Case space dilemma

TBLBehemoth · 24 Oct 2011 at 12:15

Hi all. I have an antec 902 v3 case and already have an asus gtx580 DirectCU II installed. However, I now have the funds to sli this beast of a card, but am worried that I may not have the space required to fit it. I also have an ocz zs series 750w psu, running a 2600k, the standard case fans, 8GB ram (1600MHz) and a standard 7200rpm hard drive, will this be enough to power these cards in sli? Ps I have a pic to show you the layout of my case for those unfamiliar with the antec 902, but I dont have a clue how to past a photo onto these posts

Surveyor · 24 Oct 2011 at 12:17

Hi and welcome to the forum.

Without considering any other issues the recommendation is a minimum 850W PSU for SLI'd GTX 580's.

Wiry · 24 Oct 2011 at 12:22

Incase your going to overclock anything I would look over the 900watt mark.

TBLBehemoth · 24 Oct 2011 at 12:32

Hmm, damn shame bout the psu, bought this build only three weeks ago ''/ maybe I could put the upgrade on hold a while, as I know that most of the descent power supplies over the 850w mark really sky rocket in price don't they? So what do you think about the case size? Only really considering the upgrade due to speculations about the graphics requirements for bf3 (though I sincerely hope the overly excessive speculated requirements are severely overshot from the truth. Gaming at 1680x1050, really want to play ultra, think I have a hope in hell?

mp260767 · 24 Oct 2011 at 13:05

bearing mind they used sli'd 580gtx's for ultra (albeit at 1920 res) think you might need the sli, but i'd hold off upgrading until you've give it a good try.

case should be fine for sli, does the 902 have the removeable drive cage at the bottom in line with the pci-e slots, might make things easier if it has.

what sort of temps are you currently getting on your system ?

TBLBehemoth · 24 Oct 2011 at 13:52

Getting high 30's at idle and mid to high 70's when under load. Issue is that the mobo I got has 3 pciex16 ports and if I use the second one then due to the asus card using 3 slots, the cards will be completely sandwiched together, with my current gpu's fans being butted up to the backplate of the second. If I use the third pcie port, I'm not sure the sli cable will reach, and that's besides the point anyway as the third port that it will be taking up is blocked by the psu, fml

mp260767 · 24 Oct 2011 at 14:31

seen a thread somewhere on here recently with similar issues whereby adding a 2nd card caused temp issues due to the lack of air flow getting to the card butted up to the back of the other card.

iirc the 902 has a side case fan, you could hook up a funnel to direct air between the card to assist with cooling.

TBLBehemoth · 24 Oct 2011 at 14:53

Never thought of that but that is an excellent idea, never even thought of utilising the side fan mount, thanks for the advice. Will definitely give that a try and monitor my temps v/ closely. Now just to find a psu in budget to power my sli setup