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The GTX 280 and Airflow |
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11-11-2008, 00:44
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The GTX 280 and Airflow
I have just ordered a GTX 280, and even if I don't get a faulty one with extreme overheating problems (fingers crossed  ), I understand they run quite hot. While it's on it's way, I would like to re-arrange my case to that there is the most direct airflow possible around the card but I'm still not 100% sure of how the GTX 280's cooler draws it's air.
Now, I'm assuming that the majority of the card's air intake will go in as indicated above by the arrows, and will be expelled directly out of the case. But what about the gaps at the rear of the card (circled) - are they also intakes, and if so, how much flow is there through them? Is it worth while positioning a fan to blow into them? |
11-11-2008, 01:24
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I remember someone on here suggested that it is possible to attach an 80mm fan over the air intake on other cards like you have marked wth arrows on your 280 using cable ties or rubber bands.
That should give you plenty of extra flow. Maybe more than putting a fan on the end due to the bigger opening to focus the draft into.
If you did do that then maybe use something like a strip of rubber or dampening material to cut out any noise from vibration.
either way pix pls.  |
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11-11-2008, 02:57
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Quote:
Originally Posted by affiliate13
I remember someone on here suggested that it is possible to attach an 80mm fan over the air intake on other cards like you have marked wth arrows on your 280 using cable ties or rubber bands.
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Wouldn't that interfere with the movement of the existing fan, having another one forcing air into it at such close proximity?
To be honest, my original intent was to attach an external, high powered fan to the grill on the front (IO bracket) of the card, and have that draw the hot air out. I would rather keep everything within the case though.
My other thought was to actually cut a hole in one of the panels of my case, and have a length of that flexible silver duct tube (whatever it's called) between the hole and the cards fan intake (marked by arrows above). That way the card woud be receiving fresh air first hand, rather than recycled airfrom within the case.
Here is a terrible illustration:
(GTX 280: red, Hole: green, Duct: blue)
Would it be worth cutting a hole in my case for that?
I'm using a Zalman HD160 HTPC case by the way, which is why I'm concerned about cooling.
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11-11-2008, 12:41
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Paper Launched.
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Hard to say about whether or not the addition fan blowing into the stock intake would interfere with it, but it would be a very simple test to compare the two.
That case is pretty small (and pretty), it would be a shame to have to cut it up unless you had to.
Your idea to draw air out of the back by adding a fan to the back panel would work well, maybe use a slim fan and try to keep it flush with the back which might make it neater to look at.
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11-11-2008, 16:41
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Blaaaah
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Where are the intake fans of that case?
I can see 2x80mm behind the CPU, and a 120mm on top of it, and the PSU seems to draw air from the outside and spit it back out.
Maybe you could use the grill close to the expansion slots and put a 120mm fan there??
It would blow air in towards the card, should help the temps quite a bit but i'm afraid a silent fan won't be an option, go for 1300-1500 rpm, and also install another as an exhaust in the grill on top of the cpu, same speed as the other. |
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11-11-2008, 23:09
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Quote:
Originally Posted by affiliate13
Your idea to draw air out of the back by adding a fan to the back panel would work well, maybe use a slim fan and try to keep it flush with the back which might make it neater to look at.
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Would it work if only half the fan was over the outlet?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kelainefes
Where are the intake fans of that case?
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There is actually only one mount for an intake fan, and that is in that grill visible under the hard drive cage (80mm).
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kelainefes
I can see 2x80mm behind the CPU, and a 120mm on top of it, and the PSU seems to draw air from the outside and spit it back out. |
This case draws all of it's air fron those two grills in the base panel, and also through the grill positioned towards the rear of the right hand panel. The one on the left panel is, as you say, dedicated to the PSU, and keeps the PSU's airflow isolated.
The circular grill in the top panel is not actually designed for a 120mm fan, unfortunately. It is supposed to be a passive inlet to provide airflow to Zalman's downward firing CPU coolers such as the CNPS7000C.
The case has been built to work perfectly with both Zalmans downward facing coolers and the CNPS9500 (which is what I use). You close the grill in the top of the case when using the CNPS9500, and it fires straight through the two rear outlet fans.
Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that I can't put a 120mm fan in the lid, because it will hit the top of my CPU cooler.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kelainefes
Maybe you could use the grill close to the expansion slots and put a 120mm fan there??
