Mixing cards for SLI?

.Max. · 6 Apr 2011 at 19:58

Hey

So basically, Would it be possible to use a 460 and 480 in SLI? And how would the performance be, Although I only have 1 PCI-E x16, and another PCI-E x4, which is the reason I don't want 2 480's as one of them I'm guessing would be severely bottle necked. Do you think this would work? How would the performance be? Also... I'm thinking I'd go for this 480 but what 460 would you say is the best bang for the buck

£160 limit for the 460.... Although anything under is a bonus... And would the x4 PCI bottle neck a 470 so much it's not worth it?

Thanks

Sorry for all the questions too

haha

Rroff · 6 Apr 2011 at 20:00

Nope you can't mix a 460+480 or 470+480. If its a PCI-e 2.0 @ 4x port then its will be a bit of a bottleneck but still give fairly good performance (infact probably just slightly longer load times with not much hit ingame), if its only a PCI-e 1.x spec tho it will drop performance quite a bit.

.Max. · 6 Apr 2011 at 20:02

Rroff said:
Nope you can't mix a 460+480 or 470+480. If its a PCI-e 2.0 @ 4x port then its will be a bit of a bottleneck but still give fairly good performance, if its only a PCI-e 1.x spec tho it will drop performance quite a bit.

Damn

Thanks anyway... What would you recommend? Then?

Also I'll just look up weather is PCI 1 or 2

.Max. · 6 Apr 2011 at 20:08

PCI 2.0

.Max. · 6 Apr 2011 at 21:19

How throttled would two 480's be?

cmndr_andi · 6 Apr 2011 at 23:37

Hi there,

May I ask what make and model motherboard you are using?

Also, what PSU do you have? To run GTX 480 SLI you really need a high quality 850W+ unit.

.Max. · 6 Apr 2011 at 23:42

cmndr_andi said:
Hi there,

May I ask what make and model motherboard you are using?

Also, what PSU do you have? To run GTX 480 SLI you really need a high quality 850W+ unit.

It's an Asus P8H67 M Pro

Also.... I'm going to get a new PSU when I get a new card

any recommendations haha

Oh and... I found some benchmarks for 2 480s both running in x4 mode and there is only a few fps difference which according to the reviewer is Hardly noticeable... And I guess with x16 and an x4 it would have less fps drops?

setter · 6 Apr 2011 at 23:46

Pretty highly reccomended 850w psu.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=CA-000-XF&groupid=701&catid=123&subcat=1497

Scon · 6 Apr 2011 at 23:47

setter said:
Pretty highly reccomended 850w psu.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?p

wrong link me thinks.

cmndr_andi · 6 Apr 2011 at 23:50

Unfortunately it doesn't look like that board supports SLI.

You could always go for two AMD cards and run them in CrossfireX (with the second slot running at x4 speed), something like a 6950 2GB would be a good choice and the multi-gpu scaling is very good.

However, if you are considering spending this level of money on graphics cards and a PSU then I would strongly suggest you replace the motherboard with a P67 board like this one. This gives you the full x8/x8 PCIe slots, SLI capability and you can overclock the CPU (just make sure your CPU is K series).

.Max. · 6 Apr 2011 at 23:53

cmndr_andi said:
Unfortunately it doesn't look like that board supports SLI.

You could always go for two AMD cards and run them in CrossfireX (with the second slot running at x4 speed), something like a 6950 2GB would be a good choice and the multi-gpu scaling is very good.

However, if you are considering spending this level of money on graphics cards and a PSU then I would strongly suggest you replace the motherboard with a P67 board like this one. This gives you the full x8/x8 PCIe slots, SLI capability and you can overclock the CPU (just make sure your CPU is K series).

Hmmm...

I thought I read somewhere it could do SLI

Damn.... Also the reason I was trying to go Nvidia was 3D.... Also the CPU is an i7 2600k

but thanks for the help

any idea if ATi are planning any 3D solutions ?

Oh also.. What would the performance be like on those compared to SLi 480s? I guess I could always skip the 3D

cmndr_andi · 6 Apr 2011 at 23:59

AMD's 3D solution isn't nearly as good as Nvidia's, so I would buy an Nvidia graphics card if you are seriously considering going 3D.

If you feel you need the extra graphical power offered by SLI (and somewhat demanded when playing modern games at 1080p in 3D) then this is a bit tough as your board definately does not support it. However, if you are spending ~£400 on graphics, ~£100 on PSU and ~£400 on a 3D monitor + the nvidia 3D system then spending the £140 on a motherboard that allows SLI and overclocking doesn't seem so steep (especially as you can sell on your H67 board and make back some of the money).

