Crossfire Advice?

[Obakee]

Hello all, just recently purchased a 2nd non-reference 5870 to pair with my reference 5870. I have seen that in crossfire the top card runs fairly hot, and have read that water cooling the top card is a good idea.

But anyways, I was wondering if anyone had experiences so far with a crossfire 5870 build and if they had to resort to water cooling. What were the temps like with and without etc.

If I just used air cooling how would the lifespan of the card(s) be affected? And would extended gaming (4-8 hours) cause in BSOD and other errors due to heat?

I currently have an Antec 1200 case with all optional fans installed.
and my video cards are:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...29140&Tpk=5870

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-456-_-Product

Any advice is GREATLY appreciated.

 

[Apocalypse23]

I think you will be fine on air cooling alone. Crossfiring those cards should be a breeze and you should still be able to OC them nicely. The 5870s run cool. If you want to OC the cards significantly and also prefer a quieter and cooler solution, then by all means resort to water. But once again air cooling should be fine.

 

[Obakee]

Thanks for the speedy response

That is the wrong XFX card, but I can't seem to find the one I got on Newegg anymore.

I got the card couple days ago but when I booted them in crossfire the card was fried. I was able to run one Heaven benchmark and it ran beautifully. Shortly after I had red vertical lines and monitor flashing on and off shortly after exiting the bench. So I RMA'd it and waiting for a replacement to come.

I was slightly scared the card was overheating because when I ran the benchmark it was ROARING haha. Running the single card is so quiet in comparison.

 

[Obakee]

To clarify, I had the Visiontek beforehand and the XFX for the addition, I've had the Visiontek for about 2 weeks now and haven't had any problems.