2x GTX 570s Asus Sabertooth X58

[Avalon88]

Ok, so I now have two GTX 570s on an Asus Sabertooth X58.

Do I install them in the closest pci-express x16 slots....or does one of the cards go on the outer slot so there is more airflow....

I notice that the outer slot is still x16 but has 'a x4 link' whereas the others are 16x link? What does this mean and does it matter? Will it affect my speeds?

Thanks for the help during this build ppl

 

[digitaldurandal]

Top two x16 slots will have the most bandwidth. Otherwise find a digital version of your mb manual and it will tell you what to use. The motherboard is SLI certified I assume - which means it should have come with an SLI bridge.

 

[Avalon88]

Yep it's SLI certified, it's just the top two x16 slots are close together meaning the cards have very little space between them and run pretty hot....just wondering whether this is the normal thing to do?

 

[Elfear]

Judging by reviews of your board, the 3rd slot really is limited to x4 speed. Seems kind of a dumb way for Asus to lay the circuitry out but I'm no electrical engineer. You'll have to keep the cards in the first two slots as others have suggested to get maximum performance.

 

[Annisman*]

Now obviously he has to use the two closer slots for max performance, but I think I read somewhere that a 4X slot only takes away about 5% performance maximum, he could make that up easily with an OC on the two cards.

With that being said, the review I saw on PCI-E bandwitdth was a year or two ago, and they probably weren't using such powerful cards as the two 570's the OP has, so the percent may rise with the power of the cards used.

 

[RavenSEAL]

Judging by reviews of your board, the 3rd slot really is limited to x4 speed. Seems kind of a dumb way for Asus to lay the circuitry out but I'm no electrical engineer. You'll have to keep the cards in the first two slots as others have suggested to get maximum performance.

No 8x slot? That blows...

 

[3DVagabond]

The 570 has it's edges near the blower intake beveled for airflow, just for that reason. You should be fine using them in the first 2 slots.

 

[happy medium]

Gtx 570 cards have a bumpdown in the shroud where the fan is to get more airflow when in sli. They also intake air from the back of the card near the power connectors.

See.....

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814162070&cm_re=gtx570-_-14-162-070-_-Product

Compare this to the flat square shape of a reference 6970. There is also no intake holes in the back of the card near the power connectors. I believe this is the reason these cards get hot/loud while in x-fire.

See......

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ImageG...th%20Eyefinity

edit:
Ahhh , he beat me to it.

 

[3DVagabond]

Yes, except I didn't make it nVidia vs. AMD. :\

 

[Rifter]

Seperateing them is the best option. Im running 2 460's sandwiched together now and the top card is hella hot but as soon as i get a EATX case im moving one to the bottom slot. My motherboard has a 8x speed though, im unsure how much of a hit you will take with a 4x slot.

 

[nitromullet]

If your PCIe slots are 16x/16x/4x you use the two 16x slots. The top card will be hotter, but they are ultimately designed so they can be run next to each other. Plus, the included SLI bridge won't be long enough for you to use the first and third slot.

 

[Keysplayr]

Yes, except I didn't make it nVidia vs. AMD. :\

What other example should he have used? Matrox Multicard? My friend, "you" just made it nVidia vs. AMD. Not Happy Medium. Whether you realize it or not. You are the one taking THAT context out of his post, when the rest of us are looking at blower shrouds. Congrats.

 

[digitaldurandal]

Seperateing them is the best option. Im running 2 460's sandwiched together now and the top card is hella hot but as soon as i get a EATX case im moving one to the bottom slot. My motherboard has a 8x speed though, im unsure how much of a hit you will take with a 4x slot.

The 570s sandwhiched run about 91 and 88 using surround gaming for me during Mafia II. Less for CODBO or DA:O

They do produce some heat when pushed, but so do the 69x0 series. All the latest and greatest do.

 

[nitromullet]

The 570s sandwhiched run about 91 and 88 using surround gaming for me during Mafia II. Less for CODBO or DA:O

They do produce some heat when pushed, but so do the 69x0 series. All the latest and greatest do.

That temp delta is pretty good for two cards stacked next to each other. I think my GXT 470s had a higher delta and there was an open slot between them.

 

[Elfear]

What other example should he have used? Matrox Multicard? My friend, "you" just made it nVidia vs. AMD. Not Happy Medium. Whether you realize it or not. You are the one taking THAT context out of his post, when the rest of us are looking at blower shrouds. Congrats.

Uhhh, you have it backwards Keys. A certain poster who we'll refer to as the Joyous Clairvoyant ALWAYS makes it about AMD vs. Nvidia. Not that the post in this thread was out of line IMO but his basic MO is inciting company rivalry with a definite love of a certain team.

That being said, Nvidia did do a good job with the blower case design to allow more airflow between the cards when sandwiched together.

OP, is your case a traditional tower? I ask on the off chance your case positions the motherboard horizontally in which case you could lay a 120mm fan across the two cards to give the top card more airflow. I did that with a pair of 4890s and it noticeably helped lower temps.

 

[3DVagabond]

What other example should he have used? Matrox Multicard? My friend, "you" just made it nVidia vs. AMD. Not Happy Medium. Whether you realize it or not. You are the one taking THAT context out of his post, when the rest of us are looking at blower shrouds. Congrats.

