SLI - Can i achieve higher stable overclock if i swap cards ?

[dazkyl]

Can i achieve a higher stable oc if i put the top card in the bottom cards's slot and the bottom card into the top card's slot ?

Edit - if i un-sync the cards and oc them different from each other , does the sli work on the lowest oc or the highest ?

 

[cub_fanatic]

If they are identical cards, then I don't see any difference or benefit from this. The air flow will be the same. The best way to get better temps is to optimally configure your case's airflow. For example, if your PSU has a top-mounted fan that blows down, install the PSU with the fan facing up so that it pulls hot air out of the case and through the back. Make sure you have an intake fan on front and an exhaust fan on the rear next to the CPU. If you have top fans, point them out and if you have side fans, point them in. It would also help to get a fan controller such as the NZXT Sentry (http://www.amazon.com/NZXT-Technologies-5-4-Inch-Controller-AC-SEN-3-B1/dp/B00KJGYLNM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1416957893&sr=8-1&keywords=nzxt+fan+controller&pebp=1416957899709) or something similar that will read the case temps and adjust the fans accordingly. And you should also check the fan profiles of the GPUs. You can adjust the fan profile in apps like MSI Afterburner and force the fans to run at a higher RPM at certain temps which will give you better cooling and in turn better overclocks.

 

[dazkyl]

If they are identical cards, then I don't see any difference or benefit from this. The air flow will be the same. The best way to get better temps is to optimally configure your case's airflow. For example, if your PSU has a top-mounted fan that blows down, install the PSU with the fan facing up so that it pulls hot air out of the case and through the back. Make sure you have an intake fan on front and an exhaust fan on the rear next to the CPU. If you have top fans, point them out and if you have side fans, point them in. It would also help to get a fan controller such as the NZXT Sentry (http://www.amazon.com/NZXT-Technologies-5-4-Inch-Controller-AC-SEN-3-B1/dp/B00KJGYLNM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1416957893&sr=8-1&keywords=nzxt+fan+controller&pebp=1416957899709) or something similar that will read the case temps and adjust the fans accordingly. And you should also check the fan profiles of the GPUs. You can adjust the fan profile in the apps like MSI Afterburner and force the fans to run at a higher RPM at certain temps which will give you better cooling and in turn better overclocks.

Im not talking about the temps .. my temps are absolutely fine. Im talking about achieving a higher OC because my cards are GTX ASUS 980 and GTX GAINWARD 980 (both reference) Asus is installed at the top.

 

[cub_fanatic]

If they are identical cards, then I don't see any difference or benefit from this. The air flow will be the same. The best way to get better temps is to optimally configure your case's airflow. For example, if your PSU has a top-mounted fan that blows down, install the PSU with the fan facing up so that it pulls hot air out of the case and through the back. Make sure you have an intake fan on front and an exhaust fan on the rear next to the CPU. If you have top fans, point them out and if you have side fans, point them in. It would also help to get a fan controller such as the NZXT Sentry (http://www.amazon.com/NZXT-Technologies-5-4-Inch-Controller-AC-SEN-3-B1/dp/B00KJGYLNM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1416957893&sr=8-1&keywords=nzxt+fan+controller&pebp=1416957899709) or something similar that will read the case temps and adjust the fans accordingly. And you should also check the fan profiles of the GPUs. You can adjust the fan profile in the apps like MSI Afterburner and force the fans to run at a higher RPM at certain temps which will give you better cooling and in turn better overclocks.

Im not talking about the temps .. my temps are absolutely fine. Im talking about achieving a higher OC because my cards are GTX ASUS 980 and GTX GAINWARD 980 (both reference) Asus is installed at the top.

All reference design cards are identical. There is no advantage that the Asus has over the Gainward. They both have the same VRM and probably even use the same brand of memory. Unless you got a bad card or a card with a GPU core that can't overclock as high as the other one, then it won't make a difference where you put them. If one card can OC higher then it won't matter either since it will be limited by what the other card can OC to.