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I did consider that, but my sound card goes right in front of that grill and would obstruct the airflow.
Here is a shot of my actual populated case, but without the sound card and with an HD4850:
As you can see, the PCI slots are right up against that side grill (my sound card is PCI, of course).
PS. How do you use screenshot tags in this forum (to shrink a pic until clicked on)?
Last edited by Skakruk; 11-11-2008 at 23:39..
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11-11-2008, 23:48
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Blaaaah
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With the kind of space you got there, i would seriously consider drilling a hole in the top for the GTX280, or getting a USB soundcard so you can put an intake fan on that grill.
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Update: |
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15-11-2008, 11:51
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Update:
I've actually got my GTX 280 now, as well as my new E8600 (replacing an E8400), and everything is up and running.
The only extra cooling I have added for the GTX 280 is two more 80mm fans mounted towards the front of my case (so that's four case fans altogether now). I had to remove the hard drive cage because the card is so damn long. There are two sides to this however: I can now install a fan right next to the GTX 280's intake, but I have nowhere to put my pair of RAID HDD's. The HDD's are outside the case for now.
Anyway, see in the pictures above that there are two grills on the bottom panel of the case. There is now an inward blowing 80mm fan in each of them (and I sealed off the excess grill that the fans don't cover to prevent shorting of the airflow).
At first I had all four fans at full speed, but the noise was intolerable so I set two of them to half speed. Still too loud. I then set them ALL to half speed - perfect, but not a lot of airflow.
I decided to try the four half speed fans with the lid on the case, and to my surprise, the GTX 280 did not seem to be affected. The temps were no higher than when I had the lid off, or when I had it on and all the fans at full speed.
Here are the temp readings from a small session of Crysis (which heats up the GTX more than any other program I have tried). For those who know Crysis, the test was conducted in the village in the second map (where you have to take out the tanks). I just rampaged around blowing things up, and trying to put as much strain on the hardware as possible.
Code:
Date , GPU Core Clock [MHz] , GPU Memory Clock [MHz] , GPU Temperature* [°C] , GPU Temperature [°C] , PCB Temperature [°C] , Fan Speed [%] , Fan Speed [RPM] ,
