Hardware Canucks - How to overclock SLI cards using software

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How to overclock SLI cards using software

This is a question from

twistedjiji

Quote:

Hello Linus. First off, I enjoy your videos and the reviews you have for many of the items I decided to pick up. Fantastic job; keep up the good work!

I'm picking up 2 of these nVidia cards and am wondering how to overclock these in SLI.

Newegg.com - MSI N580GTX Lightning Xtreme Edition GeForce GTX 580 (Fermi) 3072MB 384-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card

Note: I've yet to get the cards (coming in tomorrow) and just prepping with knowing how to overclock them. I've read some outdated info on how to overclock them with the 8800 series or 200 GT series, but not these. Can this be done with the included software? If not, what would I need to overclock them? Thanks for any input!

Right now my favourite software for overclocking graphics cards is MSI Afterburner. It's awesome. Very intuitive to use. You can follow my guide here on how to overclock a modern graphics card. It's different from the one you're looking at, but the same rules will still apply. NVIDIA GeForce GTX Series Fermi Video Card Overclocking Guide (NCIX Tech Tips #78) - YouTube

I recommend googling/reading around a little bit to see what other folks are achieving with your card to give you some idea where to start.

I've also taken the liberty of discounting a single unit of that card just for you. You can buy it here: NCIX US - Buy N580GTX Lightning Xtreme Edition - MSI GeForce GTX 580 Lightning Xtreme Edition 832MHZ 3GB 4200MHZ GDDR5 PCI-E 2XDVI HDMI DP Video Card - MSI/MicroStar - Great price and fast delivery

Awesome! Thanks a ton! One quick question--do I have to do anything special in SLI mode? Do I need to disable it first and overclock each gpu?

Damn! I wish I had sent you a message earlier before I got both cards. =(

I got them from Newegg and it comes with 2 free games. Appreciate it very much! I'm bookmarking ncix.com for future hardware purchases. Thanks for all the info and links! I'll pass it along to anyone looking to upgrade their video card for sure.

I'm anticipating the 8gb Patriot single module ram. It is rather pricey right now, and I think I'm good with 12gb at the moment, but will definitely consider picking those modules up later on.

Thanks for all your help!

Another fair warning is that when you run dual cards you have a higher risk of the primary card to overheat as it is unable to get fresh air as easily as the secondary (card on the outside). To avoid your cards from overheating you'll more then likely need a more aggressive fan profile (instructions available, just follow my signature) and keeping the fan at a higher fan speed.

You can actually overclock them together, in sli, if you keep msi afterburner to mirror the settings for both the cards.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Arinoth (Post 553203)

Awesome! Thanks so much! I got my system up and running and have yet to really tweak the Afterburner software that came with the cards, but I got to play with the fan speed to hear the the noise level. I will definitely do as you suggested. Many thanks! =)