980 ti SLI, a couple questions.

[zipper76]

Hiya! First off my apologies if this is in the wrong forum. All my issues deal with 2 new video cards I purchased, but they span the range of motherboards and power supplies as well. Anyway, I recently leased a Titan X, thinking it would handle 4k games no problem, but it was a bit of a letdown. Today, I traded in that lease for a pair of 980 ti's. Here is the ones I got:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127889


They won't be here until like Monday or Tuesday so I have time to think, and that is usually bad, as I end up questioning things. Here is the rest of my rig:

NZXT Phantom
ASRock Z87 Fata1ty Killer
i7-4770k(stock clocks) with a Noctua NH D-14 cooler
32gb Gskill Ares 1866 ram
EVGA Supernova 1000w psu
2x 2tb Seagate 7200rpm hdd

Okay question number one. Will my power supply be enough? I have no experience with dual card setups, and I always like to leave my psu with room to spare. I run 3 USB devices, a Razer Naga, a Razer Black Widow Chroma, and a Corsair Vengeance 1500 headset. Nothing else draws power from the rig.

Question number 2. I read that in SLI, reference coolers are supposed to be better. Mine are the MSI Twin Frozr coolers. As they are not the blower style reference coolers, am I going to have heat issues? My case has(afaik) pretty good air flow.

This leads me to question 3. Here is my motherboard:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...ock_Z87_Fata1ty_Killer-_-13-157-460-_-Product

It has 3 x PCI Express 3.0 x16 Slots. As I am not familiar with dual card setups, I am unsure which slots to use? Do I stick the two cards right next to each other, or space them out to increase airflow between them? Also, do you still need to use an SLI bridge these days? I know my motherboard came with one but if I am not mistaken it is short and would only fit if the 2 cards were in the top 2 slots right next to each other. If I wanted to space the cards out, do they make a longer bridge or is that even possible? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Silverforce11]

1. PSU is good, no problems.

2. In my experience, reference are better for multi-GPU setups because the heat is dumped out your case. You say you have good** airflow but you won't know until you test with 500-600W of heat dumped in the closed case. It will definitely raise ambient temps a lot and you'll notice hotter CPU/HDD etc. With the reference 980Ti, just increase the fan speed and they shouldn't throttle clocks.

3. Space out as far as possible for your MB & Sli Bridge. Give the cards "room to breath" = better results.

** Basically test it and see whether its sufficient, if not, add more case fans and if that isn't enough, trade it in for reference.

 

[zipper76]

I just dug out the SLI bridge that came with my motherboard, and it is a rigid style and short, so I am assuming it is for putting the two cards right next to each other. I am going to order a longer bridge, is 120mm long enough you think? I don't know how far apart the 1st and 3rd slots are on the motherboard. This is the one I was looking at:

http://www.amazon.com/Nvidia-flexib...qid=1436430889&sr=1-2&keywords=msi+sli+bridge

Also, is there any difference in performance or longevity between using a flexible bridge vs a rigid one?

 

[kasakka]

Heat issues depend a lot on the airflow in your case. As there are few with 980 Ti in SLI, you just have to try and see how they perform. They could be fine at stock speeds for all I know but you have to realise that the 980 Tis run pretty hot even on the aftermarket coolers. If you keep getting temps closer to 80 degrees you either have to ramp up the fans or change to AIO watercoolers (in which case you have to figure where to put a few 120mm radiators).

PS. You should get a SSD for your rig. Biggest improvement in perceived speed you can get these days.

 

[Mondozei]

PSU is more than fine. Although the 980 Ti is not nearly as efficient as the 980. It runs hot and quite loud on the reference cooler. It's a tradeoff. I'd say better get two EVGA 980 Ti ACX 2.0 and you'll be thankful for their much more quiet operation. Also, think about having an open case to maximise airflow which would also stress the fans less.

 

[happy medium]

With your motherboard sli uses slots 2 and 5, that is a good distance apart. About 3 inches.
I think you can add a few case fans but your case does have good airflow.
psu is good.

Edit: a stock clocked 4770k might bottleneck 2 980ti's.
edit2: not if your using a 4k monitor

 

[alcoholbob]

PSU is more than fine. Although the 980 Ti is not nearly as efficient as the 980. It runs hot and quite loud on the reference cooler. It's a tradeoff. I'd say better get two EVGA 980 Ti ACX 2.0 and you'll be thankful for their much more quiet operation. Also, think about having an open case to maximise airflow which would also stress the fans less.

Is say ACX top card and reference bottom card is a better solution for SLI. With a ACX bottom card 300W of heat will be rising directly to the top card and cause it to choke and overheat.

 

[moonbogg]

Is say ACX top card and reference bottom card is a better solution for SLI. With a ACX bottom card 300W of heat will be rising directly to the top card and cause it to choke and overheat.

Two different cards? Blower on bottom and open fan on top? I say use two open fan cards and make sure the case has a really fast rate of air exchange going through it. Otherwise two reference cards is better without extreme case airflow IMO.
These cards dump so much heat its insane. The case will cook without major airflow. These things heat my whole room up almost instantly let alone a PC case. You can bake cookies in there without major airflow.

 

[zipper76]

Thanks for all the info everyone, much appreciated! I'm kinda locked in to those two 980 ti's now as I just started my new lease on them. I'm stuck with them for at least 2 months until I can change my lease again. I have a ton of 80mm fans laying around that I can scavenge if need be to increase airflow, or if necessary run an open case for the time being. Hopefully I will be alright.

I do intend to switch from my Noctua D-14 to a water cooling system eventually. Same goes for getting an SSD. I've been holding off on seeing what the reaction is to Windows 10 and will probably go the SSD route when I switch over a few months down the road. Thanks again yall are great!