Default/Primary card in SLI setup

CYPER · 01 Apr 2011

I got 2x MSI GTX 460 Cyclone OE 1GB in SLI and would like to somehow make Windows use the bottom one and leave the top one alone?

For example when using Firefox I would like it to load the bottom one, so that the top one remains as cool as possible.

The only way I managed to do it is by turning SLI off and then plugging the monitor cable into the bottom one. Then whenever I load a video or star scrolling furiously only the clocks of the bottom one increases.

Everlong · 01 Apr 2011

You can't do that, unfortunately. The top card will always be the primary card. The "power" from the second card is shifted across to the primary card.

CYPER · 02 Apr 2011

Thank you for your reply, I was so hoping it can be done.

It's just that I've edited the fan curve in MSI Afterburner to only increase above 40% when the temp is above 60 degrees. Naturally with this curve the temps get higher than usual, so I want to take advantage of the cooler card.

Any workarounds?

Everlong · 02 Apr 2011

The only thing I can think of is you add a separate profile for the primary card that increases the fans a bit sooner, but then even if you could change the primary card to the cooler running card, that card would then get slightly hotter as it's gonna be doing more of the work.

simmo · 02 Apr 2011

Unfortunately heat is an issue with 460 cards that aren't EE versions...my gigabytes do the same thing..I have a hi CFM fan fitted into the side case panel which cools both cards but the top card still gets hot..there are no workarounds...
You could sell the cards you have and buy EVGA versions that are EE or you could buy reference cards and W/C them.Neither of which is really practical.
Manufacturers are doing the same with the new 5 series also..Gigabyte,ASUS,MSI e.g are known offenders for making aftermarket cooling that exhausts heat into the case and changing the reference layout in order to do so...Thats something to keep in mind if you SLI any cards you use in future.
Personally when I do get around to upgrading my 460's I will be buying reference cards in order to W/C them as I think all graphics cards in the future will be hot and power hungry.

Everlong · 02 Apr 2011

I just set my 470 to 60-65% fan speed and temps are fine really. Running dual monitors raises the idle temps, but if I ran a single monitor, the temps would be high 30s/low 40s and load temps in the mid 70s.

CYPER · 02 Apr 2011

simmo said:

Unfortunately heat is an issue with 460 cards that aren't EE versions...my gigabytes do the same thing..I have a hi CFM fan fitted into the side case panel which cools both cards but the top card still gets hot..there are no workarounds...
You could sell the cards you have and buy EVGA versions that are EE or you could buy reference cards and W/C them.Neither of which is really practical.
Manufacturers are doing the same with the new 5 series also..Gigabyte,ASUS,MSI e.g are known offenders for making aftermarket cooling that exhausts heat into the case and changing the reference layout in order to do so...Thats something to keep in mind if you SLI any cards you use in future.
Personally when I do get around to upgrading my 460's I will be buying reference cards in order to W/C them as I think all graphics cards in the future will be hot and power hungry.

The cooling on these cards is more than adequate, may I even say superb - I've done some tests and a single card doesn't go beyond 63 degrees in Furmark, which is not a real life scenario. In gaming it won't probably go over 60 and will average around 55.
My real problem is choosing a motherboard with a single slot spacing between the cards, which makes the distance between the bottom card PCB and the top one fan just 0.5cm. If I could put them apart then I wouldn't have any problems whatsoever, but I can't. Just for comparison when in SLI I get 98 degrees for the top card and 73 for the bottom in Furmark.

Everlong said:

I just set my 470 to 60-65% fan speed and temps are fine really. Running dual monitors raises the idle temps, but if I ran a single monitor, the temps would be high 30s/low 40s and load temps in the mid 70s.

What is the distance between your cards?

Everlong · 07 Apr 2011

Okay as I've just got my second 470 now. I tested a few things, and you can make the secondary card the primary card by just simply connecting the monitor to it, which is how I've got it setup now. The cards are basically sitting right next to each other, and with a 65% fan speed, the top card was idling at 65C, with the bottom card at 40C.

Connected the monitor to the secondary card, and the top card is now in the mid 40s, and the bottom card at 51C.

Edit: You'll also need to turn your SLI bridge around, or you'd lose performance.