers, so they shouldn't be dumping much hot air in the case.

Now here come the questions....

How do the evo and the thermalright compare noise-wise? I assume the thermalright is quieter? And both quieter than the stock intel cooler? Why would you prefer those two versus something like Noctua NH-D14 or Bequiet Dark Rock Pro 2 (besides price)?

No clue about case fans and fan controllers - any recommendations on particular ones? Cost is not a major factor, I would prefer quality parts that will run quietly. Where does the fan controller go - in an empty external drive bay? I'm guessing I need the controller so the fans don't blast max speed all the time, correct?

BloodBath

There is surprisingly very little between the cheaper coolers and the more expensive ones on the newer architectures (Ivy, Haswell). This is a combination of the die shrink and the poor quality thermal interface material intel are now using in their processors instead of solder.

Temps will still be a little better on the big guns like the nh d14 and the dark rock pro 2 but not a lot better. The thermalright will be quieter than the 212 evo and the the 2 big guns would be slightly quieter again. All much quieter than the stock cooler.

I think the True Spirit 140 is at a good price/performance level but if you want to try and push higher clocks then go for a dark rock pro 2.

Whatever you choose make sure it fits your case and that the side case fans won't block it which might be a problem with the bigger coolers.

What size are those fan mounts? 120mm or 140mm? The be quiet silent wings are highly rated but expensive. These are great for the price.

The fan controller goes into an empty 5.25" drive bay. Something like this would allow you to control 5 fans as well as giving you temp sensors and making your pc look a little more flash in the process You can put the other fans on your motherboard connections and control their speeds through the bios. There should be at least 3 on the board so you have control over 8 fans including the cpu cooler fan/s.

Luck100

Thanks BloodBath, that was very helpful.

I measured everything and I think any of those "big guns" will fit (except maybe the True Spirit, it's the tallest and widest). But I also did some research and realized why you like the CM 212 so much. Basically the thermal profile for ivy explodes past 4.5 GHz so lots more cooling only gets maybe 0.3 GHz more clock. So, limited upside. On the downside, the big gun coolers are much heavier and block ram slots, and they can sometimes touch the nearest graphics card (electrical short!). Apparently some of the recent builds at Tom's hardware with the NH-D14 had issues because the cooler's weight may have warped or cracked the motherboard.

I think I'm going to go with the CM 212 evo. My unfilled fan mounts are all 120mm, so I'm going to pick up a few of your recommended Thermalright X-silents and the Aerocool controller. Probably two side mount fans, a couple of front intake fans and possibly one intake fan on the underside of the CPU (the case has a vent on the back side of the motherboard behind the CPU). There's also a couple of internal intake fan mounts, behind the drive bays, but those don't seem like they would do much if the front fans are in place.

Do those fans come with much cabling? I can't find any specs on cable length. I just want to be sure they can reach the Aerocool in the front (especially the side mount fans). I see scan has some cable extenders and y-cables (to put two fans on one controller pin), maybe I should just add a few of those?

BloodBath

Good choice. The 212 is a great little cooler and perfect for ivy really. 4.5ghz is a perfectly acceptable overclock especially from a €30 cpu cooler

I have no idea of the cable length on the fans. If it's a full tower case then maybe you should get a couple of those to make sure.

I wouldn't bother with the fan mounts behind the drive bays. That seems to be more of an option for an internal radiator for water cooling.

Luck100

Yep, I threw in a few extenders just in case. Fortunately I put the order in last night, because the Zotac gtx 670 has already gone back up by 17 pounds :eek:

I get the impression most people remove the motherboard from the case to fit the cpu cooler. Would I be crazy to do the cooler mounting while the motherboard is in the case? My case opens up entirely behind the motherboard, with a cutout behind the cpu for installing the reinforcement bracket. I'd remove the nearest cards and lay the case down to make the motherboard horizontal. I like the idea of the motherboard being bolted in the case so it can't slip or move when I apply pressure during the mounting.

BloodBath

It should be easier since it's not a massive cooler but the 212 is a little fiddly to install.

That stupid x shape adjustable bracket took me ages to figure out but it should be fine.

Luck100

Scan is out of stock on the CM 212 evo. I just noticed the Thermalright HR-02 Macho, any opinions on that one? It's in stock so I could just change my order. On paper it looks better than the True Spirit 140, and it's actually shorter and not as wide. Also much lighter than the NH-D14 and the Dark Rock 2 Pro.

BloodBath

Performance wise it's pretty much identical to the True Spirit 140. Both are better than the 212 evo but also a lot bigger.

Luck100

Well, after almost a month of waiting I got my order delivered from scan. Both the gtx 670 and coolermaster hyper 212 evo were out of stock when I got my order in. I was nearly ready to cancel when they finally sent it out.

Very happy so far with the gtx 670's in SLI. They actually seem to run a bit cooler in SLI than the first card did alone. Scaling is very good, I went from 49 fps in Just Cause 2 benchmark to 94 fps. Metro 2033 is very playable now at 2560x1440 on very high settings. Loads more to try when I get the time

I installed the cpu cooler (in place of stock Intel) and that seems quite an improvement. Max core temp went from 93 degrees to 67 in prime95 with stock bios. With a little undervolting it comes down to peak of 55 with all fans running at lowest levels. I tried overclocking as well, but sadly my cpu is not an overclocking superstar. It wants quite high voltages for stability at higher clocks. I needed at least 1.3 volts for 4.5GHz, and then the temps went over 100C on prime95.

Thanks again for all the advice. The fan control was quite useful, as now I can get the system dead silent under max load when I undervolt and run at stock speed. I'm also very glad I didn't try to get a bigger cpu cooler - there's definitely not enough clearance on two sides (case side fans and the nearest gpu would both block any of the bigger coolers).

Redfox25

BloodBath wrote: »

The fan controller goes into an empty 5.25" drive bay. Something like this would allow you to control 5 fans as well as giving you temp sensors and making your pc look a little more flash in the process You can put the other fans on your motherboard connections and control their speeds through the bios. There should be at least 3 on the board so you have control over 8 fans including the cpu cooler fan/s.

Sorry to ninja your post. How will this fit in a 5.2 drive without leaving a gap at the sides? Thinking of getting one myself, have a 5.2 drive free but not a 3.5 without moving a fan from behind it.

Luck100

Redfox25 wrote: »

Sorry to ninja your post. How will this fit in a 5.2 drive without leaving a gap at the sides? Thinking of getting one myself, have a 5.2 drive free but not a 3.5 without moving a fan from behind it.

Yes, it's made to go in a 5.25 inch bay. Same size as a regular optical drive.

Redfox25

Grand, I must have misread the description and thought it was for a 3.5 inch drive.

Thanks for clearing that up for me Luck100