A few questions about SLI

[abbews]

Alright, here we go!

A few months ago, I built a new PC. I bought a MSI GEFORCE GTX 660TI 2048MB OC.
The rest of the components is on this list: http://www.inet.se/kundvagn/visa/2417331/2012-10-14

Now, as I understand it, that MSI card takes up 2 PCI-E slots? And therefore I need a huge MoBo to SLI and it's not possible with this build?

I'm just wondering in advance, the card runs very well now and I have it overclocked and it cools very well.
Next year however, I was either thinking of getting an extra 660ti for a good performance boost or get a new card all together.

[Totalheadache]

I would have thought that gpu at that res would be fine for at least a yr or so before you need to think about upgrading.

I'd overclock that cpu if you arent (you will need an aftermarket cooler).

Generally if you rurn sli/xfire you tend to have a full tower which yours is not. Makes cooling better (although your case is a good one) and installing a bit easier.

And yes check all your pci lanes are x16. Then perhaps you can use lanes 1 and 3. Check though this is ok...I am not sure myself...(well am over 90 percent sure it's ok).

Also you might end up losing your soundcard (in my setup I can have it working, just its a tight squeeze).

It does depend on the mobo a bit and obviously the bigger the case the easier it is.

If you are going to run 660 ti you do want your cpu around 4.5 ghz to get rid of any bottlenecking.

Also i'd say you might not have enough wattage on your psu. (i'd say 850w to be on the safe side).

Moreover sli isnt always good if game/drivers dont support it. It has got a lot better though and most people enjoy sli or xfire.

I prefer single card single screen myself.

Generally if you have three x16 pci lanes on your mobo there is no reason you cant get sli working as most cards are 2 slots anyways....

[abbews]

650W is more than enough for 660ti SLI, though.

Yeah I might upgrade to one of the Corsair Obsidian cases in the future, but the plan is to run Nvidia Surround in the future. Also if you read my post you will see that I'm not looking to upgrade now, but I'm just thinking in advance. A cooler is ordered and I will overclock it, don't feel any need for it right now though.

[Bolkonsky]

650W is more than enough for 660ti SLI, though.

Yeah I might upgrade to one of the Corsair Obsidian cases in the future, but the plan is to run Nvidia Surround in the future. Also if you read my post you will see that I'm not looking to upgrade now, but I'm just thinking in advance. A cooler is ordered and I will overclock it, don't feel any need for it right now though.

Your card peaks at about 165 watts. That will go up if you overclock it. I would not trust your power supply to stand up to a second 660ti OC. Adding a second card could really push it to the point of failure. You will need at least 28 amps on your 12v rail to get that kind of power to your GPUs, or have dual 14 amp 12v rails. Minimum. You definitely want a bit more than that just for wiggle room and power spiking. To find out what your rails carry, it's usually on the side of the PSU.

In regards to space, it might fit in the second slot, it will be really tight though. You'll probably want a bigger case and motherboard, or I'd stay away from open top coolers since if they're blocked by the card below them, they aren't as effective.

[Crazyeyesreaper]

660 Ti SLI will work on that motherboard the cards will be sandwiched and run a bit hot depending on the cooler but if you run two of those MSI cards it will fit and run fine top card will run warmer but it shouldnt be a problem

as for the case you have plenty of room its a Mid tower ive used the carbide 300R is perfectly fine for SLI / Crossfire and has plenty of options for cooling at worst add a fan or two and good to go.

as for the powersupply it SHOULD handle SLI 660Ti's but you would be forced to run the system entirely at stock period end of discussion.

at stock full system youll hit 500w usage give or take, add in more HDDs etc it will stress the 5v and 3.3v rails which will cause instability

1 ssd 1 hdd 2 cards + cpu and a couple fans youll be fine at stock but 750 would be the more comfortable option if you wish to overclock

[Bolkonsky]

660 Ti SLI will work on that motherboard the cards will be sandwiched and run a bit hot depending on the cooler but if you run two of those MSI cards it will fit and run fine top card will run warmer but it shouldnt be a problem

as for the case you have plenty of room its a Mid tower ive used the carbide 300R is perfectly fine for SLI / Crossfire and has plenty of options for cooling at worst add a fan or two and good to go.

as for the powersupply it SHOULD handle SLI 660Ti's but you would be forced to run the system entirely at stock period end of discussion.

at stock full system youll hit 500w usage give or take, add in more HDDs etc it will stress the 5v and 3.3v rails which will cause instability

1 ssd 1 hdd 2 cards + cpu and a couple fans youll be fine at stock but 750 would be the more comfortable option if you wish to overclock

The problem is the cards have auto-oc that scales with stress and temp. Also, don't discount USB like speakers, mug warmers, and illuminated peripherals.

Sent from my SGH-T679

[abbews]

The problem is the cards have auto-oc that scales with stress and temp. Also, don't discount USB like speakers, mug warmers, and illuminated peripherals.

Sent from my SGH-T679

Well the PC is powering nothing but the PC itself, the surround system and such all get powered on their own.

[Crazyeyesreaper]

doesnt matter bolk the auto clocking is factored into the TDP

GTX 660 Ti Power Edition

Typical load: 125w
Peak Load: 145w
Maximum aka Furmark load: 165

so 180 x 2 = 360 3770k is 77w but lets say 125w worst case senario

125 + 360 = 485 hdd = 500 optical mobo etc fans 550 he still has 100w room he just cant overclock in Multi GPU systems its not 100% scale either for power usage its actually lower surprising than just double doubling the power just keeps you covered peak loads are maximum loads are unlikely but its always good to plan for that and the 650w unit will handle it as its a Seasonic based unit. In fact its the same unit that will be running my 3960x x79 test rig.

thus in games like Crysis 2 maximum settings DX11 blah blah blah 145 with 2 cards its more likely to be around 130 each

260 + 3770k at 125 = 385 and thats MAX load on CPU and 2x GPUs which is an unlikely senario

typical gaming with 2x 7950s and a 3770 is around 450w-500w at the wall take 80% into account and well you get the idea, hes fine the 650 is cutting it close for worst case absolute max load situations but for typical users its not a problem.

In fact that PSU he has is solid enough its what ill be using for my 3960x x79 test rig as its on sale at newegg for $63 shipped for the 650w Modular NZXT Hale 82

[Bolkonsky]

doesnt matter bolk the auto clocking is factored into the TDP

Ah, I was under the impression it was kind of limitless if you could keep the temperatures down.

GTX 660 Ti Power Edition

Typical load: 125w
Peak Load: 145w
Maximum aka Furmark load: 165

so 180 x 2 = 360

Now that's all 360 on the 12v, and we're assuming his PSU even has the dual 8 pin. I've never owned that particular one but I do know some companies stopped making their 650's SLI capable in an effort to try and get people to buy higher tier models, and/or keep their failure rates down.

[Crazyeyesreaper]

it does its the NZXT HALE 82 650M he has comes with 4x 6+2 pin PCIE connectors and can supply 640w give or take a couple on the 12v rail hes fine just cant overclock