R9 280X huge different temperature

[ugo123]

Hello,

I've bought 6x of this MSI r9 280X card on Amazon.
http://www.amazon.fr/MSI-GAMING-Graphique-Radeon-PCI-Express/dp/B00GSIFMB0/

I can't manage an incredible noise like a few mining rigs I have seen in here with 20/30+ cards on a plastic crates or ingenious systems like those, but my idea was to create a lot of "strong computers" that I could put at many places I have access to to manage and mitigate heat, noise, and power hazard.

So my first idea was too put 3 GPU (of those) per "computer".

I bought a Corsair Carbine 540 with a Corsair RM1000 1000W PSU
This one : http://www.amazon.fr/Corsair-Boitier-Carbide-Series-CC-9011030-WW/dp/B00D6GINF4 which has a nice airflow system.

And as for the MB I bought this one Gigabyte 990FXA-UD3 :
http://www.amazon.fr/gp/product/B00545BZOG/ref=oh_details_o02_s01_i03?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Now my issue.
I tried with only two cards for a start instead of 3, I installed BAMT 1.3 on a USB stick, everything went fine.

But soon, I realized my GPU#0 was starting to have a higher temp than GPU#1.
At first it was 1 celsius degrees, after a couple of minutes...
GPU#0 was ranging between 93/95+C (fan at 100%) and an awful noise !!!
GPU#1 was ranging at 70/75C (fan at 70/85%)

I immediately thought that it was because the cards were too close from each other, so I put GPU#1 at the bottom of the motherboard, leaving a good space between those.
It helped, but the difference is still the same... GPU#0 is now 85/90C, and GPU#1 is 65/70C.

I've tried to tweak the settings with cgminer, to lower the core, etc..etc.. it helped a bit... but GPU#0 is still at over 80C (with a slower hash rate).

I'm really worried having a card that could boil water while mining, especially when the other seems fine.

Since I have bought 6 of them, I thought it might be a wrong/defective card... so I removed it... and placed a new one instead.... exactly the same behavior (minus 1 degree better).

That's where I'm stuck now.

What could explain such a large difference ? Is it because the GPU is close to the chipset at this spot ? If I underclocked would it really help the matter (at same clock it should roughly act the same) ?

What should I do for you ?
Besides mining, those 2 cards could be inside a gamer chassis, and why would they act like this ? If I put 3 of those, the chassis would be on fire.
Is the 280X a bad choice ? Is this MSI a bad choice and other brands are fine ?

I'm totally in time to return everything to Amazon, so I'm open to everything... my only constraint is to keep them inside a chassis (and ideally 3 of them to maximize the capacity), so your feedback is welcomed

Thanks a lot guys !

[evilix]

Have you ever done Xfire or SLI setups before?

That's completely normal, one card heats the other. You wonder why people use raisers and place cards further apart?

You could rig a fan between but even that with 24/7 mining won't be too effective. If you plan on cramming 3 cards, 2 of them will run hot unless you decide to watercool.

80C is not that bad honestly, put all three cards in and mine for a hour and report back with temps you can always rig a fan on top of the cards to help dissipate heat. 

[beegatewood]

Hello,

I've bought 6x of this MSI r9 280X card on Amazon.
http://www.amazon.fr/MSI-GAMING-Graphique-Radeon-PCI-Express/dp/B00GSIFMB0/

I can't manage an incredible noise like a few mining rigs I have seen in here with 20/30+ cards on a plastic crates or ingenious systems like those, but my idea was to create a lot of "strong computers" that I could put at many places I have access to to manage and mitigate heat, noise, and power hazard.

So my first idea was too put 3 GPU (of those) per "computer".

I bought a Corsair Carbine 540 with a Corsair RM1000 1000W PSU
This one : http://www.amazon.fr/Corsair-Boitier-Carbide-Series-CC-9011030-WW/dp/B00D6GINF4 which has a nice airflow system.

And as for the MB I bought this one Gigabyte 990FXA-UD3 :
http://www.amazon.fr/gp/product/B00545BZOG/ref=oh_details_o02_s01_i03?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Now my issue.
I tried with only two cards for a start instead of 3, I installed BAMT 1.3 on a USB stick, everything went fine.

But soon, I realized my GPU#0 was starting to have a higher temp than GPU#1.
At first it was 1 celsius degrees, after a couple of minutes...
GPU#0 was ranging between 93/95+C (fan at 100%) and an awful noise !!!
GPU#1 was ranging at 70/75C (fan at 70/85%)

I immediately thought that it was because the cards were too close from each other, so I put GPU#1 at the bottom of the motherboard, leaving a good space between those.
It helped, but the difference is still the same... GPU#0 is now 85/90C, and GPU#1 is 65/70C.