Shadz · 7 Apr 2011 at 00:06

+1 cmndr_andi

.Max. · 7 Apr 2011 at 00:07

cmndr_andi said:
AMD's 3D solution isn't nearly as good as Nvidia's, so I would buy an Nvidia graphics card if you are seriously considering going 3D.

If you feel you need the extra graphical power offered by SLI (and somewhat demanded when playing modern games at 1080p in 3D) then this is a bit tough as your board definately does not support it. However, if you are spending ~£400 on graphics, ~£100 on PSU and ~£400 on a 3D monitor + the nvidia 3D system then spending the £140 on a motherboard that allows SLI and overclocking doesn't seem so steep (especially as you can sell on your H67 board and make back some of the money).

Damn... Hard decisions.... The PC isn't even fully working yet haha

Well let's say the 3D doesn't matter so much.... Would going ATi be the better option? As the motherboard supports it (saving me money

) and cheaper screen.... And I'm not really sure I want a new motherboard just yet

Oh and would I be able to mix crossfire cards? Say first I got a 6950 being cheaper, then unlocked it too a 6970 and then later bought a 6970 and over clocked?

cmndr_andi · 7 Apr 2011 at 00:16

If you don't mind about 3D, but you do want to do multi-GPU in the future then AMD is the best option. However, in terms of a single card - the Gigabyte GTX 480 is the fastest card in that price bracket - but there isn't the option of adding a second card in the future (without changing the motherboard).

With crossfire you can mix some cards - so long as they are of a similar type (this chart shows the combinations). However, because of the way crossfire works - running two mismatched cards together will only result in the same performance as two of the slower cards running together. This increases flexibility, but doesn't offer any performance benefits running one card which is faster than the other.

.Max. · 7 Apr 2011 at 00:19

Awesome, thanks, sorry for all my questions by the way

So say I got one 480 now, how would that handle 3D etc..? And then later on upgrade the board to support SLI and if needed... Add another?

Surveyor · 7 Apr 2011 at 00:19

.Max. said:
Damn... Hard decisions.... The PC isn't even fully working yet haha Well let's say the 3D doesn't matter so much.... Would going ATi be the better option? As the motherboard supports it (saving me money ) and cheaper screen.... And I'm not really sure I want a new motherboard just yet Oh and would I be able to mix crossfire cards? Say first I got a 6950 being cheaper, then unlocked it too a 6970 and then later bought a 6970 and over clocked?

When you talk of overclocking are you refering to to the GPU or the CPU?

I ask because the motherboard you have has a H67 chipset and you can't overclock the CPU on those.

To overclock the CPU you need a P67 chipset.

If you want SLI and CPU overclocking then sell the H67 motherboard and get a P67 board which supports SLI and overclocking.

.Max. · 7 Apr 2011 at 00:23

I was talking about the GPU

Hmm... How much do you think I could get for my board ? And where would be the best place to sell if I did? *bay?

cmndr_andi · 7 Apr 2011 at 00:31

That exact H67 board recently sold on the OCUK members market for £63 including shipping. I'm not sure how representative that is - but I reckon its a fair price for a second-hand current generation, non-overclocking board.

As for a single GTX 480 and 3D. With a 1080p 3D monitor and not turning all the settings up to 11, then that card should see you through rather well. Especially if you plan to upgrade the board and buy a second GTX 480 in the future. However, by going down the GTX 480 line, you will need to invest in a rather expensive PSU now - to ensure you can run two in SLI down the line.

.Max. · 7 Apr 2011 at 00:34

cmndr_andi said:
That exact H67 board recently sold on the OCUK members market for £63 including shipping. I'm not sure how representative that is - but I reckon its a fair price for a second-hand current generation, non-overclocking board.

As for a single GTX 480 and 3D. With a 1080p 3D monitor and not turning all the settings up to 11, then that card should see you through rather well. Especially if you plan to upgrade the board and buy a second GTX 480 in the future. However, by going down the GTX 480 line, you will need to invest in a rather expensive PSU now - to ensure you can run two in SLI down the line.

Dayum... I haven't even turned it on yet

less than a week old and I bought for £97.... next build... Ima do more research.... A lot more!

Awesome thanks, So I guess I might do that... Get the single 480 for now.... Then upgrade motherboard.... Then add another one

thanks