Send this card back? 780 GTX

[Pandamonia]

Ok so i have 2 780 GTX Lightning LE's

One has 90% ASCI Runs 1280 in boost mode on 1.15v and about 63c

The other is 80% ASCI and runs 1250 in Boost on 1.16v and runs 85c

The problem is that in SLI that hotter card limits the performance. It also consumes about 20% more TDP for the same clock.

In SLI with the hot card below the cool card i can hit 1200mhz in SLI constant in Boost without throttling.

I have the option to send it back for a refund or get another one to replace it. There is probably another 50-100mhz left in performance in my SLI if i get another card like the cool one.

Is it worth swapping it out?

 

[blackened23]

If you use custom cards in SLI one card will get hotter than the other. If you don't want this to happen, get reference blowers. If you exchange cards that does nothing to fix the situation - you have open air cooled and triple slot coolers that are dumping 700W of heat inside your case. There's the problem.

I've had various custom cards in Xfire and SLI in the past and the top card ALWAYS gets significantly warmer than the bottom card. This is going to happen with SLI'ed and CF'ed custom cards if they are "sandwiched". Always. No matter what. You can exchange the card if it makes you feel better, but do not expect different temperatures. If you want both cards to run near the same temps, reference blowers. Period.

That said, you can make it work but the top card will still have warmer temps. In fact, I had lightning cards in SLI (not 780s though) and I was able to make it work through tons and tons of air flow and a huge case. You can prevent throttling with better air flow and higher manual fan settings. Or you can get reference cards. If you're only hitting 85C on the top card it should not throttle if you adjust afterburner. You can set the temperature limit in MSI afterburner or EVGA precision, the throttle point can be set to 95C. Therefore at 85C you should not throttle unless you specifically set 80C as the temp limit.

 

[TreVader]

That's not a legitimate reason to RMA a card. You got a 20% overclock on an already overclocked card, just because your other card got you a 28% overclock doesn't mean the first card is defective. 80% ASCI is very good anyway.

 

[Pandamonia]

If you use custom cards in SLI one card will get hotter than the other. If you don't want this to happen, get reference blowers. If you exchange cards that does nothing to fix the situation - you have open air cooled and triple slot coolers that are dumping 700W of heat inside your case. There's the problem.

I've had various custom cards in Xfire and SLI in the past and the top card ALWAYS gets significantly warmer than the bottom card. This is going to happen with SLI'ed and CF'ed custom cards if they are "sandwiched". Always. No matter what. You can exchange the card if it makes you feel better, but do not expect different temperatures. If you want both cards to run near the same temps, reference blowers. Period.

That said, you can make it work but the top card will still have warmer temps. In fact, I had lightning cards in SLI (not 780s though) and I was able to make it work through tons and tons of air flow and a huge case. You can prevent throttling with better air flow and higher manual fan settings. Or you can get reference cards. If you're only hitting 85C on the top card it should not throttle if you adjust afterburner. You can set the temperature limit in MSI afterburner or EVGA precision, the throttle point can be set to 95C. Therefore at 85C you should not throttle unless you specifically set 80C as the temp limit.

This is not my problem.

I tested the cards individually. One card is 20c hotter than the other and uses 15% give or take more power.

I know one card will be hotter but i have cold air coming out the case from all fans except that one card. It doesnt matter if its SLI or on its own. That card is WAY hotter than the other one.

If i have GPU1->GPU2 both cards are 85-95c

If i have GPU2->GPU1 One card is 62c the other is 95c

The leakage is crazy and even on its own the fan runs 80% compared to 48% on the other card when tested on their own under the same conditions.

HardOCP managed to get 63c Full load overclocked on their card just like one of my cards. My other one is way off spec.

 

[Elfear]

This is not my problem.

I tested the cards individually. One card is 20c hotter than the other and uses 15% give or take more power.

I know one card will be hotter but i have cold air coming out the case from all fans except that one card. It doesnt matter if its SLI or on its own. That card is WAY hotter than the other one.

If i have GPU1->GPU2 both cards are 85-95c

If i have GPU2->GPU1 One card is 62c the other is 95c

The leakage is crazy and even on its own the fan runs 80% compared to 48% on the other card when tested on their own under the same conditions.

HardOCP managed to get 63c Full load overclocked on their card just like one of my cards. My other one is way off spec.