Oh, it's Happy's lawyer.
No need to spin ut at all. I didn't need to mention AMD in order to explain. There was no reason for him to either.

 

[Avalon88]

Uhhh, you have it backwards Keys. A certain poster who we'll refer to as the Joyous Clairvoyant ALWAYS makes it about AMD vs. Nvidia. Not that the post in this thread was out of line IMO but his basic MO is inciting company rivalry with a definite love of a certain team.

That being said, Nvidia did do a good job with the blower case design to allow more airflow between the cards when sandwiched together.

OP, is your case a traditional tower? I ask on the off chance your case positions the motherboard horizontally in which case you could lay a 120mm fan across the two cards to give the top card more airflow. I did that with a pair of 4890s and it noticeably helped lower temps.

Elfear, my case is the silverstone Raven rv02, so it's a 90 deg rotated design. The cards point to the sky and 3x 180mm fans blow air from the bottom of the case through to the 120mm(?) extraction fan on top. Cables are neat and out of the way, so I think the airflow in there is pretty good.....I get temps of 81 and 79 degrees running Crysis at 1920x1080 with maxed settings and my cards fan speeds sits at around 54%.

I don't know if any of that is normal.

Thanks for everyones' responses, you don't know how much help it is when ironing out computer issues...

 

[digitaldurandal]

Elfear, my case is the silverstone Raven rv02, so it's a 90 deg rotated design. The cards point to the sky and 3x 120mm fans blow air from the bottom of the case through to the 120mm(?) extraction fan on top. Cables are neat and out of the way, so I think the airflow in there is pretty good.....I get temps of 81 and 79 degrees running Crysis at 1920x1080 with maxed settings and my cards fan speeds sits at around 54%.

I don't know if any of that is normal.

Thanks for everyones' responses, you don't know how much help it is when ironing out computer issues...

May have just found my next case.

 

[CVSiN]

Avalon I too am running the X58 Sabertooth in a SLI setup I am using the EVGA EE 460 1 GB's though. these are the rear exhaust versions made especially for setups like this. running mine in a Coolermaster HAF 932 case.

they are very close together but the temps are well within operating temp range and never get over 70c on the hotter card. even after hours and hours of gaming.
The fans never even rev up even when set to auto in the EVGA Precision tool.

 

[3DVagabond]

Elfear, my case is the silverstone Raven rv02, so it's a 90 deg rotated design. The cards point to the sky and 3x 120mm fans blow air from the bottom of the case through to the 120mm(?) extraction fan on top. Cables are neat and out of the way, so I think the airflow in there is pretty good.....I get temps of 81 and 79 degrees running Crysis at 1920x1080 with maxed settings and my cards fan speeds sits at around 54%.

I don't know if any of that is normal.

Thanks for everyones' responses, you don't know how much help it is when ironing out computer issues...

Actually, those bottom fans are 3x180mm. It's also excellent at keeping dust out of your system. The Ravens and Fortress FT02 are the best cases on the market if you are air cooling.

 

[rgallant]

Elfear, my case is the silverstone Raven rv02, so it's a 90 deg rotated design. The cards point to the sky and 3x 120mm fans blow air from the bottom of the case through to the 120mm(?) extraction fan on top. Cables are neat and out of the way, so I think the airflow in there is pretty good.....I get temps of 81 and 79 degrees running Crysis at 1920x1080 with maxed settings and my cards fan speeds sits at around 54%. [ too slow]

I don't know if any of that is normal.

Thanks for everyones' responses, you don't know how much help it is when ironing out computer issues...

download -msi after burner -with it you can make auto fan profiles.
-you could set it for lets say -55c = 55% fan ,then 60c = 60% fan, 75c = 75% fan,
-as those cards reach a set temp the fans will speed\down up to the settings of the profile by it's self ,just like the card does now, but @ your fan speed settings.


http://downloads.guru3d.com/Afterburner-2.1.0-Beta-5-download-2604.html

 

[Matrices]

That's quite a dumb layout. If they were going to put the two 16x slots right next to each other, they should have at least added the option of populating the third slot so that you could run slots 1 and 3 at 8x each rather than fixing slot 3 at 4x.

Still, your case is the best for air cooling and your temps look perfectly fine.

 

[Avalon88]

That's quite a dumb layout. If they were going to put the two 16x slots right next to each other, they should have at least added the option of populating the third slot so that you could run slots 1 and 3 at 8x each rather than fixing slot 3 at 4x.

Still, your case is the best for air cooling and your temps look perfectly fine.

*breathes a sigh of relief*

Thanks, nice to know things are 'normal'. Seeing temps like 80c made me think my cards were about to melt

 

[RavenSEAL]

*breathes a sigh of relief*

Thanks, nice to know things are 'normal'. Seeing temps like 80c made me think my cards were about to melt

Why? Most of these high end GPUs have a T.J max of 100C and average 70-80C while on load

 

[Avalon88]

Why? Most of these high end GPUs have a T.J max of 100C and average 70-80C while on load

Honestly had no idea of what temps these cards ran at