MSI GTX 970 4G Gaming Running HOT, Help!

Exh1l3d_0n3

Junior Member
Apr 9, 2015
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My MSI GTX970 4G Gaming runs hot in my M-ATX in SLI configuration. I have one card running at 70c and the primary card running at 80c all the time. I've installed extra cooling fans to blow on them and they seem to stay at this temperature (while gaming of course). When I'm not gaming, they drop down to 30-32c or less on both cards. What is the upper limits of the temperature ranges of these cards? Should I be concerned? Should I return 1 card and stick with just a single card or spend the money on an ATX motherboard and larger case to spread the cards further apart?
 

Ed1

Senior member
Jan 8, 2001
453
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My MSI GTX970 4G Gaming runs hot in my M-ATX in SLI configuration. I have one card running at 70c and the primary card running at 80c all the time. I've installed extra cooling fans to blow on them and they seem to stay at this temperature (while gaming of course). When I'm not gaming, they drop down to 30-32c or less on both cards. What is the upper limits of the temperature ranges of these cards? Should I be concerned? Should I return 1 card and stick with just a single card or spend the money on an ATX motherboard and larger case to spread the cards further apart?

while those temps are on high side "if" you were running single card setup , probably be around 70c mark .
But with SLI things get little tight for air cooling, anyway 80c is totally fine .
You could setup custom fan profile with MSI AB or whatever and I am sure you could get it lower by like 5c on hotter one but its nothing to worry about .

These cards cool really well as long as case cooling airflow is ok .
 

Techhog

Platinum Member
Sep 11, 2013
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You're fine. My single card runs at just under 70C while overclocked and under load/stress. You have two open cards in a case, so the top card will take in hot air from the bottom card. These cards should be able to handle at least 90C without any damage (in fact, the reference cards run at 80C), so you're not even close to any danger.
 

Ketchup

Elite Member
Sep 1, 2002
14,559
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Look at the clock speed and see if it is downclocking at all. IIRC 80 is about the max for these.

In my experience, removing the heatsink and putting arctic silver on the core has lowered the temps on most cards, some by quite a bit (depending on manufacturer).
 

Techhog

Platinum Member
Sep 11, 2013
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Look at the clock speed and see if it is downclocking at all. IIRC 80 is about the max for these.

In my experience, removing the heatsink and putting arctic silver on the core has lowered the temps on most cards, some by quite a bit (depending on manufacturer).

By default, 80C is the temp target. That doesn't mean that it can't take more... though it might be a good idea to increase the temp and power targets to see if 80C is really the max temperature it's hitting, or if it throttles.
 

Termie

Diamond Member
Aug 17, 2005
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Guys, he has two open air cards on an mATX board. None of these suggestions are going to help much. It's a far from optimal setup. He's lucky it's not hotter, but that's because his top card is throttling. The temperature limit is there to protect cards in situations just like this.
 

Exh1l3d_0n3

Junior Member
Apr 9, 2015
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They do get hotter. I've had the computer turn off on my when I hit 90c. It is the extra fans that I have attached to the front of the cards that is helping them stay at this temp.
20150408_162144_zpsbwood5qo.jpg

They do quickly drop in temp when the scene is less intense.
 
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Techhog

Platinum Member
Sep 11, 2013
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Sorry to say it, but you made a bad choice going SLI with open cards in such a small case. Your best bet is probably to underclock the cards to reference speeds or lower and reduce the power limit to 80-90%, along with a more aggressive fan curve.
 
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cmdrdredd

Lifer
Dec 12, 2001
27,052
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Guys, he has two open air cards on an mATX board. None of these suggestions are going to help much. It's a far from optimal setup. He's lucky it's not hotter, but that's because his top card is throttling. The temperature limit is there to protect cards in situations just like this.

This guys...

I have a mATX board running two MSI Gaming 970s and they are overclocked. My cards do the exact same thing. Card 1 is around 80c and card 2 is on average 10c cooler running at load. No issue with stability. They throttle a bit but not a huge amount so that performance is affected in any noticeable way.

edit: I have never had them ever get close to 90c ever. I run a fan profile that seemed to help though.
 
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