[SOLVED] 2 x RTX 2080 ti Black - Overkill Air Build Overheating

[lasynth]

Hi, all.

In an effort to update my rig and mildly future-proof, I’ve built the system below. Unfortunately I’m running into temperature issues I’m hoping to get some guidance in solving.

The GPUs are quickly pegging 84c under load and pretty much hanging there. CPU is also running hot with a number of cores hitting 100c. All stock settings, no OC. The system specs are:

ASUS ROG Maximus XI Hero (Wi-Fi)

Intel Core i9-9900K
Noctua NH-U9S with 1x fans (second fan is otw)

G.SKILL Ripjaws V Series 64GB

2 x EVGA GeForce RTX 2080 Ti Black (SLI/NVLink)

SAMSUNG 970 EVO 500GB
SAMSUNG 970 EVO 1TB
Seagate BarraCuda 2TB

CORSAIR HXi Series HX1200i 1200W PSU

Fractal Design Define 7 XL
8 x case fans (5 x Fractal Design Venturi 140mm + 3x 140mm stock fans)

• 2x 140mm front intake (3rd fan is otw)
• 3 x 140mm top exhaust
• 1 x 140mm rear exhaust
• 1 x 140mm bottom exhaust

1 x Dell UltraSharp 27” 4K USB-C Monitor: U2720Q
2 x Dell 24” Ultra HD 4K Monitor: P2415Q

Here are some of the things I’ve done in troubleshooting:

1. removed case side panel
   1. This helped by a few degrees
2. Adjusted fan curves to more aggressive curve
   1. This concurrent with panel removal. Shared results.
3. Adding second fan to Noctua - hasn’t arrived yet
4. Adding 3rd 140mm fan to front intake - hasn’t arrived yet

Does anyone see anything glaring here?

I’m hoping to stay with an air solution.

What are your thoughts?

Thanks in advance.

 

[rubix_1011]

Airflow / Fan / Cooling / Overheating - How to test, steps to resolve

This could be caused by a few different things, please don't automatically assume 'the cooler is not working' without also checking if the case airflow is sufficient.

Remove the side panel of the PC case. Orient a house fan (desk or box style fan) to blow air into the case, directly over components at the highest setting.

This will represent a case with the best possible airflow possible. For reference, the fans I am providing as examples would look like the items below (just to clarify for anyone who might want reference)

Re-test as you have normally done - play games, run benchmarks, etc. to get to where temperatures were normally seen to be higher than they should. Normal room temperature is usually between 20-24C or 68-75F. Please note that every air or liquid cooler operates as a product of delta-T over ambient, meaning that if the PC is operational (simply turned on), it is impossible for the CPU to display a temperature below ambient room temperatures. If it is, this is likely a bug in software temperature reporting either from the desktop UI or the BIOS reading it incorrectly.

With the fan running at full speed, if temperatures drop by 5-7C or more, case airflow is one major issue to contend with. You will need additional fans or better fans for your setup in order to optimize air in and out of the chassis. This might even require consideration for a new PC case or leaving the side panel partially open during sessions of heavier computing until these items are corrected.

If your temperatures remain relatively the same (difference less than 1-2C), then you likely have an issue with the cooler in question (if CPU is hot, CPU cooler, if GPU is hot, GPU cooler). It would be good to then approach the next steps by thoroughly cleaning the cooler with compressed or canned air and ensuring there are not large blockages in cooling fins or on fans, etc. This might require the cooling fans to be removed from the heatsink or radiator to ensure there is not a buildup of pet hair, dust or even carpet fibers which can trap additional debris. Please ensure the PC is turned off and unplugged during this process to prevent unwanted startup to keep fingers safe from fan blades or accidental shorting if you happen to drop a screw onto other components during fan removal.

Removal of the cooler and re-application of thermal paste & re-seating the cooler can also be beneficial once cleaning of the cooler is ruled out by retesting the steps above.

 

[Gfost73]

there is some evidence that intake case fans (in some cases) are somewhat pointless. I myself have texted this with my case and shut off/removed my front 3 fans, and there was zero change in any temperatures..my case is all tempered glass and the front intake are only about 1 inch wide but whole height of case, but this showed me that my exhaust fans are exhausting air fast enough to make the intake pointless. amount of fans explained.

