New build, need some advice regarding SLI

[Dresden]

It's approaching that time where I can no longer continually feed my current build a series of upgrades. Starting from scratch seems to be the most viable option. I've prepared a list of potential hardware, in order to get a price range for when I'm ready to finalize the deal. However, this build I'd like to do an SLI build. I'm getting kind of tired of replacing my video card every year, and figure SLI is the solution. Unfortunately, I've no experience with multiple GPU's, so excuse me if my questions seem a bit amateur. What are the biggest advantages and disadvantages of an SLI build? What are the dangers? Is there any lack of support with an SLI configuration?

 

[Davros]

If cost is a consideration its cheaper to buy 1 card now then a year or so later when you feel the need for more performance buy another card by that time it will be much cheaper
or buy 1 card now then later on buy another card works out the same money wise but your second card (if you wait long enough) will be a newer generation and hopefully have the same power a the sli config your thinking of now
but then again if your loaded go nuts....

 

[Tahir2]

"Dangers":

1. Can be more cost effective to buy the next level up graphics card (e.g. instead of 2x GTX 460's buy one GTX 570)
2. Increase in power consumption
3. Scaling of performance varies greatly depending on games
4. When these graphics card are obsolete (about 18 months maybe) you have two to sell/dispose/recycle rather than one

Other things to be aware of:
Get a decent case with good cooling.
You need a good quality PSU, don't just look at higher watts but also the brand and the efficiency rating.
Finally try to get a motherboard that allows space for two dual slot graphics card with some room to aid cooling.

Can't think of anything else right now.

 

[Dresden]

Awesome feedback. Thanks Tahir! In terms of a case, I ordered an Antec with 6 fans (5x 120mm, 1x 200mm.)

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129100

I also am considering buying a 1200 watt Antec PSU:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371043

One of the questions I was going to ask, you answered. Which was is it wiser to go SLI with slightly dated cards, or to splurge on a single current generation model. The motherboard I'm purchasing is SLI ready with 4 PCI E slots. So even if I don't initially build an SLI rig, I'll still have the option to do it in the future.

 

[Tahir2]

Case looks good, have built systems with it in the past (the 1st revision).

PSU is way over specced unless you are planning on quad Crossfire with the new Radeon 6990s (450W each!)

Consider this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817171057&cm_re=psu-_-17-171-057-_-Product

A Coolermaster GOLD series 800W instead - $159.99.

With the money saved spend on the graphics card, may allow you to go to a GTX 580 or similar. Of course it is your money but from experience one card systems are usually less noisy and less prone to little niggles (e.g. heat build up and noise).

What is the rest of your spec?

 

[entity279]

PSU is way over specked unless you are planning on quad Crossfire with the new Radeon 6990s (450W each!)

Unless he is planning to preserve the PSU over multiple (future) builds

 

[Tahir2]

Unless he is planning to preserve the PSU over multiple (future) builds

The thing is we are talking about the utter bleeding edge high end dual graphics card and even in future builds I don't think that is going to be what Dresden will aim for. However I am sure he can let us know if that is his aim in the future. I do think the 6990 Dual GPU is not a trend setter as hopefully we will move to 28nm in the near future.

In any case:

There is also a 1000W Corsair Bronze series also which is what I would consider, my personal preference though is Seasonic PSUs due to experience and reviews.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371012&cm_re=psu-_-17-371-012-_-Product

Or:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151102&Tpk=psu

If you look at some of the reviews out there for CPUs or GPUs you will see that even the highest end graphics cards and systems do not consume anywhere near 1200W.

http://www.hardwareheaven.com/revie...power-supplies-review-real-world-testing.html

Look at that system and then what it is actually requiring even at load.
That is an an i980X with Geforce 580 GTX an SSD and two raptors - 165W idle and 361W load. Adding anther Geforce 580 GTX on that particular Corsair 850W Bronze PSU would not be an issue as far as I can tell.

The savings would be something like over $100, that money would be wasted on unused wattage IMHO.

 

[Dresden]

Yeah, the PSU is total overkill. However, I intentionally picked that one out because I think I'm going to start out with a single GPU, looking at the 580 GTX, and order a motherboard that is SLI compatible for when I decide to actually go SLI.

The rest of the build is as follows, thus far:

Motherboard:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131642

Processor:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115211

RAM:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820220543

Video Card:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131642


A friend of mine keeps harping about how I should wait until the next line of Sandy Bridge CPU's come out, claiming they'll be awesome. Is there any truth to this?

