GTX 480 SLI in HAF-X - nice temps

[Hauk]

While waiting for GTX 480s to arrive from step-up, I got an itch for a new case and decided on a HAF-X. It's duct cooling was reportedly co-designed by nVidia with the 4xx series in mind. I've also had my eye on a Noctua cooler so what the heck.

I've not searched for comparisons yet; but considering these are oc'd 480s in SLI parked right next to each other, I'm very happy with my temps. You'd think with all the fans, I'd have a noisy beast on my hands. It's very pleasant actually. Case fans are and Noctua fans are all rated at 19db, psu is whisper quiet, and 480s are quiet at idle, and are tolerable a bit past 70 percent. So far, only Heaven benchmark got fans spinning past 80 percent. I replaced TIM with AS5 but it's not cured, so temps could drop a degree or two more:

Well this would be Metro 2033, pic won't display:

Heaven Benchmark, DX11, normal tesslation, 4xAA, 16xAF, high shaders:

Heaven Benchmark, DX11, normal tesslation, 4xAA, 16xAF, high shaders, gpu fans locked at 70%:

Quick temp drop coming out of load!

Big door fan and 120mm duct fan hitting cards:

Noctua.. a big, ugly, kickass cooler! Actually I'm liking the color uniqueness:

Done for now:

Edit:
Added Heaven benchmark with gpu fans locked at 70%. GPU fan speed plays a huge role in load temps! The case and duct system certainly help when you consider this is SLI with cards close to each other; but cpu fan speed matters most it appears. Hopefully few games will push load temps like the benchmark. Metro 2033 was cruising quite nicely with very reasonable fan speeds.

 

[Face2Face]

Awesome setup.....I wish I still had my gaming rig

 

[Edrick]

That is a very nice case. I love the cooling for the graphic cards.

 

[Hauk]

That is a very nice case. I love the cooling for the graphic cards.

Yea I'm loving the case. It solved several interference problems I had with my last case. Cable routing was a breeze. Idle temps pic won't display for some reason, 44c and 42c.

 

[Grooveriding]

Wow, amazing temps for the top card with them directly side by side. :thumbsup:

I have a HAF 932 and have them spaced out because the top card got too hot with them close by like you have them.

Do you think it's the ducting system in the X that makes it cool so well ?

In regular gaming my cards are loading at around 78 to 83C, depending on the title, but that is with a fan profile that ramps the fans to around 70 to 75 percent under a gaming load to get those temps.

Have you ever ran Furmark on your setup ? My cards get to around 95C under Furmark :thumbsdown:

edit: ah, I see your fan speeds go up to around 85 percent, that may be the difference. Man they are loud enough at 70 to 75, how loud does your system get when you game ? Do you use headphones ?

 

[Hauk]

Wow, amazing temps for the top card with them directly side by side. :thumbsup:

I have a HAF 932 and have them spaced out because the top card got too hot with them close by like you have them.

Do you think it's the ducting system in the X that makes it cool so well ?

In regular gaming my cards are loading at around 78 to 83C, depending on the title, but that is with a fan profile that ramps the fans to around 70 to 75 percent under a gaming load to get those temps.

Have you ever ran Furmark on your setup ? My cards get to around 95C under Furmark :thumbsdown:

edit: ah, I see your fan speeds go up to around 85 percent, that may be the difference. Man they are loud enough at 70 to 75, how loud does your system get when you game ? Do you use headphones ?

Good eye Grooverdig.. I ran Heaven again with 70 percent fan speed lock. Posted above. So far a more aggressive fan profile works well for games. Heaven loads it up though.