 

[lasynth]

Airflow / Fan / Cooling / Overheating - How to test, steps to resolve

This could be caused by a few different things, please don't automatically assume 'the cooler is not working' without also checking if the case airflow is sufficient.

Remove the side panel of the PC case. Orient a house fan (desk or box style fan) to blow air into the case, directly over components at the highest setting.

This will represent a case with the best possible airflow possible. For reference, the fans I am providing as examples would look like the items below (just to clarify for anyone who might want reference)

Re-test as you have normally done - play games, run benchmarks, etc. to get to where temperatures were normally seen to be higher than they should. Normal room temperature is usually between 20-24C or 68-75F. Please note that every air or liquid cooler operates as a product of delta-T over ambient, meaning that if the PC is operational (simply turned on), it is impossible for the CPU to display a temperature below ambient room temperatures. If it is, this is likely a bug in software temperature reporting either from the desktop UI or the BIOS reading it incorrectly.

With the fan running at full speed, if temperatures drop by 5-7C or more, case airflow is one major issue to contend with. You will need additional fans or better fans for your setup in order to optimize air in and out of the chassis. This might even require consideration for a new PC case or leaving the side panel partially open during sessions of heavier computing until these items are corrected.

If your temperatures remain relatively the same (difference less than 1-2C), then you likely have an issue with the cooler in question (if CPU is hot, CPU cooler, if GPU is hot, GPU cooler). It would be good to then approach the next steps by thoroughly cleaning the cooler with compressed or canned air and ensuring there are not large blockages in cooling fins or on fans, etc. This might require the cooling fans to be removed from the heatsink or radiator to ensure there is not a buildup of pet hair, dust or even carpet fibers which can trap additional debris. Please ensure the PC is turned off and unplugged during this process to prevent unwanted startup to keep fingers safe from fan blades or accidental shorting if you happen to drop a screw onto other components during fan removal.

Removal of the cooler and re-application of thermal paste & re-seating the cooler can also be beneficial once cleaning of the cooler is ruled out by retesting the steps above.

Thank you for the very thoughtful, well-explained reply. I’ll do the fan rest now.

 

[geofelt]

The glaring error I see is the NH-U9s cooler that is not up to the job.
For best performance, you should be using one of the dual tower versions with big fans like the NH-D15s.

The NH-D15 is equally good.
But, ram tall heat spreaders may be a problem and some graphics cards mounted in the first pcie slot will be too close.
The NH-D15s version addresses that issue.
You can order a second fan for the D15s, but it is only marginally more effective.

Your graphics card temperatures are ok; 80c is about the target operating temperature for best performance.

The key is getting sufficient fresh air INTO the case.
To that end, I would simply relocate one of the 140m exit fans to the front intake.

 

[Phaaze88]

1)NH-U9S is really not sufficient for a 9900K.
If you're doing some rendering or Blender workload, that cooler is a definite no-no. Gaming loads don't hit it that hard... yet.

2)Too many fans to the point of being detrimental:
-Remove the top exhaust fans that are 'in front of' the cpu cooler. They are pulling cool air out before it reaches the cpu cooler.
-Bottom exhaust is pointless. The cool air that your lower front fans pull in gets sucked out the bottom and either circulates back to the front of the case, or is drawn in by the psu fan.

3)The standard fan coolers are really bad for SLI/NvLink. They need breathing room, or a side panel fan bringing in cool air: https://www.pugetsystems.com/blog/2019/01/11/NVIDIA-RTX-Graphics-Card-Cooling-Issues-1326/
Blower models are ideal for tight spaces.

4)This adds on to point #3, but 2 particular case features are also hindering gpu temps: the 'closed' front panel and the psu shroud.
-Psu shroud. Looks nice, hides some of the psu cables. Downside is that they increase gpu temps because it restricts airflow from the bottom.
-'Closed' front panel. Looks nice(subjective), and acts as a noise dampener(probably one of the reasons you got it). Downside is that front intake is now reduced as a result.
Your gpus are getting most of their air from the rear of the case.