SLI Cards and the PSU.

MagicIRL

I'm looking to SLI two 660GTX 2GB cards in my next build (Waiting on the price to drop a little) and I'm wondering what PSU I should aim for? I'm thinking it'll be around 800W or so, but I'm not 100% sure.

Also, has anyone written a guide to SLI or have experience in it first hand should I have any questions?

MagicIRL

Perhaps it would help if I listed what I want in it for calculating power?

GFX: nVidia 660GTX 2GB (x2)

CPU: Intel i7 2600k @ 4.4GHz

MOBO: Asus P8Z68-V/GEN3

RAM: Corsair 1600MHZ 16GB

Serephucus

660s are mid-range cards, so they don't pull that much power. A good 550W unit will power all of that, including overclocking. What's your PSU budget?

MagicIRL

This shows my lack of knowledge. I had read, I think on Overclockers.co.uk that a single card needs 450w, so I literally doubled that as I would be using two cards. Go figure!

Currently I have a Corsair 600W Builder PSU, I think, in this machine now so if that's the case I reckon I'll hang onto it as it's a decent bit of kit.

Tea_Bag

have you bought the GPUs yet? what's your budget? do you already own one?

as someone who has been running SLI and crossfire for a few years now, my best advice is to stick to 1 card until you absolutely have no choice. it's probably even better to sell your one and start again.

MagicIRL

I haven't bought anything yet, Tea_Bag! Currently I'm on a 6580 1GB. I had only ever heard of positive things from SLI - Why should I only stick with one?

Danger781

I'm also curious as to your reasoning behind sticking to one card. I'm considering a 1440p monitor so two cards seems to make sense.

Tea_Bag

at 1440p, it's almost a necessity to run dual GPU, dependent on budget and how much eye candy you want, however at lower res like 1080p, a single GPU is cheaper, better drivers and more stable, less heat, but most importantly, far more future proof.

buy 1 as powerful as you can afford eg/ Gtx670 or 7950, then down the line you get the option of adding a second one (now discounted) or get to sell it and upgrade, instead of ending up trying to shift 2 mid range cards worth dust in a few years.

what's the budget?

Danger781

Tea_Bag wrote: »

at 1440p, it's almost a necessity to run dual GPU, dependent on budget and how much eye candy you want, however at lower res like 1080p, a single GPU is cheaper, better drivers and more stable, less heat, but most importantly, far more future proof.

buy 1 as powerful as you can afford eg/ Gtx670 or 7950, then down the line you get the option of adding a second one (now discounted) or get to sell it and upgrade, instead of ending up trying to shift 2 mid range cards worth dust in a few years.

what's the budget?

As you can see in my thread 'First gaming PC - Feedback appreciated' I'm kind of divided between a single 1440p monitor, or a 1080p with the possibility of adding a second one.

I'm hoping for entire build to come below €1500 with monitor(s) included. At the moment, if I remember correctly, it's coming in at around that mark but I haven't added everything up properly yet.

Feel free to have a look at the thread.

spix

A decent 500w psu is plenty for 660 in sli.

MagicIRL

Tea_Bag wrote: »

at 1440p, it's almost a necessity to run dual GPU, dependent on budget and how much eye candy you want, however at lower res like 1080p, a single GPU is cheaper, better drivers and more stable, less heat, but most importantly, far more future proof.

I have one monitor at 1080 for gaming and a second monitor at 1440x900 just for in-game browsing, team speak, skype etc. Would that affect my card choice?

Tea_Bag

Danger781 wrote: »

As you can see in my thread 'First gaming PC - Feedback appreciated' I'm kind of divided between a single 1440p monitor, or a 1080p with the possibility of adding a second one.

I'm hoping for entire build to come below €1500 with monitor(s) included. At the moment, if I remember correctly, it's coming in at around that mark but I haven't added everything up properly yet.

Feel free to have a look at the thread.

ill comment over there

MagicIRL wrote: »

I have one monitor at 1080 for gaming and a second monitor at 1440x900 just for in-game browsing, team speak, skype etc. Would that affect my card choice?

not at all. all discreet cards can support 3+ monitors, (some up to 6 even)
the second monitor isnt taxing either, so doesnt require you to upgrade your gpu any more than you already are planning to.

some games though force the second monitor to go blank, and its difficult to keep it on. most recently, i noticed bioshock infinite (EVERYONE SHOULD PLAY THIS) didnt like 'dual' screen. BF3, LoL, TombRaider, AC3, Dishonored etc worked fine though.

tuxy

MagicIRL wrote: »

I haven't bought anything yet, Tea_Bag! Currently I'm on a 6580 1GB. I had only ever heard of positive things from SLI - Why should I only stick with one?

The positive things you have heard about SLI have just been comparing it to crossfire.
If you have a real high end card the only way to get more performance is to go multi GPU.
I can't think of any reason to get 2 low/medium cards over one high end card.