2008-11-15 22:39:03 , 602.0 , 1107.0 , 82.0 , 74.0 , 65.0 , 48 , 1739 ,
2008-11-15 22:39:04 , 602.0 , 1107.0 , 82.0 , 74.0 , 65.0 , 48 , 1740 ,
2008-11-15 22:39:05 , 602.0 , 1107.0 , 82.0 , 74.0 , 65.0 , 48 , 1739 ,
2008-11-15 22:39:06 , 602.0 , 1107.0 , 82.0 , 74.0 , 65.0 , 48 , 1730 ,
2008-11-15 22:39:07 , 602.0 , 1107.0 , 82.0 , 74.0 , 65.0 , 48 , 1737 ,
2008-11-15 22:39:08 , 602.0 , 1107.0 , 82.0 , 74.0 , 65.0 , 48 , 1756 ,
2008-11-15 22:39:09 , 602.0 , 1107.0 , 82.0 , 74.0 , 65.0 , 48 , 1746 ,
2008-11-15 22:39:10 , 602.0 , 1107.0 , 82.0 , 74.0 , 66.0 , 48 , 1726 ,
2008-11-15 22:39:11 , 602.0 , 1107.0 , 82.0 , 74.0 , 65.0 , 48 , 1752 ,
2008-11-15 22:39:12 , 602.0 , 1107.0 , 82.0 , 74.0 , 66.0 , 49 , 1765 ,
2008-11-15 22:39:13 , 602.0 , 1107.0 , 82.0 , 74.0 , 65.0 , 49 , 1772 ,
2008-11-15 22:39:14 , 602.0 , 1107.0 , 82.0 , 74.0 , 66.0 , 49 , 1766 ,
2008-11-15 22:39:15 , 602.0 , 1107.0 , 82.0 , 74.0 , 65.0 , 49 , 1771 ,
2008-11-15 22:39:16 , 602.0 , 1107.0 , 82.0 , 74.0 , 66.0 , 49 , 1765 ,
2008-11-15 22:39:17 , 602.0 , 1107.0 , 82.0 , 74.0 , 66.0 , 48 , 1755 ,
2008-11-15 22:39:18 , 602.0 , 1107.0 , 82.0 , 74.0 , 66.0 , 48 , 1741 ,
2008-11-15 22:39:19 , 602.0 , 1107.0 , 82.0 , 74.0 , 66.0 , 49 , 1731 ,
2008-11-15 22:39:20 , 602.0 , 1107.0 , 82.0 , 74.0 , 66.0 , 49 , 1765 ,
2008-11-15 22:39:21 , 602.0 , 1107.0 , 82.0 , 74.0 , 66.0 , 48 , 1754 ,
2008-11-15 22:39:22 , 602.0 , 1107.0 , 82.0 , 74.0 , 66.0 , 47 , 1734 ,
2008-11-15 22:39:23 , 602.0 , 1107.0 , 82.0 , 74.0 , 66.0 , 48 , 1718 ,
2008-11-15 22:39:24 , 602.0 , 1107.0 , 82.0 , 74.0 , 66.0 , 47 , 1708 ,
2008-11-15 22:39:25 , 602.0 , 1107.0 , 82.0 , 74.0 , 66.0 , 49 , 1739 ,
2008-11-15 22:39:26 , 602.0 , 1107.0 , 82.0 , 74.0 , 66.0 , 49 , 1767 ,
2008-11-15 22:39:27 , 602.0 , 1107.0 , 82.0 , 74.0 , 66.0 , 48 , 1767 ,
2008-11-15 22:39:28 , 602.0 , 1107.0 , 82.0 , 74.0 , 66.0 , 47 , 1739 ,
2008-11-15 22:39:29 , 602.0 , 1107.0 , 82.0 , 74.0 , 66.0 , 48 , 1723 ,
2008-11-15 22:39:30 , 602.0 , 1107.0 , 82.0 , 74.0 , 66.0 , 49 , 1749 ,
2008-11-15 22:39:31 , 602.0 , 1107.0 , 82.0 , 74.0 , 66.0 , 48 , 1771 ,
2008-11-15 22:39:32 , 602.0 , 1107.0 , 82.0 , 74.0 , 66.0 , 47 , 1739 ,
2008-11-15 22:39:33 , 602.0 , 1107.0 , 82.0 , 74.0 , 66.0 , 48 , 1739 ,
2008-11-15 22:39:34 , 602.0 , 1107.0 , 82.0 , 74.0 , 66.0 , 48 , 1730 ,
2008-11-15 22:39:35 , 602.0 , 1107.0 , 82.0 , 74.0 , 66.0 , 48 , 1727 ,
2008-11-15 22:39:36 , 602.0 , 1107.0 , 82.0 , 74.0 , 66.0 , 49 , 1747 ,
2008-11-15 22:39:37 , 602.0 , 1107.0 , 82.0 , 74.0 , 66.0 , 48 , 1741 ,
2008-11-15 22:39:38 , 602.0 , 1107.0 , 82.0 , 74.0 , 66.0 , 48 , 1747 ,
2008-11-15 22:39:39 , 602.0 , 1107.0 , 82.0 , 74.0 , 66.0 , 47 , 1741 ,