I've tried to tweak the settings with cgminer, to lower the core, etc..etc.. it helped a bit... but GPU#0 is still at over 80C (with a slower hash rate).

I'm really worried having a card that could boil water while mining, especially when the other seems fine.

Since I have bought 6 of them, I thought it might be a wrong/defective card... so I removed it... and placed a new one instead.... exactly the same behavior (minus 1 degree better).

That's where I'm stuck now.

What could explain such a large difference ? Is it because the GPU is close to the chipset at this spot ? If I underclocked would it really help the matter (at same clock it should roughly act the same) ?

What should I do for you ?
Besides mining, those 2 cards could be inside a gamer chassis, and why would they act like this ? If I put 3 of those, the chassis would be on fire.
Is the 280X a bad choice ? Is this MSI a bad choice and other brands are fine ?

I'm totally in time to return everything to Amazon, so I'm open to everything... my only constraint is to keep them inside a chassis (and ideally 3 of them to maximize the capacity), so your feedback is welcomed

Thanks a lot guys !

your 2nd gpu intake fan is bringing in hot air from the 1st gpu. You either put a giant fan or remove your chassis

[ugo123]

Have you ever done Xfire or SLI setups before?

That's completely normal, one card heats the other. You wonder why people use raisers and place cards further apart?

You could rig a fan between but even that with 24/7 mining won't be too effective. If you plan on cramming 3 cards, 2 of them will run hot unless you decide to watercool.

80C is not that bad honestly, put all three cards in and mine for a hour and report back with temps you can always rig a fan on top of the cards to help dissipate heat. 

Thanks !

You got me ! I'm a SLI virgin
As a matter of fact, I haven't had this chance so far... because I'm a Mac user (where there was no SLI support so far)
But I already had up to 2 GPU inside my Mac Pro to run on multiple screens, and never had since so intense issue/difference.

Yes, I have seen those awesome rigs people are mounting on open air, but I thought it was because they were putting 5, 6, 8 cards on such a small place.
Plus I thought that with a 3 huge fan chassis that wouldn't be a problem to host only 3.

80C is not that bad, I agree, but it's because it has been underclocked a lot (850Mhz instead of 1050Mhz), but at normal speed I'm around 100C (after 10/20 minutes) and I feel like the card is about to die with that horrible noise.

Question : Is MSI a good brand ? Should I go any other one ? Is it the way the fans are made maybe, should I go instead with those "reference cards" (you know the ones with the turbine and rear extraction of the heat) ?

[jameschase]

Have you ever done Xfire or SLI setups before?

That's completely normal, one card heats the other. You wonder why people use raisers and place cards further apart?

You could rig a fan between but even that with 24/7 mining won't be too effective. If you plan on cramming 3 cards, 2 of them will run hot unless you decide to watercool.

80C is not that bad honestly, put all three cards in and mine for a hour and report back with temps you can always rig a fan on top of the cards to help dissipate heat. 

Thanks !

You got me ! I'm a SLI virgin
As a matter of fact, I haven't had this chance so far... because I'm a Mac user (where there was no SLI support so far)
But I already had up to 2 GPU inside my Mac Pro to run on multiple screens, and never had since so intense issue/difference.

Yes, I have seen those awesome rigs people are mounting on open air, but I thought it was because they were putting 5, 6, 8 cards on such a small place.
Plus I thought that with a 3 huge fan chassis that wouldn't be a problem to host only 3.

80C is not that bad, I agree, but it's because it has been underclocked a lot (850Mhz instead of 1050Mhz), but at normal speed I'm around 100C (after 10/20 minutes) and I feel like the card is about to die with that horrible noise.

Question : Is MSI a good brand ? Should I go any other one ? Is it the way the fans are made maybe, should I go instead with those "reference cards" (you know the ones with the turbine and rear extraction of the heat) ?

I recently bought 3 Sapphire Toxic's from a group buy here, + 1 MSI in local shop, and I have to say that MSI is a "little bit" worse:

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=438191.msg4804508#msg4804508

[ugo123]

your 2nd gpu intake fan is bringing in hot air from the 1st gpu. You either put a giant fan or remove your chassis

Yes ! Got your point !

But when I look at things like this on Google :
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IEWl9KCMnQ0/TgJTJVdstRI/AAAAAAAAAXc/cGOR1nTYegs/s1600/bitcoin-mining-rig1.jpg
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-80dE3jpLim8/TgJUUh9HCqI/AAAAAAAAAXg/j6kBoeHKOQs/s1600/bitcoin-rig-234x300.jpg

There's basically no air or spacing. How come ? They run at 100C+ ?