It's not off spec. It runs perfectly fine at stock clocks. Overclocking is always YMMV and I've never seen two cards matched perfectly in a dual-GPU setup. One of my cards always had a lower ASIC and generally didn't overclock as well. It's one of the downsides of SLI/Crossfire.

If you send the card back, you're just as likely to get a card with an ASIC <80%.

 

[TerryMathews]

Ok so i have 2 780 GTX Lightning LE's

One has 90% ASCI Runs 1280 in boost mode on 1.15v and about 63c

The other is 80% ASCI and runs 1250 in Boost on 1.16v and runs 85c

The problem is that in SLI that hotter card limits the performance. It also consumes about 20% more TDP for the same clock.

In SLI with the hot card below the cool card i can hit 1200mhz in SLI constant in Boost without throttling.

I have the option to send it back for a refund or get another one to replace it. There is probably another 50-100mhz left in performance in my SLI if i get another card like the cool one.

Is it worth swapping it out?

Have you tested them as single cards to verify thermal performance? As others have indicated, you'll end up with temp differences in SLI.

 

[3DVagabond]

I wouldn't think the lower Asic would make that much of a difference. More likely that it's manufacturing tolerances. Could try simply replacing the TIM and reseating the heatsink. I wouldn't be surprised if that's all it is.

 

[Yreka]

Not a good reason to return it IMO.. Plus, as mentioned you may get one worse.. H-OCP may have got a good card, but MPC got a bad one.. One that didn't work at "stock" speeds, and a second one that wouldn't even do 1250 (although I suspect the former is just that famous "MSI Quality")

Throw the "hot" card on the bottom and call it a day, 1250 780GTX is still pretty damn quick, especially for an LE model which (I assume) is binned a bit less aggressively than the regular Lightning

 

[Pandamonia]

Not a good reason to return it IMO.. Plus, as mentioned you may get one worse.. H-OCP may have got a good card, but MPC got a bad one.. One that didn't work at "stock" speeds, and a second one that wouldn't even do 1250 (although I suspect the former is just that famous "MSI Quality")

Throw the "hot" card on the bottom and call it a day, 1250 780GTX is still pretty damn quick, especially for an LE model which (I assume) is binned a bit less aggressively than the regular Lightning

The LE isn't binned at all its just random gpu to sell through the pcb and cooler. This is why I have an epic and a dud. But Yeh I tested both cards. On their own not in sli and one is a lemon

 

[adairusmc]

That's not a legitimate reason to RMA a card. You got a 20% overclock on an already overclocked card, just because your other card got you a 28% overclock doesn't mean the first card is defective. 80% ASCI is very good anyway.

Exactly. Returns like that should have a 100% restocking fee.

 

[Shmee]

I don't think it is worth returning it. Certainly not valid for an RMA I would assume. I would be happy, you seem to have a nice setup.

 

[Pandamonia]

Exactly. Returns like that should have a 100% restocking fee.

Well they don't. Restocking fees are not legal in the UK. Many business win trade based on 14 and 30 satisfaction guarantee. 7 days is the legal minimum.

They gave me a refund. I now have another lightning but I went for the non LE version for a little more money. These are binned chips so let's hope it doesn't have a heat issue. I don't need epic clock speeds. Just a 1250mhz boost will do .

 

[24601]

Don't be a tool, keep returning it until you get 100% ASIC on both cards.

KINGP][N says 1800 mhz core should be on every card, keep returning it until you get 1800 mhz core on air.

That 1800 mhz core obviously will be bottle-necked by a mere 1500 mhz ram speed. Don't accept any less than 3000 mhz (12000 MT/s).

Go troll somewhere else.

-Rvenger

 

[Pandamonia]

Ok if anyone is interested.

I swapped the card for a normal 780 Lightning.

New card is 80% TDP in Valley extreme. 67c and clocks right to 1380mhz on stock voltage. The ASCI is 76%

Put them both in SLI and i can get one card to 94c and sustained full load. The difference is that one card is at 1340mhz and the other is 1280.

Compared to the old SLI i could not sustain 1240/1180 before hitting 95c, The gaming safe setting was 1180/1140.

The new SLI should easily hold 1280/1240mhz on stock voltage because the Temps are normal.

Downside is that now i have 1 card with Elpida and another with Hynix!

 

[rgallant]

95c lol