Two similar GPUs; why is one utilized less?

[markdotgooley]

I upgraded an old Linux box with a cheap 6-core Ryzen 5 and put a plain RTX 2060 on its motherboard. Runs fine if a bit warm. It'd be a tight fit and I think I'd have to upgrade the power supply (650 watts but only one PCI-E connector, though I suppose a splitter might work), but there's a similar fan-only RTX 2060 card on sale. Anyone have any experience with using two such cards? (It's a big cheap 9-year-old Rosewill steel case and the fans should perhaps be replaced.)

Thanks!

[HaloJones]

Not with air-cooling but my advice would be to get very good airflow through the system, get a good Gold PSU with 4 distinct PCIE Power cables. If you want a great case for airflow I can massively recommend the Phanteks P600S comes with 3x140mm fans. Brilliant airflow. Or the Phanteks Eclipse P400 Air Midi Tower DGRB case which comes with four 120mm LED fans pre-installed.

[markdotgooley]

Thanks for the suggestions!

[Kebast]

I had trouble keeping 2 GPUs cool without a side fan. YMMV depending on your case. Mine is a bit cramped. I had 2 140mm intakes, 1 120mm intake, 2 120mm outtake and still couldn’t keep 2 GPU plus CPU cool. Had to put a 140mm side fan blowing directly on the GPUs.

[MeeLee]

If you're using a case, you might want to invest in a $15 20cm (or longer) PCIE x16 riser, ribbon style.
You could move the second GPU away from the first GPU, perhaps somewhere in the case wtth more open space.
Open style GPU coolers tend to prefer open bench systems. inside a case they just heat up the entire case (especially if you;re running 2 of them).

[markdotgooley]

Thanks!

[Kebast]

If you're using a case, you might want to invest in a $15 20cm (or longer) PCIE x16 riser, ribbon style.
You could move the second GPU away from the first GPU, perhaps somewhere in the case wtth more open space.
Open style GPU coolers tend to prefer open bench systems. inside a case they just heat up the entire case (especially if you;re running 2 of them).

Yep, that's part of my problem. The GPUs are stacked right on top of each other. Bottom one stayed relatively cool...top one was in an oven

[HaloJones]

temporary solution is to take the side cover off and have a desk fan blowing into the case, even consider turning the case on its right side with the left cover off so the heat from the gpus doesn't impact each other.

Folding is a great cause but it can really stress computers which aren't built for 24/7 100% load. Air-cooling becomes noisy, gpus and cpus hit previously unseen heat levels and potentially throttle themselves.

Long-term folding will likely require better cases, better cooling, possibly even more advanced cooling like water-cooling. It can become quite the obsession.

e.g.



http://www.miketimbers.com/images/computer/IMG_2485.JPG

[pcwolf]

NVidia utility package "nvidia-smi" will give you the ability to tailor GPU watts and fan speed to moderate temperatures. I limit power on the upper card slightly resulting in temps in the middle 70s with no noticeable loss of F@H PPD.

[markdotgooley]

NVidia utility package "nvidia-smi" will give you the ability to tailor GPU watts and fan speed to moderate temperatures. I limit power on the upper card slightly resulting in temps in the middle 70s with no noticeable loss of F@H PPD.

Thank you! will have a look.

[G3WGV]

I've recently started running two GPUs, an RTX 2070 Super and an RTX 2080 Super. I have a full size case with decent cooling but with a vertically mounted MB, so the heat from the lower GPU (the 2080) rises straight up to the 2070 above it. I soon found that, at the very least, I needed a decent throughput side fan but the real benefit came when I arranged the fan at the end of the two cards, blowing longways along the cards and chucking the heat out of the back of the case. It's a bodge at the moment but it wouldn't take more than a bit of metal-bashing, or even a 3D printed thingy to make the arrangement permanent.

That said, I do need to experiment with tailoring power/fan speed. I am playing with the MSI Afterburner program and have already found that I can knock the power down some way for only a minimal reduction in PPD. More experimentation needed! I will get NVIDIA-SMI running at some stage.

Are there any recognised/recommended settings, or are these too dependent on specific installation characteristics and/or GPU model?

[HaloJones]

too dependent on your specific cards, case and cooling.

I would first play with them at stock, see where they boost, see how much power they are drawing and how loud they are. Play around and find what works for you.

If the cards are the type that don't blow the air straight out the back then temps can be a problem but usually just having several intakes and one fewer exhausts is al you need.

[Kebast]

Here’s my other dual GPU case. 200mm fan on the side. Cards stay nice and cool.

[markdotgooley]

Well, I started off this subject and now I have two GTX 2060 cards on the motherboard. The mounting bracket didn't fit because one GPU is a 3-slot card -- both would have had to be 2-slot.They're close together and I think that one will run a bit warm despite a new case with a lot of fans. But it all seems to work.

[Kebast]

Glad to hear it's working!