In my case, right now, there's about 4 slots left between the 2 cards. It's not crazy space, but it's more space than what I see on most pictures.

That's why I'm asking myself if that's the right card for a chassis, and/or if I should use horizontal/turbine fans like on the "reference" cards who will rear-extract the heat.

Thanks !

[ugo123]

I recently bought 3 Sapphire Toxic's from a group buy here, + 1 MSI in local shop, and I have to say that MSI is a "little bit" worse:

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=438191.msg4804508#msg4804508

But funny thing, in your case... GPU0 being your MSI right ? It's the coldest one
You're running on open-air or chassis ?

Thanks !

[Equate]

I recently bought 3 Sapphire Toxic's from a group buy here, + 1 MSI in local shop, and I have to say that MSI is a "little bit" worse:

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=438191.msg4804508#msg4804508

But funny thing, in your case... GPU0 being your MSI right ? It's the coldest one
You're running on open-air or chassis ?

Thanks !

unless you use a riser or undervolt the cards the temps will rise or put a fan in front of them to keep the temps a bit lower.

[ugo123]

unless you use a riser or undervolt the cards the temps will rise or put a fan in front of them to keep the temps a bit lower.

When you mean a fan, you mean a "real fan" outside the chassis ? Or some fan in front of them on the chassis ?

Because, the Corsair Carbide 540 has two large fans in front of them, that's why I chose this one (and thought clever about it .. clearly I was wrong )

[evilix]

I think MSI is a good brand they make pretty good aftermarket coolers, sapphire seems to be more favored and marginally better with their heatsinks and fans.

You should consider undervolting, that will help with the temps. Ambient temps should also be considered if you have a colder place(Usually big open spaces) in your residence you should probably place the rig there.

Check the airflow of your case play with it to get the best out of it.

Edit: I just noticed what case you have, try rigging a case fan to the cards like this http://cdn.overclock.net/7/76/900x900px-LL-76c1dc5c_706e1957_vbattach209132.jpeg

[jameschase]

I recently bought 3 Sapphire Toxic's from a group buy here, + 1 MSI in local shop, and I have to say that MSI is a "little bit" worse:

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=438191.msg4804508#msg4804508

But funny thing, in your case... GPU0 being your MSI right ? It's the coldest one
You're running on open-air or chassis ?

Thanks !

I had lower fans set for toxics at that time:

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=438191.msg4844662#msg4844662

all fans at 55% and lowered power usage

EDIT:
Oh, and open-air

[jumbo987]

What is your cgminer settings ? ...
I had similar problem with temperature : gpu-powertune was making trouble for me , so i switched it off .

[dogjunior]

Open the sides of the cases this will let more of the hot air escape. Also lay the computer on it's side and put  a 140MM fan on top of the two gpu's to pull heat away. If this does not lower your temps then time for water-cooling. I am water cooling 2 radeon 7990 with dual quad 120mm radiators. My temps are 60C for the cards.

[dogjunior]

I built a almost silent rig that is completely enclosed for stealth mining. I used a Lian-Li mid tower aluminum case. The case itself will provide some heat dissipation. I purchased two sapphire 7970 and replaced the stock fans with arctic 7970 coolers which run very quiet. From the two gpu's I get about 1420 KH/s total. Motherboard is a MSI z77a-g45.   My temps are 62C and 69C for the gpu's.  Not the most efficient use of hardware but if you want to silent mine with no one questioning the machine then this is the way to go.

[Quix]

I built a almost silent rig that is completely enclosed for stealth mining. I used a Lian-Li mid tower aluminum case. The case itself will provide some heat dissipation. I purchased two sapphire 7970 and replaced the stock fans with arctic 7970 coolers which run very quiet. From the two gpu's I get about 1420 KH/s total. Motherboard is a MSI z77a-g45.   My temps are 62C and 69C for the gpu's.  Not the most efficient use of hardware but if you want to silent mine with no one questioning the machine then this is the way to go.

I have a rig that's nearly exactly the same as that (2x 7950s with Arctic Cooling Xtreme 7970 coolers in a Lian-Li PC-60) and I would not class it as silent or even close. The temperatures you stated match up but I would not call it silent. It's noticeably quieter and overclocks better than the stock coolering but it's more moderately loud than silent (where the stock coolers were horribly loud). It's a good option if you have to live nearby to were you're mining. I live in a condo so space is at a premium.