How much space does a vid card need from the slot next to it to cool properly?

[poohbear]

Hey all, i'm trying to go SLI with 2 gigabyte OC windforce GTX 670s, but the slot between them is a PCI-E 1x slot which is needed for my X-Forte sound card, so there's literally 2 cm between my Auzentech X-forte and the top GTX 670.

The Gigabyte Windforce cooler has 3 80mm fans, 2 of its fans are 2cm from the X-forte and the last one is free (the x-forte is a small card after all. Is this gonna be a problem? When i play BF3 it reaches 65c. The thing is the room temperature is 28c cause its hot as hell here (no AC). The side panel is open cause it has to be, its too hot to close me thinks.

The passive heatsink on the X-forte is hot to the touch, so the good thing about this setup is the GTX 670 fans suck the hot air off of it (the vid card only reaches 65c afterall).

What do u guys think? Is it a disaster waiting to happen? i can always go with onboard sound but with my Klipsch 2.1s the difference in audio is definitely noticeable. Thanks in advance for any advice!

 

[stahlhart]

I left a single slot open between my two 670s; the cards stay within a few degrees of one another.

I have a feeling that putting a card there is going to cause you trouble unless you can sufficiently compensate with something like a side panel case fan in the vicinity.

 

[BrightCandle]

65C is nothing to worry about. You are right to be concerned, the 2/3 fan designs are mainly for GPUs that are clear and in cases with great airflow. If neither is true then you want a blower style shroud because it performs better in less ideal circumstances. Despite the performance difference its for this reason the reference cards are sold with blowers.

 

[poohbear]

argh, so i should continue with keeping the card between the 2?

 

[3DVagabond]

The card is quite a bit smaller than the video cards and the 670 can function on a lot smaller a cooler than what comes one the windforce cards. I think you should be OK, as long as your case has decent airflow.

 

[Ketchup]

That video card flows air from front to back, not top to bottom. A CPU between them might send some noticeable heat there, but not a sound card.

 

[rgallant]

haha the 3 day heat wave in TO is over tonight ,go outside have a beer and enjoy.
-that said I like my CM932 with 4 x 120mm GT's in the side panel.

 

[poohbear]

Ok thanks guys! Ill keep monitoring it. Hasnt passes 65~67, so im guessing its fine. i have 2 intake fans & 2 out take fans & my massive noctua cooler has 2 140mm fans on it, so im good for case cooling.