2008-11-15 22:39:40 , 602.0 , 1107.0 , 81.0 , 73.0 , 66.0 , 47 , 1715 ,
2008-11-15 22:39:41 , 602.0 , 1107.0 , 82.0 , 74.0 , 66.0 , 48 , 1715 ,
2008-11-15 22:39:42 , 602.0 , 1107.0 , 81.0 , 73.0 , 66.0 , 47 , 1735 ,
2008-11-15 22:39:43 , 602.0 , 1107.0 , 82.0 , 74.0 , 66.0 , 49 , 1755 ,
2008-11-15 22:39:44 , 602.0 , 1107.0 , 82.0 , 74.0 , 66.0 , 49 , 1767 ,
2008-11-15 22:39:45 , 602.0 , 1107.0 , 82.0 , 74.0 , 66.0 , 49 , 1765 ,
2008-11-15 22:39:46 , 602.0 , 1107.0 , 82.0 , 74.0 , 66.0 , 49 , 1767 ,
2008-11-15 22:39:47 , 602.0 , 1107.0 , 82.0 , 74.0 , 66.0 , 48 , 1740 ,
2008-11-15 22:39:48 , 602.0 , 1107.0 , 82.0 , 74.0 , 66.0 , 47 , 1722 ,
2008-11-15 22:39:49 , 602.0 , 1107.0 , 82.0 , 74.0 , 66.0 , 48 , 1719 ,
2008-11-15 22:39:50 , 602.0 , 1107.0 , 82.0 , 74.0 , 66.0 , 47 , 1721 ,
2008-11-15 22:39:51 , 602.0 , 1107.0 , 82.0 , 74.0 , 66.0 , 49 , 1730 ,
2008-11-15 22:39:52 , 602.0 , 1107.0 , 82.0 , 74.0 , 66.0 , 49 , 1766 ,
2008-11-15 22:39:53 , 602.0 , 1107.0 , 82.0 , 74.0 , 66.0 , 49 , 1766 ,
2008-11-15 22:39:54 , 602.0 , 1107.0 , 83.0 , 75.0 , 66.0 , 50 , 1789 ,
2008-11-15 22:39:55 , 602.0 , 1107.0 , 83.0 , 75.0 , 66.0 , 50 , 1798 ,
2008-11-15 22:39:56 , 602.0 , 1107.0 , 83.0 , 75.0 , 66.0 , 50 , 1798 ,
2008-11-15 22:39:57 , 602.0 , 1107.0 , 83.0 , 75.0 , 66.0 , 49 , 1794 ,
2008-11-15 22:39:58 , 602.0 , 1107.0 , 82.0 , 74.0 , 66.0 , 49 , 1775 ,
2008-11-15 22:39:59 , 602.0 , 1107.0 , 82.0 , 74.0 , 66.0 , 49 , 1768 ,
2008-11-15 22:40:00 , 602.0 , 1107.0 , 83.0 , 75.0 , 66.0 , 49 , 1789 ,
2008-11-15 22:40:01 , 602.0 , 1107.0 , 83.0 , 75.0 , 66.0 , 50 , 1809 ,
2008-11-15 22:40:02 , 602.0 , 1107.0 , 83.0 , 75.0 , 66.0 , 51 , 1817 ,
2008-11-15 22:40:03 , 602.0 , 1107.0 , 82.0 , 74.0 , 66.0 , 49 , 1790 ,
2008-11-15 22:40:04 , 602.0 , 1107.0 , 83.0 , 75.0 , 66.0 , 50 , 1790 ,
2008-11-15 22:40:05 , 602.0 , 1107.0 , 83.0 , 75.0 , 66.0 , 51 , 1815 ,
2008-11-15 22:40:06 , 602.0 , 1107.0 , 83.0 , 75.0 , 66.0 , 51 , 1815 ,
2008-11-15 22:40:07 , 602.0 , 1107.0 , 83.0 , 75.0 , 67.0 , 51 , 1826 ,
2008-11-15 22:40:08 , 602.0 , 1107.0 , 83.0 , 75.0 , 67.0 , 49 , 1797 ,
2008-11-15 22:40:09 , 602.0 , 1107.0 , 83.0 , 75.0 , 67.0 , 49 , 1781 ,
2008-11-15 22:40:10 , 602.0 , 1107.0 , 82.0 , 74.0 , 67.0 , 49 , 1796 ,
2008-11-15 22:40:11 , 602.0 , 1107.0 , 83.0 , 75.0 , 67.0 , 50 , 1790 ,
2008-11-15 22:40:12 , 602.0 , 1107.0 , 83.0 , 75.0 , 67.0 , 50 , 1793 ,
2008-11-15 22:40:13 , 602.0 , 1107.0 , 83.0 , 75.0 , 67.0 , 50 , 1808 ,
2008-11-15 22:40:14 , 602.0 , 1107.0 , 82.0 , 74.0 , 66.0 , 49 , 1794 ,
2008-11-15 22:40:15 , 602.0 , 1107.0 , 83.0 , 75.0 , 67.0 , 49 , 1774 ,
2008-11-15 22:40:16 , 602.0 , 1107.0 , 83.0 , 75.0 , 67.0 , 50 , 1792 ,
2008-11-15 22:40:17 , 602.0 , 1107.0 , 83.0 , 75.0 , 67.0 , 49 , 1780 ,
