Hi Folks! Recently aquired a new PC, I'm very happy with it but I would like to make some adjustments. Mainly a 2nd graphics card and a more substantial PSU to deal with the load. Please note I had my PC built for me by a reputable company and have not assembled it myself, it has been a longwhile since I attempted an upgrade myself and am not confident, hence my coming to this forum to ask advice. Here's my Current Spec's. Antec threehundred case Intel i7 930 overclocked to 3.80 ghz Asus P6X58D-E 6.00gb corsair dominator ram Windows 7 64bit Home premium 1TB Samsung Spinpoint F3 Hard Drive Corsair 550W PSU (CMPSU-550VXUK) 1GB EVGA GTX460 SC PCI-E graphics card I've never used SLI before and am a bit daunted by it, I'm also concern about getting the right PSU for my case and with enough cables to supply both cards, my existing one only has 2 power leads and takes up both of them. Here are my intended additions PSU: 650W Corsair HX Series (Modular) additional GPU: 1280MB EVGA GTX 470 SC Can anyone advise me or offer any thoughts on any compatibility issues or any better options before I spend much cash on an upgrade??? My humble thanks!
You'd be better off going with another GTX 460 instead of a 470. You're always better off getting the same card for SLI (tbh not even sure that it'll work, like it does in Crossfire). Good PSU choice though, it should handle SLI fine.
I don't trust Corsair PSUs anymore after my friend's one blew up. I'd go for the XFX 750w. Anyway, SLI only works with 2 cards that are the same (don't have to be the same brand though). Is it really worth SLIing? Why not wait 'till the GTX 560 comes out, which will be (apparently) 40% faster ( the same performance boost as SLI will bring roughly)?
Its not question that your always "better off" - SLI only functions with two identical cards. SLi is a doddle to set up these days and offers real performance improvements. However, for us to best ascertain what is the most cost effective upgrade for you, could you list your needs? And why you want to upgrade and budget? To the above poster - if you can find me a PSU manufacturer that guarantees that none of their PSUs will develop a fault, please let the world know about it. Corsair make fantastic PSUs and this has been demonstrated time and time again in independent reviews, so please stop the "I know someone who had a faulty one so the whole company must be crap" schoolboy logic.
Thanks for that! I had read somewhere that since a driver update you can sli different cards, the info must have been duff or I've misinterpreted it, so you've all saved me a huge nightmare there!! Say if I wanted to buy another gtx460, could I run my existing one with a model with jumped up core and mhz?
What are your reasons for wanting to upgrade? Your system is very good and can probably cope perfectly well with 99% of the things you throw at it.
I don't think SLI/Crossfire is like memory channel kits and the cards don't need to be exactly the same. You just need to have the same GPU and you will be fine. According to what I've read, you can SLI two cards with the same GPU and different memory amounts and clock speeds and the better card will just limit itself. source. That PSU is a good choice and it was the first to pop in my head when I was reading through your OP.
Nice one, so essentially I'd be better off getting the same card version that I already have. As I belive what you are saying is that if one card is faster it will be reduced to the speed of the other card? So spending more on an over clocked or suped up card would be more money down the drain?
Yes it would be. Unless your unhappy with your current model (IE, too hot/loud) and want to swap for a better one
As someone with two 460s in Sli, I can assure you that there's no need to be daunted. A couple of things:- 1. Make sure the company that built your pc gave you the SLi bridge (small ribbon cable to connect your two GPUs together) as these are supplied with the motherboard, not the graphics card. Configuring the cards is easy as nVidia supply a Windows control panel with their drivers. A few clicks and your away. 2. As stated above, there's no merit in buying a better spec'd second 460 as it will just match the speed of your existing card. Personally I have two identical cards from the same manufacturer. Good PSU choice. I very rarely look outside of Corsair, Seasonic or Enermax for PSUs.
Thanks Guys That settles that issue outright. Ill get the Corsair PSU and a matching EVGA 460sc. Thanks again!
For the PSU, alternatively you could consider the Antec TruePower 650W as well. With their price now at under £70 at the moment, they are a real bargin.
Is the Antec TruePower 650W modular? Does it also have 4 power connectors (2 per gpu)? if so may well check that out, thanks!! LOTS of helpful people here, I like this forum!
I'll make it easy for you: http://www.antec.com/Believe_it/product.php?id=MTc2Mw== It has 2 PCI-E 6-pin and 2 PCI-E 6+2 pin connector. It is not FULL modular, but the only cables you can't detach are the ones you MUST USE anyway (i.e. motherboard, CPU power) so I think it doesn't matter that it is not full modular. You can get it from ebuyer for just under £70: http://www.ebuyer.com/product/159920
This, except i'd like to point out that neither Corsair nor XFX literally make PSUs, they order them to their specifications from OEMs. In this case, both of the companies mentioned above use Seasonic as the OEM for their high-end models, so djzic's claim is that much more nonsensical.