 

[mrcorbo]

Yeah, the PSU is total overkill. However, I intentionally picked that one out because I think I'm going to start out with a single GPU, looking at the 580 GTX, and order a motherboard that is SLI compatible for when I decide to actually go SLI.

The rest of the build is as follows, thus far:

Motherboard:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131642

Processor:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115211

RAM:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820220543

Video Card:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131642


A friend of mine keeps harping about how I should wait until the next line of Sandy Bridge CPU's come out, claiming they'll be awesome. Is there any truth to this?

WRT the LGA-1366 Platform:

1366 is more or less a dead-end platform. I bought one to pair with an i7-920 shortly after they were released, expecting that I'd eventually be able to upgrade top a die-shrinked successor to the 920. This never happened and never will happen. Intel instead only has released die-shrunk processors at the highest-end of their product stack (980 & 990) and when they finally do do a full product line refresh of their enthusiast processors they will require a new socket and a new motherboard.

To be sure, I have been served very well from a performance standpoint by my X58/920 combo and am really not in a position where I need more performance, but after being used to the way AMD supported their socket platforms with multiple processor releases, I am a little sour on Intel if the goal is upgrade-ability.

 

[Mize]

The 2600k Sandy Bridge is 4.5 GHz on air guaranteed basically and 5.0 GHz on air likely. They're damn fast for the money.

Your link for a card goes to the motherboard, but the GTX 580 is a sweet ride. I had two with problems so switched based on that, but, until the problems (both in 2D) cropped up, they were awesome cards.

 

[Dresden]

The 2600k Sandy Bridge is 4.5 GHz on air guaranteed basically and 5.0 GHz on air likely. They're damn fast for the money.

Your link for a card goes to the motherboard, but the GTX 580 is a sweet ride. I had two with problems so switched based on that, but, until the problems (both in 2D) cropped up, they were awesome cards.

Whoa, sorry:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130590

So, should I wait for a new line of processors? It gives me more time to save, anyway.

 

[Tahir2]

There is no waiting. They are out now, if you mean to wait for the new motherboards they are shipping to retailers right about now.

If I were to build an Intel based system it would be Sandy Bridge all the way.



Another interesting fact, the new Sandy Bridge processors have a new integrated memory controller which in the real world is not impacted by the "higher" spec memory which normally costs twice as much.

Here is some more info:

http://techreport.com/articles.x/20377/3

So not worth it for an extra 1-3 fps in games.

This stuff will do you proud:

For RAM:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...5313&cm_re=memory_ddr3-_-20-145-313-_-Product


If 8GB isn't enough, grab another pair!

CPU:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115070&Tpk=2600k

And for a motherboard:

Wait a week or two and get either an ASUS or Gigabyte P67 if you want to overclock. Make sure it is B3 revision (will be clearly labelled).

Storage wise - get an SSD, for best overall performance as an OS drive stick with Intel, Crucial C300/C400 IMHO.

 

[I.S.T.]

The thing is we are talking about the utter bleeding edge high end dual graphics card and even in future builds I don't think that is going to be what Dresden will aim for. However I am sure he can let us know if that is his aim in the future. I do think the 6990 Dual GPU is not a trend setter as hopefully we will move to 28nm in the near future.

In any case:

There is also a 1000W Corsair Bronze series also which is what I would consider, my personal preference though is Seasonic PSUs due to experience and reviews.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371012&cm_re=psu-_-17-371-012-_-Product

Or:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151102&Tpk=psu

If you look at some of the reviews out there for CPUs or GPUs you will see that even the highest end graphics cards and systems do not consume anywhere near 1200W.

http://www.hardwareheaven.com/revie...power-supplies-review-real-world-testing.html

Look at that system and then what it is actually requiring even at load.
That is an an i980X with Geforce 580 GTX an SSD and two raptors - 165W idle and 361W load. Adding anther Geforce 580 GTX on that particular Corsair 850W Bronze PSU would not be an issue as far as I can tell.

The savings would be something like over $100, that money would be wasted on unused wattage IMHO.

SeaSonic builds all of Corsair's PSUs, FYI. You buy a Corsair, you're getting a SeaSonic.

 

[Tahir2]

Even better
So then I would go for either the Seasonic or the Corsair basing my decision on availability, price and warranty. 850W should be ample juice!

 

[Mize]

Whoa, sorry:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814130590

So, should I wait for a new line of processors? It gives me more time to save, anyway.

If you want to game now...sandy bridge 2600k with gtx 580...or wait a little to see if bulldozer rocks...