2008-11-15 22:40:18 , 602.0 , 1107.0 , 82.0 , 74.0 , 67.0 , 49 , 1779 ,
2008-11-15 22:40:19 , 602.0 , 1107.0 , 83.0 , 75.0 , 67.0 , 49 , 1788 ,
2008-11-15 22:40:20 , 602.0 , 1107.0 , 83.0 , 75.0 , 67.0 , 49 , 1788 ,
2008-11-15 22:40:21 , 602.0 , 1107.0 , 82.0 , 74.0 , 67.0 , 49 , 1794 ,
2008-11-15 22:40:22 , 602.0 , 1107.0 , 83.0 , 75.0 , 67.0 , 49 , 1777 ,
2008-11-15 22:40:23 , 602.0 , 1107.0 , 83.0 , 75.0 , 67.0 , 49 , 1794 ,
2008-11-15 22:40:24 , 602.0 , 1107.0 , 83.0 , 75.0 , 67.0 , 49 , 1792 ,
2008-11-15 22:40:25 , 602.0 , 1107.0 , 83.0 , 75.0 , 67.0 , 50 , 1815 ,
2008-11-15 22:40:26 , 602.0 , 1107.0 , 83.0 , 75.0 , 67.0 , 51 , 1819 ,
2008-11-15 22:40:27 , 602.0 , 1107.0 , 83.0 , 75.0 , 67.0 , 51 , 1820 ,
2008-11-15 22:40:28 , 602.0 , 1107.0 , 83.0 , 75.0 , 67.0 , 51 , 1828 ,
2008-11-15 22:40:29 , 602.0 , 1107.0 , 83.0 , 75.0 , 67.0 , 50 , 1822 ,
2008-11-15 22:40:30 , 602.0 , 1107.0 , 83.0 , 75.0 , 67.0 , 50 , 1811 ,
2008-11-15 22:40:31 , 602.0 , 1107.0 , 83.0 , 75.0 , 67.0 , 50 , 1800 ,
2008-11-15 22:40:32 , 602.0 , 1107.0 , 83.0 , 75.0 , 67.0 , 51 , 1817 ,
2008-11-15 22:40:33 , 602.0 , 1107.0 , 84.0 , 76.0 , 67.0 , 51 , 1839 ,
2008-11-15 22:40:34 , 602.0 , 1107.0 , 83.0 , 75.0 , 67.0 , 51 , 1845 ,
2008-11-15 22:40:35 , 602.0 , 1107.0 , 83.0 , 75.0 , 67.0 , 50 , 1837 ,
2008-11-15 22:40:36 , 602.0 , 1107.0 , 83.0 , 75.0 , 67.0 , 50 , 1820 ,
2008-11-15 22:40:37 , 602.0 , 1107.0 , 83.0 , 75.0 , 67.0 , 50 , 1809 ,
2008-11-15 22:40:38 , 602.0 , 1107.0 , 83.0 , 75.0 , 67.0 , 51 , 1806 ,
2008-11-15 22:40:39 , 602.0 , 1107.0 , 83.0 , 75.0 , 67.0 , 51 , 1828 ,
2008-11-15 22:40:40 , 602.0 , 1107.0 , 84.0 , 76.0 , 67.0 , 51 , 1830 ,
2008-11-15 22:40:41 , 602.0 , 1107.0 , 83.0 , 75.0 , 67.0 , 51 , 1845 ,
2008-11-15 22:40:42 , 602.0 , 1107.0 , 83.0 , 75.0 , 67.0 , 51 , 1843 ,
2008-11-15 22:40:43 , 602.0 , 1107.0 , 83.0 , 75.0 , 67.0 , 51 , 1846 ,
2008-11-15 22:40:44 , 602.0 , 1107.0 , 83.0 , 75.0 , 67.0 , 51 , 1824 ,
2008-11-15 22:40:45 , 602.0 , 1107.0 , 83.0 , 75.0 , 67.0 , 50 , 1805 ,
2008-11-15 22:40:46 , 602.0 , 1107.0 , 83.0 , 75.0 , 67.0 , 51 , 1818 ,
2008-11-15 22:40:47 , 602.0 , 1107.0 , 84.0 , 76.0 , 67.0 , 51 , 1849 ,
2008-11-15 22:40:48 , 602.0 , 1107.0 , 84.0 , 76.0 , 67.0 , 52 , 1848 ,
I don't know why there are two different "GPU Temperature" readings, but I'm going by the highest of the two (now labeled in the above chart with *).
The GPU never went above 84°C. What do you think - would you say that the four half speed fans are sufficient based on those temps? In ALL my testing, I have never seen my GTX 280 go above 85°C. Is that a safe/normal temp for heavy load?
Last edited by Skakruk; 15-11-2008 at 11:59..
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