GeForce GTX 480 SLI

[Starkiller]

Hi

I was thinking of adding a second GeForce GTX 480 1536MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card in SLI, to a R3E/i7-950/24GB new build, but ive not done SLI before,

do you have to use the same brand-series?
I have a gainward but the msi is a lot cheaper atm.

btw its for 3D modeling not gaming.

 

[cammy5477]

no any 480 will work......just make sure your rigs going to be able to get rid of all the heat they generate.....

 

[setter]

You can run two regardless of manufacturer, however if one card has a higher default clockspeed, both will run at the speed of the slower card when sli'd. Also youll need a very good psu, 900w+ as theyll use a lot of power.

 

[Starkiller]

Thanks for the quick replies.
I have a 1200w psu in a 800D with 3 extra 120mm SE roof fans

I plan to use the standard air coolers for now, maybe water cooler later if really needed

 

[Blackbadger]

Are you sure your app supports dual cards ? - sli etc, my experience is that quadro cards will more likely to be supported.

Which app are you using ?

 

[Starkiller]

I'm not sure now, the app is inventor 2010

 

[Blackbadger]

I am pretty sure inventor does not support sli/xfire. - no autodesk apps do that I am aware of.
My 3DsMax does not.

It's possible that in some full screen playback mode when reviewing some animation/setup it may take advantage, however It probabbly wont.

Optimisation of your scene is your best bet, its very easy to overwhelm the card with unnecessarily detailed objects.

 

[Starkiller]

Thanks for your reply, time for a rethink.
I think I'll put SLI on hold, while I review my new system.

My first few ansys calculations seam to only use 1 core, but they were stable

 

[Ch3m1c4L]

You can run two regardless of manufacturer, however if one card has a higher default clockspeed, both will run at the speed of the slower card when sli'd. Also youll need a very good psu, 900w+ as theyll use a lot of power.

Thats wrong, whichever one is in the PCI-E master slot (slot 1) has its clocks applied to the other card, so it can OC the other card if your not careful.

 

[Starkiller]

Thanks for the tip

 

[hash70]

any model/get the cheapest one u can find